Polskie Archiwum Medycyny Wewnętrznej
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Oct 2023
ReviewWho may benefit from low-dose Rivaroxaban plus Aspirin? Practical implications for outpatients with cardiovascular disease.
Despite availability of effective preventive therapies based on guidelines, patients with vascular diseases continue to be at a high risk for recurrent ischemic events. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies are required to further reduce the residual risk present in these patients. Platelet aggregation and fibrin organization are involved in arterial thrombosis. ⋯ Subsequently, the VOYAGER PAD (Vascular Outcomes Study of ASA Along with Rivaroxaban in Endovascular or Surgical Limb Revascularization for PAD) trial confirmed the effectiveness of the vascular dose of rivaroxaban in patients with PAD after lower‑extremity revascularization, as compared with ASA alone. Therefore, DPI is recommended in the patients with CAD (+/- PAD) or symptomatic PAD at a high risk of ischemia. The purpose of this review is to examine the clinical benefits and practical implications of DPI in the CAD and PAD patients.
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Oct 2023
ReviewPrimary aldosteronism 2.0: an update for clinicians on diagnosis and treatment.
Primary aldosteronism (PA), characterized by inappropriately high concentrations of the adrenal-derived hormone aldosterone, is the most common endocrine cause of arterial hypertension. As compared with individuals with essential hypertension, patients with PA have a significantly increased cardiovascular risk that cannot be fully reversed by common antihypertensive treatment because of blood pressure-independent deleterious effects of aldosterone. Measurement of the aldosterone to renin ratio (ARR), reflecting the degree of aldosterone excess, is the classic screening test for PA, but thresholds for an elevated ARR vary substantially and are arbitrary, as there exists a wide disease continuum that spans from preclinical stages to overt PA. ⋯ The implementation of current PA guidelines into clinical routine is extremely poor, as reflected by the fact that most patients suffering from PA remain undiagnosed and probably untreated. Pragmatic approaches are required to address this public health problem. In this review, we present an up‑to‑date overview on the clinical significance, diagnosis, and treatment of PA, with the aim to provide guidance for clinicians regarding the management of this disease, paying particular attention to its feasible implementation into daily clinical routine.
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Sep 2023
ReviewPharmacological cardioversion of atrial fibrillation: practical considerations.
The choice between rhythm and rate control strategy represents one of the most intriguing dilemmas in the management of atrial fibrillation (AF). Although the advantage of rhythm over rate control in terms of outcome has not been unequivocally proven, the initial management of patients with symptomatic episodes of AF frequently involves early cardioversion. As electrical cardioversion (EC) is challenging in terms of fasting status and involvement of an anesthesiologic team, pharmacological cardioversion (PC) is usually selected as the first step toward rhythm conversion. ⋯ The presence of SHD consistent with any left ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure, myocardial ischemia, or valvular heart disease limits the choice of AAD to amiodarone. Given the risk of ventricular proarrhythmia of AAD, safety should always prevail over the enticing possibility of rhythm conversion. The present review aims to provide a comprehensible summary of proper qualification for PC, selection of suitable AAD, and state‑of‑the‑art periprocedural management of patients with recent‑onset AF.
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Sep 2023
Meta AnalysisSeroconversion following a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine in liver transplant recipients. A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Although it is well established that 2 doses of COVID‑19 vaccines are associated with reduced immune responses in liver transplant recipients (LTRs), studies regarding their immunogenicity and tolerability after a booster dose are limited. ⋯ Our meta‑analysis demonstrated that the third dose of COVID‑19 vaccines induced adequate humoral and cellular immune responses in LTRs, while MMF remained a negative predictor of immunologic responses.
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Sep 2023
ReviewNonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-exacerbated respiratory disease: diagnosis and current management.
Nonsteroidal anti‑inflammatory drug-exacerbated respiratory disease (N‑ERD) is a unique and often clinically severe disease affecting a subgroup of adults with asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis, and respiratory reactions with exposure to all cyclooxygenase 1-inhibiting nonsteroidal anti‑inflammatory drugs. N‑ERD has a high disease burden and is estimated to affect 7% of adults with asthma and 30% of patients who have both asthma and nasal polyps. The disease is underdiagnosed and underrecognized by physicians on a routine basis, which leads to a delay in appropriate management. The goal of this review is to focus on the disease recognition, diagnosis, and different modes of up‑to‑date therapies, including medical management, surgical intervention, aspirin desensitization, and biologic therapy.