Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Jan 2021
Multicenter StudyCOVID-19 in Australia: Our national response to the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection during the early biocontainment phase.
On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization recognised clusters of pneumonia-like cases due to a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 became a pandemic 71 days later. ⋯ This is a historical record of the first COVID-19 cases in Australia during the early biocontainment phase of the national response. These findings were invaluable for establishing early inpatient and outpatient COVID-19 models of care and informing the management of COVID-19 over time as the outbreak evolved. Future research should extend this Australian case series to examine global epidemiological variation of this novel infection.
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Internal medicine journal · Sep 2020
Multicenter StudyTocilizumab therapy in rheumatoid arthritis with interstitial lung disease: a multicentre retrospective study.
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the most severe extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although it is responsible of 10-20% of all RA mortality, no controlled studies are available for the treatment of RA-ILD and its therapeutic approach is still debated. ⋯ The management of RA-ILD patients remains a critical unmet need. TCZ demonstrated a good safety profile in patients with RA-ILD and a potential effect on the stabilisation of lung involvement.
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Internal medicine journal · Feb 2020
Multicenter Study Observational StudyPost-stroke sleep disturbances and rehabilitation outcomes: a prospective cohort study.
Poor sleep is common after stroke, and data regarding its effect on rehabilitation outcomes are limited. Controversial evidence was found concerning the effect of sedatives on improving sleep quality in poor sleepers after stroke. ⋯ This research supported that poor sleep was frequent after stroke and had negative effects on rehabilitation outcomes. Use of sedatives was of limited benefit to improve sleep quality, and further studies are required to search for strategies to improve sleep problems after stroke.
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Internal medicine journal · Feb 2020
Multicenter StudyUtilisation of systemic therapy options in routine treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer in Australia.
In the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), exposure to all three active cytotoxic agents, 5-fluorouracil/capecitabine, irinotecan and oxaliplatin, improves overall survival. The addition of biologic agents (bevacizumab and cetuximab/panitumumab) further improves survival. The uptake of available systemic agents for mCRC in routine practice in Australia is poorly described. ⋯ In this community-based cohort, 33% of patients had not received any systemic therapy for mCRC, and few patients had received all available active systemic agents. As many patients remain alive, these figures will likely increase over time. The overall survival of patients with mCRC in this community-based cohort was 25 months and not dissimilar to that achieved in recent clinical trials.