Detecting undisclosed alcohol abuse in life insurance applicants has always been a challenge to life underwriters and medical directors. This case report describes a 38-year-old woman with classic signs, symptoms, behavior and biochemical markers of undisclosed alcohol abuse. Review of 10 years of medical records revealed chronic abnormally low serum creatinine results associated with abnormally elevated liver function tests, and repeated denials to attending physicians of ever consuming alcohol. Kidney function throughout the 10-year history was not impaired. Low serum creatinine may be a good marker for detecting undisclosed alcohol abuse, but only when there is no kidney injury, dysfunction or impairment obscuring it.

Low Serum Creatinine as a Marker for Undisclosed Alcohol Abuse.

Journal of Insurance Medicine

Autoimmune diseases are a diverse group of conditions characterized by aberrant B cell and T cell reactivity to normal constituents of the host. These diseases occur widely and affect individuals of all ages, especially women. Among these diseases, the most prominent immunological manifestation is the production of autoantibodies, which provide valuable biomarkers for diagnosis, classification and disease activity. Although T cells have a key role in pathogenesis, they are technically more difficult to assay. In general, autoimmune disease results from an interplay between a genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Genetic predisposition to autoimmunity is complex and can involve multiple genes that regulate the function of immune cell populations. Less frequently, autoimmunity can result from single-gene mutations that affect key regulatory pathways. Infection seems to be a common trigger for autoimmune disease, although the microbiota can also influence pathogenesis. As shown in seminal studies, patients may express autoantibodies many years before the appearance of clinical or laboratory signs of disease - a period called pre-clinical autoimmunity. Monitoring autoantibody expression in at-risk populations may therefore enable early detection and the initiation of therapy to prevent&#xa0;or attenuate tissue damage. Autoimmunity may not be static, however, and remission can be achieved by some patients treated with current agents.

Pathogenesis of autoimmune disease.

Nature Reviews. Nephrology

Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a diverse group of immune-mediated disorders. Currently, GN is classified largely by histological patterns that are difficult to understand and teach and most importantly, do not indicate treatment choices. Indeed, altered systemic immunity is the primary pathogenic process and the key therapeutic target in GN. Here, we apply a conceptual framework of immune-mediated disorders to GN guided by immunopathogenesis and hence immunophenotyping: 1) Infection-related GN require pathogen identification and control, 2) Autoimmunity-related GN, defined by presence of autoantibodies, and 3) Alloimmunity-related GN in transplant recipients both require the suppression of adaptive immunity in lymphoid organs and bone marrow, 4) Autoinflammation-related GN, e.g. inborn errors of immunity diagnosed by genetic testing, requires suppression of single cytokine or complement pathways, and 5) Monoclonal gammopathy-related GN requires B or plasma cell clone-directed therapy. A new GN classification should include a) disease category, b) immunological activity to tailor the use of the increasing number of immunomodulatory drugs, and c) chronicity to trigger standard CKD care including the evolving spectrum of cardio-renoprotective drugs. Certain biomarkers allow diagnosis and the assessment of immunological activity and disease chronicity without kidney biopsy. These five GN categories and a therapy-focused GN classification is likely to overcome some of the existing hurdles in GN research, management, and teaching by reflecting disease pathogenesis and guiding the therapeutic approach.

The five types of glomerulonephritis classified by pathogenesis, activity, and chronicity (GN-AC).

Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation

Syncope is a concerning symptom that affects a large proportion of patients. It can be related to a heterogeneous group of pathologies ranging from trivial causes to diseases with a high risk of sudden death. However, benign causes are the most frequent, and identifying high-risk patients with potentially severe etiologies is crucial to establish an accurate diagnosis, initiate effective therapy, and alter the prognosis. The term cardiac syncope refers to those episodes where the cause of the cerebral hypoperfusion is directly related to a cardiac disorder, while arrhythmic syncope is cardiac syncope specifically due to rhythm disorders. Indeed, arrhythmias are the most common cause of cardiac syncope. Both bradyarrhythmia and tachyarrhythmia can cause a sudden decrease in cardiac output and produce syncope. In this review, we summarized the main guidelines in the management of patients with syncope of presumed arrhythmic origin. Therefore, we presented a thorough approach to syncope work-up through different tests depending on the clinical characteristics of the patients, risk stratification, and the management of syncope in different scenarios such as structural heart disease and channelopathies.

