The American journal of the medical sciences
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The association between serum albumin and all-cause mortality (ACM) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is presently unclear. ⋯ Decreased serum albumin is a risk factor for ACM in patients with CKD, with the optimal threshold being 4 g/dL.
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Computed Tomography (CT) Pulmonary Angiography is the most commonly used diagnostic study for acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Echocardiogram (ECHO) is also used for risk stratification in acute PE, however the diagnostic performance of CT versus ECHO for risk stratification remains unclear. ⋯ In patients with acute PE, CT and ECHO RV:LV diameter ratio correlate well and identify similar proportion of PE patients at risk for early adverse events. These findings may streamline risk stratification of patients with acute PE.
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Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a frequent and potentially fatal disease, but its pathophysiology is incompletely understood. microRNAs (miR) dysregulate hemostatic proteins and influence thrombotic pathology by posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression. Consensus in defining VTE-related miR clusters and functionally relevant miR has not been reached. We aimed to generate a miR database in patients at high thrombotic risk of VTE and explored their biological functions by seeking information on their messenger RNA targets. ⋯ We provide evidence of distinct, independently validated miR signatures in patients with VTE and identified a subset of miR as main regulators of messenger RNA involved in disorders related to pathophysiologic processes in venous thrombosis development.
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Liberal oxygen therapy might increase the mortality rate of patients. Non-rebreathing masks (NRM) are a high-flow, non-invasive oxygen device that can provide oxygen concentration up to 95%. This study aimed to determine the impact of using NRM in patients with respiratory failure. ⋯ Prolonged use of NRM in patients with respiratory failure due to pulmonary disease possibly increases mortality.