Primary care physicians frequently encounter patients with urogenital diseases. These 10 evidence-based pearls will help physicians to refine the care they provide, avoid some common missteps, and more quickly determine when a referral is appropriate.

Managing urogenital tract disorders: 10 urology pearls for primary care physicians.

Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine

Insomnia is a common and challenging complaint in older adults (&gt; 65 years) because of age-related alterations in sleep physiology. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is the gold standard for treatment of insomnia in young as well as older patients. Both clinicians and patients often prefer the simplicity of medication, but risks associated with some hypnotics increase with age. Pharmacologic options for older adults include low-dose doxepin, melatonin, ramelteon, and the dual orexin receptor antagonists. A well-informed clinician can help patients navigate the risks and benefits of both pharmacologic and behavioral options.

Insomnia in older adults: A review of treatment options.

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a group of autoimmune diseases primarily cause inflammation of small blood vessels. Renal involvement occurs frequently and often leads to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which significantly impacts patient health and survival. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are essential to improving patient outcomes. This review provides an overview of the latest advances in the assessment and treatment of ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis (AAGN). The assessment section covers diagnostic tools, disease activity assessment, and risk stratification, with the introduction of the latest ANCA kidney risk score (AKRiS), which aids in identifying high-risk patients and facilitates personalized treatment strategies. The treatment section discusses induction and maintenance therapy, including immunosuppressive agents and emerging therapies. Recent advances have moved treatment away from reliance on cytotoxic agents, focusing on targeted biological therapies to induce and maintain disease remission, while prioritizing the reduction of corticosteroid toxicity. Overall, these advancements have greatly improved patient outcomes and provided new avenues for personalized management of AAGN.

Advances in the Assessment and Treatment of Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Glomerulonephritis.

Journal of Inflammation Research

Diabetic kidney disease is a leading cause of kidney failure worldwide and is easily detectable with screening examination. Diabetes causes hyperfiltration and activation of the renin-angiotensin aldosterone system by hemodynamic changes within the nephron, which perpetuates damaging physiology. Diagnosis is often clinical after detection of heavy proteinuria in a patient with diabetes,but can be confirmed by observation of histologic stages on kidney biopsy. Mainstays of treatment include angiotensin conversion or receptor blockade, mineralocorticoid receptor blockade, and tight glucose control. Newer agents favored in diabetic kidney disease are sodium glucose-cotransporters and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists, both for glycemic control and for various methods of reversing damaging physiology.

Diabetic Kidney Disease.

Disease-a-month : DM

Hematologic complications are common in pregnancy and can significantly impact both maternal and fetal health. Recognizing and treating these complications can be challenging due to the limited evidence available to guide clinical consultants. Iron deficiency anemia is the most prevalent hematologic issue in pregnancy and often occurs due to increased maternal blood volume and the nutritional demands of the growing fetus. Thrombocytopenia is the second most commonly occurring hematologic issue in pregnancy and can be associated with increased blood loss and complications during childbirth. However, the most common type of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy is gestational thrombocytopenia, which does not typically require clinical management. Thus, it is important to distinguish gestational thrombocytopenia from other etiologies of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy that require immediate treatment, including immune thrombocytopenia, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, preeclampsia, and HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzyme levels, and low platelet levels) syndrome. Other important hematologic conditions in pregnancy include non-inherited anemias, such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia and aplastic anemia, as well as inherited anemias, such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia, which may require specialized management to optimize maternal and fetal outcomes. Additionally, bleeding disorders, such as von Willebrand disease and hemophilia, pose unique challenges in pregnancy, especially around the time of delivery, due to the risk of excessive bleeding. Lastly, thromboembolic disorders, such as venous thromboembolism (VTE), remain the leading cause of mortality in pregnancy in developed countries. Pregnancy-related hormonal changes, venous stasis, and hypercoagulability contribute to an increased thromboembolic risk, further exacerbated by additional risk factors such as obesity or a prior personal or family history of VTE. This review aims to summarize current guidelines and management of the most common hematologic disorders in pregnancy.

Hematologic Complications of Pregnancy.

