Postgraduate medicine
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Health care has become increasingly fragmented, partly due to advancing medical technology. Patients are often managed by various specialty teams when presenting with symptoms that could be manifestations of different diseases. Approximately one third of them are referred to specialists, at over half for outpatient appointments. ⋯ Communication between doctors could improve continuity. There are many differences and similarities in the pathophysiology, symptomatology, diagnosis, and treatment of fibromyalgia, Sjogren's syndrome, and depression. Understanding the associations between fibromyalgia, Sjogren's syndrome and depression should improve clinical outcome via a common holistic approach.
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Postgraduate medicine · Sep 2020
ReviewLessons from mass vaccination response to meningococcal B outbreaks at US universities.
College students in the United States are at an increased risk for meningococcal serogroup B disease or MenB, which causes the majority of invasive meningococcal disease in the country among adolescents and young adults (62%) and also across all age groups (36%) as of 2018. Approximately one-third of MenB cases among college students occur during campus outbreaks, which trigger substantial public health concern and costs associated with conducting rapid mass vaccination campaigns in an emergency setting. ⋯ This review recounts shifts in US meningococcal outbreak epidemiology, lessons from immunogenicity evaluations of MenB vaccines with outbreak strains, and recent college outbreak experiences and mass vaccination responses. The challenges of reactive MenB outbreak containment and potential benefits of preventive immunization of US adolescents are also considered.
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Postgraduate medicine · Sep 2020
ReviewThe clinical significance of isolated diastolic hypertension.
The prevalence of isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) has been increased in hypertensive subjects with the new 2017 ACC/AHA blood pressure treatment guidelines to 6.5% from 1.3% by the JNC-7 guidelines. However, its clinical significance as a cause of adverse cardiovascular (CV) events especially in older subjects has been debated by several investigators, who have demonstrated no adverse CV effects of untreated IDH, but not by others. It is also more common in the young subjects who are at low CV risk and quite rare in the older subjects, who are at increased CV risk. ⋯ In contrast, the prevalence of IDH is low in older subjects and is not associated with adverse CV events in the majority of cases. Thus, its further lowering should be avoided to prevent further decrease in normal SBP and prevent the onset of adverse CV events. However, the decision to treat IDH in older subjects should be individualized.
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Postgraduate medicine · Sep 2020
Assessment of Adequacy of Respiratory Infection Prevention in Hospitals of Inner Mongolia, China: A Cross-sectional Study using Unannounced Standardized Patients.
Recent respiratory infectious disease (RID) outbreaks of influenza and the novel coronavirus have resulted in global pandemics. RIDs can trigger nosocomial infections if not adequately prevented. ⋯ There is a need to improve respiratory infectious disease procedures in our study hospitals, especially in outpatient and emergency departments.
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Objectives: Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, is an inflammatory illness that impacts individuals of all ages. The cost of treating AD and the impact on the quality of life have not been well documented in the state of Nevada. This study seeks to fill this gap by identifying factors that impact the cost of AD in the state utilizing clinical and patient demographics. ⋯ In the outpatient setting, physician type, region, and African American race remained significant (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Data from this study indicate that the AD cost burden is dependent on both demographic and clinical factors in the state of Nevada. These differences suggest that patients with AD may encounter higher costs depending on age, race, and clinical factors.