Arrhythmic syncope: From diagnosis to management.

World Journal of Cardiology

Chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) is a common disorder associated with significant impairment in quality of life. This clinical practice guideline, jointly developed by the American Gastroenterological Association and the American College of Gastroenterology, aims to inform clinicians and patients by providing evidence-based practice recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of CIC in adults.

The American Gastroenterological Association and the American College of Gastroenterology formed a multidisciplinary guideline panel that conducted systematic reviews of the following agents: fiber, osmotic laxatives (polyethylene glycol, magnesium oxide, lactulose), stimulant laxatives (bisacodyl, sodium picosulfate, senna), secretagogues (lubiprostone, linaclotide, plecanatide), and serotonin type 4 agonist (prucalopride). The panel prioritized clinical questions and outcomes and used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation framework to assess the certainty of evidence for each intervention. The Evidence to Decision framework was used to develop clinical recommendations based on the balance between the desirable and undesirable effects, patient values, costs, and health equity considerations.

The panel agreed on 10 recommendations for the pharmacological management of CIC in adults. Based on available evidence, the panel made strong recommendations for the use of polyethylene glycol, sodium picosulfate, linaclotide, plecanatide, and prucalopride for CIC in adults. Conditional recommendations were made for the use of fiber, lactulose, senna, magnesium oxide, and lubiprostone.

This document provides a comprehensive outline of the various over-the-counter and prescription pharmacological agents available for the treatment of CIC. The guidelines are meant to provide a framework for approaching the management of CIC; clinical providers should engage in shared decision making based on patient preferences as well as medication cost and availability. Limitations and gaps in the evidence are highlighted to help guide future research opportunities and enhance the care of patients with chronic constipation.

American Gastroenterological Association-American College of Gastroenterology Clinical Practice Guideline: Pharmacological Management of Chronic Idiopathic Constipation.

Gastroenterology

The goal of hemodynamic resuscitation is to optimize the microcirculation of organs to meet their oxygen and metabolic needs. Clinicians are currently blind to what is happening in the microcirculation of organs, which prevents them from achieving an additional degree of individualization of the hemodynamic resuscitation at tissue level. Indeed, clinicians never know whether optimization of the microcirculation and tissue oxygenation is actually achieved after macrovascular hemodynamic optimization. The challenge for the future is to have noninvasive, easy-to-use equipment that allows reliable assessment and immediate quantitative analysis of the microcirculation at the bedside. There are different methods for assessing the microcirculation at the bedside; all have strengths and challenges. The use of automated analysis and the future possibility of introducing artificial intelligence into analysis software could eliminate observer bias and provide guidance on microvascular-targeted treatment options. In addition, to gain caregiver confidence and support for the need to monitor the microcirculation, it is necessary to demonstrate that incorporating microcirculation analysis into the reasoning guiding hemodynamic resuscitation prevents organ dysfunction and improves the outcome of critically ill patients.

The future of intensive care: the study of the microcirculation will help to guide our therapies.

Critical Care : the Official Journal of the Critical Care Forum

Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder, affecting more than 15% of patients in hospital. The syndrome of inappropriate anti-diuresis (SIAD) is the most frequent cause of hypotonic hyponatremia, mediated by non-osmotic release of arginine vasopressin (AVP, previously known as anti-diuretic hormone (ADH)) which acts on the renal V2 receptors to promote water retention. There are a variety of underlying causes of SIAD, including malignancy, pulmonary pathology and central nervous system pathology. In clinical practice, the etiology of hyponatremia is frequently multifactorial and the management approach may need to evolve during treatment of a single episode. It is therefore important to regularly reassess clinical status and biochemistry, whilst remaining alert to potential underlying etiological factors that may become more apparent during the course of treatment. In the absence of severe symptoms requiring urgent intervention, fluid restriction is widely endorsed as first line treatment for SIAD in current guidelines, but there is significant controversy regarding second line therapy in instances where fluid restriction is unsuccessful, which occurs in around half of cases. We review the epidemiology, pathophysiology and differential diagnosis of SIAD, and summarise recent evidence for therapeutic options beyond fluid restriction, with a focus on tolvaptan, urea and sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i).

Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuresis: From Pathophysiology to Management.

Endocrine Reviews

Invasive candidiasis (IC) is a serious infection caused by several Candida species, and the most common fungal disease in hospitals in high-income countries. Despite overall improvements in health systems and ICU care in the last few decades, as well as the development of different antifungals and microbiological techniques, mortality rates in IC have not substantially improved. The aim of this review is to summarize the main issues underlying the management of adults affected by IC, focusing on specific forms of the infection: IC developed by ICU patients, IC observed in haematological patients, breakthrough candidaemia, sanctuary site candidiasis, intra-abdominal infections and other challenging infections. Several key challenges need to be tackled to improve the clinical management and outcomes of IC patients. These include the lack of global epidemiological data for IC, the limitations of the diagnostic tests and risk scoring tools currently available, the absence of standardized effectiveness outcomes and long-term data for IC, the timing for the initiation of antifungal therapy and the limited recommendations on the optimal step-down therapy from echinocandins to azoles or the total duration of therapy. The availability of new compounds may overcome some of the challenges identified and increase the existing options for management of chronic Candida infections and ambulant patient treatments. However, early identification of patients that require antifungal therapy and treatment of sanctuary site infections remain a challenge and will require further innovations.

Invasive candidiasis: current clinical challenges and unmet needs in adult populations.

Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

The "2023 Guideline for the Management of Patients With Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage" replaces the 2012 "Guidelines for the Management of Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage." The 2023 guideline is intended to provide patient-centric recommendations for clinicians to prevent, diagnose, and manage patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

A comprehensive search for literature published since the 2012 guideline, derived from research principally involving human subjects, published in English, and indexed in MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and other selected databases relevant to this guideline, was conducted between March 2022 and June 2022. In addition, the guideline writing group reviewed documents on related subject matter previously published by the American Heart Association. Newer studies published between July 2022 and November 2022 that affected recommendation content, Class of Recommendation, or Level of Evidence were included if appropriate.

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is a significant global public health threat and a severely morbid and often deadly condition. The 2023 aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage guideline provides recommendations based on current evidence for the treatment of these patients. The recommendations present an evidence-based approach to preventing, diagnosing, and managing patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, with the intent to improve quality of care and align with patients' and their families' and caregivers' interests. Many recommendations from the previous aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage guidelines have been updated with new evidence, and new recommendations have been created when supported by published data.

2023 Guideline for the Management of Patients With Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Guideline From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

Stroke; a Journal of Cerebral Circulation

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a complex syndrome defined by the existence of different organ failures (OFs) in patients with chronic liver disease, mainly cirrhosis. Several definitions have been proposed to define the syndrome, varying in the grade of the subjacent liver disease, the type of precipitants and the organs considered in the definition. Liver, coagulation, brain, kidney, circulatory and pulmonary are the six types of OFs proposed in the different classifications, with different prevalence worldwide. Irrespective of the definition used, patients who develop ACLF present a hyperactive immune system, profound haemodynamic disturbances and several metabolic alterations that finally lead to organ dysfunction. These disturbances are triggered by different factors such as bacterial infections, alcoholic hepatitis, gastrointestinal bleeding or hepatitis B virus flare, among others. Because patients with ACLF present high short-term mortality, a prompt recognition is needed to start treatment of the trigger event and specific organ support. Liver transplantation is also feasible in carefully selected patients and should be evaluated.

Low Serum Creatinine as a Marker for Undisclosed Alcohol Abuse.

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