Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
Incidence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated renal vasculitis; a retrospective study in rural and regional Victoria, Australia.
The epidemiology of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) varies worldwide. Previous Australian studies described a higher incidence of AAV in rural areas; however, this has not yet been investigated in Victoria. ⋯ The calculated incidence of AAV in rural and regional Victoria is not higher than the reported incidence in most urban Australian cohorts. This study may underestimate the true local disease incidence as only patients with renal vasculitis were included.
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
Left ventricular assist devices for treatment of refractory advanced heart failure: the Western Australian experience.
Left ventricular (LV) assist devices (LVADs) can prolong survival and improve quality of life in end-stage heart failure. ⋯ Excellent outcomes can be achieved with LVADs in appropriately selected patients.
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
Clinical spectrum, biochemical profile and disease progression of Kennedy disease in an Indian cohort.
Kennedy disease (KD) is a slowly progressive lower motor neuron degenerative disease. The prevalence of KD is unknown in India. ⋯ This study showed phenotypic heterogeneity in the Indian cohort. The age of onset was earlier with a slowly progressive indolent course as compared with other ethnic cohorts. This highlights the importance of considering the KD diagnosis in patients with the indolent course and suspected ALS diagnosis even with ptosis and fatigability in an appropriate clinical context.
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
A comparison of the outcomes of pulmonary versus extrapulmonary extensive-stage small cell carcinoma.
Extrapulmonary small cell carcinomas (EPSCCs) are rare cancers, comprising 0.1-0.4% of all cancers. The scarcity of EPSCC studies has led current treatment strategies to be extrapolated from small cell lung cancer (SCLC), justified by analogous histological and clinical features. ⋯ EPSCC and SCLC appeared to have comparable OS and treatment outcomes. However, the wide range of OS in EPSCC highlights the need for an improved understanding of its genomics to explore alternative therapeutics.
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
Ethnic differences in the characteristics of patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer in the Te Manawa Taki region of New Zealand.
Māori have three times the mortality from lung cancer compared with non-Māori. The Te Manawa Taki region has a population of 900 000, of whom 30% are Māori. We have little understanding of the factors associated with developing and diagnosing lung cancer and ethnic differences in these characteristics. ⋯ The findings point to the need to address barriers to early diagnosis and the need for system change including the need to introduce a lung cancer screening focussing on Māori. There is also the need for preventive programmes to address comorbidities that impact lung cancer outcomes as well as a continued emphasis on creating a smoke-free New Zealand.