European journal of internal medicine
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · May 2020
Meta AnalysisAssessing the association between fluoroquinolones and emerging adverse drug reactions raised by regulatory agencies: An umbrella review.
Regulatory agencies warned against fluoroquinolones for the management of minor infections because of the risk of emerging adverse events (collagen-associated adverse events, neuropsychiatric toxicity and long-term disability). We aimed to assess quality and credibility of evidence as well as causality regarding these putative associations. ⋯ Our analysis supports credible, plausible and highly suggestive associations with AAD (rare occurrence but strong causality) and ATD. Limitations of both umbrella reviews and observational evidence should be considered.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · May 2020
ReviewInhalation therapy devices for the treatment of obstructive lung diseases: the history of inhalers towards the ideal inhaler.
Inhalation therapy allows conveying drugs directly into the airways. The devices used to administer inhaled drugs play a crucial role in the management of obstructive lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To ensure high bronchial deposition of the drug, a device should deliver a high proportion of fine particles, be easy to use, and provide constant and accurate doses of the active substance. ⋯ In SMIs, the medication is dissolved in an aqueous solution, without propellant, and it is dispensed as a slow aerosol cloud thanks to the energy of a spring. Smart inhalers, connected to smartphones, are promising tools that can provide information about patient's adherence and their inhaler technique. Inhalation has also been proposed as a route of administration for several systemic drugs.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · May 2020
Multicenter StudyMortality in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage associated with antiplatelet agents, oral anticoagulants or no antithrombotic therapy.
The association between preceding treatment with antiplatelet agents (APs), vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) or direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and mortality after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains unclear. The aim of this multicenter, prospective cohort study was to assess the risk for death after ICH in consecutive patients who were on treatment with APs, VKAs, DOACs, or no antithrombotic agent. The primary outcome was in-hospital death by day 30. ⋯ ICH volume and volume expansion were independent predictors of death. In conclusion, preceding treatment with antithrombotic is associated with the severity of ICH. Age, previous stroke and clinical severity at presentation were independent predictors of in-hospital death in patients with ICH.
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Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic autoimmune disorder of the western world that is rapidly expanding in newly industrialized countries. Novel strategies are urgently needed to prevent and improve the treatment of this costly and disabling disease. Statins are the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide. ⋯ Several experimental studies have shown that statins reduce inflammation in animal models of colitis; however, clinical studies investigating their disease-modifying and preventive potential in IBD have demonstrated some limitations and conflicting results. The available epidemiological evidence is not yet sufficient to support the use of statin for preventing or treating inflammatory bowel disease. Additional high-quality research is warranted.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · May 2020
Left atrial diameter thresholds and new incident atrial fibrillation in embolic stroke of undetermined source.
We analyzed consecutive patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) from three prospective stroke registries to compare the prognostic performance of different LAD thresholds for the prediction of new incident AF. ⋯ The LAD threshold of 40 mm has the best prognostic performance among other LAD values to predict new incident AF after ESUS. The diagnostic yield of prolonged cardiac rhythm monitoring in patients with LAD ≤ 40 mm seems low; therefore, such patients may have lower priority for prolonged cardiac monitoring.