Chest
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Comparative Study
Risk of mycobacterial infections associated with rheumatoid arthritis in Ontario, Canada.
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk of TB. Little is known about the risk of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) disease in these patients. We sought to ascertain the rate of NTM infection and TB in all residents of Ontario, Canada, with and without RA. ⋯ Mycobacterial infections are more common in Ontarians with RA, with NTM disease more likely than TB. NTM disease is associated with an increased risk of death in patients with RA. Given the rising rates of NTM disease worldwide, determining whether this risk is due to the use of immunosuppressive medications vs RA itself is an important objective for future research.
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The efficacy and safety of anticoagulation with use of vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) is highly dependent on the quality of anticoagulation control as reflected by the average time in a therapeutic range of 2.0 to 3.0. A clinical dilemma is trying to predict which anticoagulation-naive patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) would do well on a VKA (with a time in therapeutic range > 70%) and which are less likely to do well on a VKA but could be managed with novel oral anticoagulants. ⋯ We demonstrate that the SAMe-TT₂R₂ score was predictive for an increasing risk of stroke/TE, severe bleeding, major BARC bleeding, and death, reflecting poor anticoagulation control (and labile INRs) among patients with AF given VKAs.
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A 46-year-old woman presented with worsening dyspnea and palpitations for 3 days following an episode of left shoulder pain. The patient had received a diagnosis of patent ductus arteriosus with Eisenmenger syndrome in childhood but had been inconsistently taking digoxin and diuretics since then. She was married but had never been pregnant. ⋯ She had developed bilateral leg edema. Three days prior to admission, she noticed an episode of severe, sharp pain in her left shoulder that was nonradiating but associated with palpitations and sweating and that lasted for about 20 min. The shoulder pain subsided spontaneously but her dyspnea worsened significantly, which prompted her to present to the ED.
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Comparative Study
Epidemiology of asthma hospitalizations among American Indian and Alaska Native people and the general United States population.
Asthma, a common chronic disease among adults and children in the United States, results in nearly one-half million hospitalizations annually. There has been no evaluation of asthma hospitalizations for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people since a previous study using data for 1988-2002. In this study, we describe the epidemiology and trends for asthma hospitalizations among AI/AN people and the general US population for 2003-2011. ⋯ Asthma hospitalization rates are decreasing for AI/AN people and the general US population despite increasing prevalence rates. AI/AN people experienced a substantially lower age-adjusted asthma hospitalization rate compared with the general US population. Although the rates for AI/AN infants and children 1 to 4 years of age have declined substantially, they remain higher compared with other age groups. Improved disease management and awareness should help to further decrease asthma hospitalizations, particularly among young children.
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A 56-year-old man presented to the ED of an outside hospital with 2 days of bleeding gums and easy bruising. He denied episodes of melena, hematemesis, or hematuria and had no epistaxis. ⋯ A bone marrow biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia. He was transferred to our hospital for treatment.