Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
Cigarette smoking and risk of adult-onset Still disease: a propensity score matching analysis.
Environmental factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatic diseases. Smoking is thought to be a risk factor for autoimmune rheumatic diseases. ⋯ Smoking probably is not a risk factor for AOSD and did not affect the response to treatment.
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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
Rapid home therapy infusion of velaglucerase alfa in naïve patients with Gaucher disease.
Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) has revolutionised the management of patients with Gaucher disease (GD). In 2018, we published the safety and efficacy of rapid 10-min infusion of velaglucerase alfa in previously treated patients, mostly on low-dose therapy. ⋯ Home therapy with rapid infusion of high-dose velaglucerase alfa was a safe, effective and preferable alternative for patients with GD naïve to treatment. We believe that shortening the infusion time improves the QoL of patients with GD who have a lifelong commitment to intravenous therapy.
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
The management of non-culprit vessel(s) in patients with unstable angina/non-ST elevation myocardial infarction and chronic kidney dysfunction.
The clinical effects of multivessel interventions in patients with unstable angina/non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (UA/NSTEMI), multivessel disease (MVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) remain uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the safety and effectiveness of intervention in non-culprit lession(s) among this cohort. ⋯ Among patients with UA/NSTEMI and non-diabetic CKD and an eGFR > 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 , MV-PCI was associated with a reduced risk of long-term death but did not increase the incidence of CIN during the management of MVD compared to CV-PCI. And staged procedures might be a preferable option over single-procedure MV-PCI.
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
Advanced-scope pharmacist roles in medical outpatient clinics: a cost-consequence analysis.
There is a growing body of evidence that supports the clinical effectiveness of pharmacist roles in outpatient settings. However, limited studies have investigated the economic efficiency of advanced-scope outpatient pharmacist roles, particularly in the Australian setting. Assessing the overall costs and benefits of these outpatient pharmacist roles is needed to ensure service sustainability. ⋯ The addition of pharmacist roles to outpatient clinics can increase the cost of services; however, they also can increase medication optimisation activities. Future research should examine a societal perspective that includes broader cost and effectiveness outcomes. This study could justify the implementation of advanced-scope outpatient pharmacist roles in other Australian hospitals.