VARIOS

New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 373, Issue 1, Page 60-72, July 2015.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

In patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, oral anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists reduces the risk of stroke by more than 60%. But vitamin K antagonists have limitations, including causing serious bleeding such as intracranial haemorrhage and the need for anticoagulation monitoring. In part related to these limitations, they are used in only about half of patients who should be treated according to guideline recommendations. In the past decade, oral agents have been developed that directly block the activity of thrombin (factor IIa), as well as drugs that directly inhibit activated factor X (Xa), which is the first protein in the final common pathway to the activation of thrombin...

New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 371, Issue 24, Page 2309-2319, December 2014.

This is an update on sarcoidosis, focusing on etiology, diagnosis, and treatment. In the area of etiopathogenesis, we now have a better understanding of the immune response that leads to the disease as well as genetic factors that modify both the risk for the disease and its clinical outcome. Several groups have also identified possible agents as a cause for sarcoidosis. Although none of these potential causes has been definitely confirmed, there is increasing evidence to support that one or more infectious agents may cause sarcoidosis, although this organism may no longer be viable in the patient...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Inappropriate polypharmacy, especially in older people, imposes a substantial burden of adverse drug events, ill health, disability, hospitalization, and even death. The single most important predictor of inappropriate prescribing and risk of adverse drug events in older patients is the number of prescribed drugs. Deprescribing is the process of tapering or stopping drugs, aimed at minimizing polypharmacy and improving patient outcomes. Evidence of efficacy for deprescribing is emerging from randomized trials and observational studies...

Hyponatremia is the most commonly encountered electrolyte abnormality. Severe hyponatremia in pregnancy poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Pregnancy involves changes in physiology that affect water and sodium homeostasis. Knowledge of these complex physiologic alterations during pregnancy is critical to managing dysnatremias in pregnancy. This teaching case describes a woman with chronic hyponatremia who presented during pregnancy with worsening hyponatremia. She had an activating vasopressin receptor mutation, which was passed on to her child, and her diagnostic workup is described...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

A 31-year-old male smoker with diabetes mellitus presented to the emergency department with intermittent, exertional chest pain of 4 days' duration. Electrocardiography performed on arrival (Panel A) revealed anterolateral T-wave inversions with biphasic lateral T waves, which raised concern about..

Acute pancreatitis, an inflammatory disorder of the pancreas, is the leading cause of admission to hospital for gastrointestinal disorders in the USA and many other countries. Gallstones and alcohol misuse are long-established risk factors, but several new causes have emerged that, together with new aspects of pathophysiology, improve understanding of the disorder. As incidence (and admission rates) of acute pancreatitis increase, so does the demand for effective management. We review how to manage patients with acute pancreatitis, paying attention to diagnosis, differential diagnosis, complications, prognostic factors, treatment, and prevention of second attacks, and the possible transition from acute to chronic pancreatitis...

IMPORTANCE: Whether mortality in type 1 diabetes mellitus is affected following intensive glycemic therapy has not been established. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether mortality differed between the original intensive and conventional treatment groups in the long-term follow-up of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) cohort. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: After the DCCT (1983-1993) ended, participants were followed up in a multisite (27 US and Canadian academic clinical centers) observational study (Epidemiology of Diabetes Control and Complications [EDIC]) until December 31, 2012...

IMPORTANCE: Daily bathing of critically ill patients with the broad-spectrum, topical antimicrobial agent chlorhexidine is widely performed and may reduce health care-associated infections. OBJECTIVE: To determine if daily bathing of critically ill patients with chlorhexidine decreases the incidence of health care-associated infections. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A pragmatic cluster randomized, crossover study of 9340 patients admitted to 5 adult intensive care units of a tertiary medical center in Nashville, Tennessee, from July 2012 through July 2013...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Multiple myeloma is a malignant disease characterised by proliferation of clonal plasma cells in the bone marrow and typically accompanied by the secretion of monoclonal immunoglobulins that are detectable in the serum or urine. Increased understanding of the microenvironmental interactions between malignant plasma cells and the bone marrow niche, and their role in disease progression and acquisition of therapy resistance, has helped the development of novel therapeutic drugs for use in combination with cytostatic therapy...

BACKGROUND: The combination of cyclophosphamide and glucocorticoids leads to remission in most patients with antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides. However, even when patients receive maintenance treatment with azathioprine or methotrexate, the relapse rate remains high. Rituximab may help to maintain remission. METHODS: Patients with newly diagnosed or relapsing granulomatosis with polyangiitis, microscopic polyangiitis, or renal-limited ANCA-associated vasculitis in complete remission after a cyclophosphamide-glucocorticoid regimen were randomly assigned to receive either 500 mg of rituximab on days 0 and 14 and at months 6, 12, and 18 after study entry or daily azathioprine until month 22...

New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 371, Issue 15, Page 1434-1445, October 2014.

Physical symptoms account for more than half of all outpatient visits, yet the predominant disease-focused model of care is inadequate for many of these symptom-prompted encounters. Moreover, the amount of clinician training dedicated to understanding, evaluating, and managing common symptoms is disproportionally small relative to their prevalence, impairment, and health care costs. This narrative review regarding physical symptoms addresses 4 common epidemiologic questions: cause, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy...

IMPORTANCE: Urinary tract infection is among the most common reasons for an outpatient visit and antibiotic use in adult populations. The increasing prevalence of antibacterial resistance among community uropathogens affects the diagnosis and management of this clinical syndrome. OBJECTIVES: To define the optimal approach for treating acute cystitis in young healthy women and in women with diabetes and men and to define the optimal approach for diagnosing acute cystitis in the outpatient setting...

New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 371, Issue 17, Page 1619-1628, October 2014.