European Journal of Haematology

Despite notable advancements in cardiovascular medicine, morbidity and mortality rates associated with myocardial infarction (MI) remain high. The unfavourable prognosis and absence of robust post-MI protocols necessitate further intervention. In this comprehensive review, we will focus on well-established and novel biomarkers that can provide insight into the processes that occur after an ischemic event. More precisely, during the follow-up, it is of particular importance to monitor biomarkers that indicate an increase in myocardial stretch and stress, damage and death of cardiomyocytes, remodelling of the extracellular matrix, oxidative stress, and inflammation. This enables the identification of abnormalities in a timely manner, as well as the capacity to respond promptly to any changes. Therefore, we would like to highlight the importance of well-known markers, such as natriuretic peptides, high-sensitivity troponins, soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2, galactin-3, C-reactive protein, and interleukins in post-MI settings, as well as biomarkers such as adrenomedullin, growth differentiation factor-15, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7, amyloid beta, vitamin D, trimethylamine N-oxide, and advanced glycation end-products that recently emerged in the cardiovascular filed. The implementation of novel post-MI protocols, which encompass the monitoring of the aforementioned biomarkers deemed pertinent, in conjunction with adherence to established cardiac rehabilitation programmes, along with the already well-established therapeutic strategies and control of cardiovascular risk factors, has the potential to markedly enhance patient outcomes and reduce the elevated level of morbidity and mortality.

Biomarkers of Importance in Monitoring Heart Condition After Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Journal of Clinical Medicine

Perioperative bleeding is common in general surgery. The POISE-3 (Perioperative Ischemic Evaluation-3) trial demonstrated efficacy of prophylactic tranexamic acid (TXA) compared with placebo in preventing major bleeding without increasing vascular outcomes in noncardiac surgery.

To determine the safety and efficacy of prophylactic TXA, specifically in general surgery.

Subgroup analyses were conducted that compared randomized treatment with TXA vs placebo according to whether patients underwent general surgery or nongeneral surgery in the POISE-3 blinded, international, multicenter randomized clinical trial. Participants were 45 years or older, were undergoing noncardiac surgery, had increased cardiovascular risk, and were expected to require at least an overnight hospital admission after surgery. Among 26&#x202f;581 eligible patients identified, 17&#x202f;046 were excluded, resulting in 9535 patients randomized to the POISE-3 trial. Participants were enrolled from June 2018 through July 2021. The data were analyzed during December 2023.

Prophylactic, 1-g bolus of intravenous TXA or placebo at the start and end of surgery.

The primary efficacy outcome was a composite of life-threatening bleeding, major bleeding, or bleeding into a critical organ. The primary safety outcome was a composite of myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery, nonhemorrhagic stroke, peripheral arterial thrombosis, or symptomatic proximal venous thromboembolism at 30 days. Cox proportional hazards models were conducted, incorporating tests of interaction.

Among 9535 POISE-3 participants, 3260 underwent a general surgery procedure. Mean age was 68.6 (SD, 9.6) years, 1740 were male (53.4%), and 1520 were female (46.6%). Among general surgery patients, 8.0% and 10.5% in the TXA and placebo groups, respectively, had the primary efficacy outcome (hazard ratio [HR], 0.74; 95% CI, 0.59-0.93; P&#x2009;=&#x2009;.01) and 11.9% and 12.5% in the TXA and placebo groups, respectively, had the primary safety outcome (HR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.78-1.16; P&#x2009;=&#x2009;.63). There was no significant interaction by type of surgery (general surgery vs nongeneral surgery) on the primary efficacy (P for interaction&#x2009;=&#x2009;.81) and safety (P for interaction&#x2009;=&#x2009;.37) outcomes. Across subtypes of general surgery, TXA decreased the composite bleeding outcome in hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.34-0.91 [n&#x2009;=&#x2009;332]) and colorectal surgery (HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.45-0.98 [n&#x2009;=&#x2009;940]). There was no significant interaction across subtypes of general surgery (P for interaction&#x2009;=&#x2009;.68).

In this study, TXA significantly reduced the risk of perioperative bleeding without increasing cardiovascular risk in patients undergoing general surgery procedures.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03505723.

Managing urogenital tract disorders: 10 urology pearls for primary care physicians.

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Managing urogenital tract disorders: 10 urology pearls for primary care physicians.

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