The American journal of medicine
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People with vertebral fractures have greater pain, disability, and healthcare utilization, on average, than those without fractures. Most studies of acute pain and disability have been limited to patients with clinically diagnosed fractures (a subset of all symptomatic patients), representing about one third of all patients with fractures identified radiographically. Acute symptoms vary widely. ⋯ The cumulative impact of vertebral fractures on quality of life may rival that of hip fractures because hip fractures are less frequent and occur later in life. As many as 40% of symptomatic vertebral fractures are initially misdiagnosed, signaling a need for greater awareness among physicians and patients. Prevention of initial vertebral fractures should be actively encouraged; even if the initial fracture is asymptomatic, it indicates a greatly increased risk of subsequent fractures, pain, and physical impairment.
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Although over the past 2 decades great strides have been made in increasing the awareness, detection, and treatment of hypertension (HTN), actual control of blood pressure is far from optimal. We hypothesized that current cigarette smoking, by acting as a marker for poor health related behavioral patterns, would be significantly associated with uncontrolled blood pressure (BP). ⋯ In disadvantaged African-American patients who report good medication compliance, former smoking status is strongly associated with HTN control. Physicians may need to be especially vigilant of BP control in patients who smoke.
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Acute abdomen (AA) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a challenging diagnostic and therapeutic problem. Most patients are on steroid and/or immunosuppressive treatment and mortality is high. ⋯ In SLE patients with AA, a SLEDAI score below 5 is indicative of non-SLE-related AA. Elevated aCL were found in patients with intraabdominal thrombosis. AA in inactive SLE is non-SLE-related and has low mortality, provided an appropriate surgical treatment is given. Early laparotomy influences positively the prognosis of SLE patients with AA.