Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Nov 2021
'Anxiety is still ongoing!' Evaluation of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety severity of physicians working in the internal medicine department after 1 year: a collaborative cross-sectional study.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased anxiety in society and particularly in healthcare workers, as shown with a questionnaire in our centre at the beginning of the pandemic. In this collaborative study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of the pandemic on anxiety 1 year later by applying the same questionnaire to the physicians working in the same department. ⋯ As in the first survey, female gender, having family members over 65 years of age, and having family members with chronic diseases were significantly associated with high anxiety scores and levels. There were no statistically significant differences between the first and second survey participants in any of the anxiety scales, which means anxiety persists.
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Internal medicine journal · Nov 2021
Serum potassium in chronic kidney disease: prevalence, patient characteristics and clinical outcomes.
Abnormalities in serum potassium are a well known complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD), but little is known about their impact on inpatient outcomes. ⋯ Derangements in potassium frequently occur in CKD inpatients and are independently associated with higher mortality and ICU requirement. Further studies are required to determine whether interventions to maintain normokalaemia improve outcomes in this population.
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Internal medicine journal · Nov 2021
Post-acute care for asthma patients presenting to an Australian hospital network.
We evaluated post-acute care in 1273 asthma patients presenting to our hospital network. Patients with respiratory unit admission (n = 413) or consultation from the respiratory service (n = 45) were more likely to have guideline adherent care compared with patients without respiratory input (n = 153). Patients aged greater than 60 years had higher rates of representation within 90 days and lower rates of asthma action plans. Post-acute care of asthma at our centre falls short of guideline recommendations, and subspecialist involvement should be expanded.
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Internal medicine journal · Nov 2021
Consensus guidelines for the diagnosis and management of cryptococcosis and rare yeast infections in the haematology/oncology setting, 2021.
Cryptococcosis caused by the Cryptococcus neoformans-Cryptococcus gattii complex is an important opportunistic infection in people with immunodeficiency, including in the haematology/oncology setting. This may manifest clinically as cryptococcal meningitis or pulmonary cryptococcosis, or be detected incidentally by cryptococcal antigenemia, a positive sputum culture or radiological imaging. Non-Candida, non-Cryptococcus spp. rare yeast fungaemia are increasingly common in this population. These consensus guidelines aim to provide clinicians working in the Australian and New Zealand haematology/oncology setting with clear guiding principles and practical recommendations for the management of cryptococcosis, while also highlighting important and emerging rare yeast infections and their recommended management.
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Internal medicine journal · Nov 2021
Consensus guidelines for improving patients' understanding of invasive fungal disease and related risk prevention in the haematology/oncology setting, 2021.
Patients with invasive fungal disease (IFD) are at significant risk of morbidity and mortality. A productive partnership between patients, their carers/families, and the multidisciplinary team managing the infection and any underlying conditions, is essential. ⋯ It specifically addresses risk factor reduction, antifungal agents and adherence, and the risks and benefits of complementary and alternative therapies. Knowledge gaps are also identified to help inform the future research agenda.