La Revue de médecine interne
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Case Reports
[Should we care about pregabalin for elderly patients with a history of cardiac dysrhythmia?].
Pregabalin is similar in structure to gamma-aminobutyric acid. It is used for neuropathic pain, generalized anxiety disorders and as an adjunct therapy for partial seizures. Tachycardia is a rare side-effect. ⋯ She developed a sinusal tachycardia followed by atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure 15 h after a first dose of pregabalin. The imputation was considered as plausible. Even though the mechanism remains unclear, pregabalin might induce tachycardia in predisposed old patients.
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Case Reports
[Pneumonia with bacteremia due to Yersinia enterocolitica in a diabetic patient carrying HLA-B27].
We report a new case of pneumonia and bacteremia due to Yersinia enterocolitica (YE) in a diabetic patient with HLA-B27 positive spondylarthritis. ⋯ YE pneumonia is rare. In this patient, diabetes mellitus and spondylarthritis with HLA-B27 may have played a role in the infection but their imputability remain questionable.
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Delirium is the most common complication of hospitalization in frail elderly. The prognosis is poor with increased mortality and morbidity. Confusion results from one or several precipitating factors in patients at risk. In a randomized study, a preventive multicomponent intervention reduced the incidence of delirium by 40%. The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of such a preventive strategy, in the setting of an acute geriatric care unit. ⋯ This study shows that it is possible to apply the results of clinical research in clinical practice to prevent delirium in frail elderly hospitalized in an acute geriatric care unit. Such an easy preventive strategy could be applied in medical units admitting old patients at risk, in the context of a quality procedure.