European journal of internal medicine
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Nov 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialEvaluation of a technology assisted physical activity intervention among hospitalised patients: A randomised study.
Physical inactivity is common during hospitalisation and poses a threat to functional capacity and independency in the elderly. ⋯ A simple technology assisted physical activity intervention with visual feedback to encourage mobility was not effective at increasing time spent out of bed among hospitalised patients. With feedback, a subgroup of patients with independent walking abilities increased time out of bed and may benefit from this type of intervention.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Nov 2019
Comparative StudyPatients with isolated pulmonary embolism in comparison to those with deep venous thrombosis. Differences in characteristics and clinical evolution.
Patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) often have leg deep vein thrombosis (DVT); sometimes, however, a DVT is not detected (isolated PE, I-PE). We aimed at assessing the proportion of patients with I-PE, and their characteristics and clinical evolution compared to those with DVT with/without PE (DVT/PE). ⋯ I-PE and DVT/PE have important differences. Older age, female sex, heart failure and cancer, were risk factors for I-PE; thrombophilic alterations were associated with DVT/PE. HC use was more frequent in the I-PE group. The prevalence of arterial complications was higher in patients with I-PE. Further studies, specifically designed on this issue, are warranted.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Nov 2019
Observational StudyDiagnostic model of visceral leishmaniasis based on bone marrow findings. Study of patients with clinical suspicion in which the parasite is not observed.
Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a serious protozoal disease endemic in diverse areas, including the southern area of Madrid (Spain), where an outbreak was detected in 2009. The objective of this work is to analyze bone marrow alterations in VL patients and elaborate a diagnostic model with the aim to improve the early detection of this disease. The usual diagnostic methods, as the observation of the parasite on a bone marrow aspirate, have frequent false negatives, and the high sensitivity methods, as PCR and ELISA, are delayed or are not always available. ⋯ In cases of VL suspicion and when the parasite is not observed in the bone marrow aspiration, the proposed model could be useful in discriminating between patients with and without VL, allowing to take a therapeutic decision while awaiting the definitive diagnosis.