Internal and emergency medicine
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study Observational Study
COPD patients with and without metabolic syndrome: clinical and functional differences.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) are considered public health challenges of the 21st century. The coexistence of MetS in COPD patients and any clinical differences between COPD patients with and without MetS have not been extensively studied. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with MetS and COPD. ⋯ They had been hospitalized more frequently for any cause but not for COPD. In multivariate analysis, the presence of MetS was independently associated with greater FEV1, inhaled steroids use, osteoporosis, diabetes, and heart failure. MetS is a frequent condition in COPD patients, and it is associated with greater FEV1, more dyspnea, and more comorbidities.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Drug-induced angioedema: experience of Italian emergency departments.
Acute angioedema represents a cause of admission to the emergency department requiring rapid diagnosis and appropriate management to prevent airway obstruction. Several drugs, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and oral antidiabetics, have been reported to induce angioedema. The aim of this prospective observational study conducted in a setting of routine emergency care was to evaluate the incidence and extent of drug-induced non-histaminergic angioedema in this specific clinical setting, and to identify the class of drugs possibly associated with angioedema. ⋯ Of the remaining patients, 15 received antibiotic treatment and 10 antihypertensive treatment. In addition, we observed in our series some cases of angioedema associated with drugs (such as antiasthmatics, antidiarrheal and antiepileptics) of which there are few descriptions in the literature. The present data, which add much needed information to the existing limited literature on drug-induced angioedema in the clinical emergency department setting, will provide more appropriate diagnosis and management of this potentially life-threatening adverse event.