The American journal of medicine
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Cardiac troponin levels help risk-stratify patients presenting with an acute coronary syndrome. Although cardiac troponin levels may be elevated in patients presenting with non-acute coronary syndrome conditions, specific diagnoses and long-term outcomes within that cohort are unclear. ⋯ Hospitalized patients with an elevated troponin level more often have a primary diagnosis that is not an acute coronary syndrome. Their long-term survival is poor and justifies novel diagnostic or therapeutic strategy-based studies to target the highest risk subsets before hospital discharge.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Activating peripheral arterial disease patients to reduce cholesterol: a randomized trial.
Peripheral arterial disease patients are less likely than other high-risk patients to achieve ideal low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. This randomized controlled trial assessed whether a telephone counseling intervention, designed to help peripheral arterial disease patients request more intensive cholesterol-lowering therapy from their physician, achieved lower LDL cholesterol levels than 2 control conditions. ⋯ Telephone counseling that helped peripheral arterial disease patients request more intensive cholesterol-lowering therapy from their physician achieved greater LDL cholesterol decreases than an attention control arm that provided health information alone.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Use of a decision aid to improve treatment decisions in osteoporosis: the osteoporosis choice randomized trial.
Poor adherence to therapy, perhaps related to unaddressed patient preferences, limits the effectiveness of osteoporosis treatment in at-risk women. A parallel patient-level randomized trial in primary care practices was performed. ⋯ A decision aid improved the quality of clinical decisions about bisphosphonate therapy in at-risk postmenopausal women, did not affect start rates, and may have improved adherence.
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Since the discovery of endothelial progenitor cells in 1997, the scientific world has seen their ups and downs. There has been much discussion about the detection methods of endothelial progenitor cells and their diagnostic and predictive value. ⋯ Now it is time for a change: Most of the controversies have been eliminated by elaborate studies. This review aims to give an overview to the clinically working physician about the measurement, diagnostic potential, predictive value, and therapeutic potential of endothelial progenitor cells.