European journal of internal medicine
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Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Endothelial dysfunction, inflammation and oxidative stress are at the forefront in the onset and development of atherosclerosis and many cardiovascular diseases. ⋯ Given physiological properties of serum albumin that include anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticoagulant and antiplatelet aggregation activity as well as colloid osmotic effect, hypoalbuminemia could act as an unrecognized modifiable risk factor. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the physiological properties of serum albumin, as well as prevalence, causes, prognostic value and potential contribution to the disease emergence and progression of hypoalbuminemia, and the resulting clinical implications.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jun 2018
Multicenter StudyPrognostic implications of a negative echocardiography in patients with infective endocarditis.
Echocardiography plays an important role in infective endocarditis (IE) diagnosis according with the modified Duke criteria. We evaluated the implications of a positive echocardiography in the prognosis of a cohort of patients with IE. ⋯ A positive echocardiography in patients with IE is associated with increased inhospital mortality, in addition to other clinical factors and comorbidities.