Internal and emergency medicine
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This study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of heart, lung and inferior vena cava (IVC) ultrasonography modalities, alone and combined, for possible added accuracy in diagnosing acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), in a group of patients with the final diagnosis of ADHF based on plasma level of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) as the standard. The present study is a diagnostic accuracy study, which was carried out in the emergency department of Imam Khomeini hospital, affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences, in 2014-2015. All patients over 18 years old, who were referred to emergency department with complaint of acute dyspnea were regarded as eligible and no exclusion criteria were considered. ⋯ The combination of LVEF and IVC collapsibility index (IVC-CI), LVEF and BLC, IVC-CI and BLC, and IVC-CI and BBPC had a higher specificity rate and combination of LVEF and BBPC and BLC and BBPC had the highest sensitivity. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of all three ultrasounds combined were 31.6%, 98.4%, 94.7% and 61.4%, respectively. In this study, the diagnostic accuracy of double and triple ultrasonography of heart, lung and IVC in the diagnosis of ADHF was very high, among which triple ultrasonography was more preferable.
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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic disease with unknown etiology and poor prognosis. Little is known about the epidemiology of this disease; most of the studies are limited by small and restricted cohort studies. We aim to investigate the epidemiology of IPF in the Italian primary care setting using the Health Search Database (HSD) between January 2002 and June 2017. ⋯ The analyses on candidate determinants showed that patients aged 61 years or older, those suffering from GERD, and former smokers were statistically significantly at greater risk of incurring IPF. To our knowledge, this is one of the first European IPF epidemiological studies conducted in primary care. The increase of the incidence rates is likely due to a growing awareness for IPF among General Practitioners, while the increase of prevalence rates may be due to an increase of survival, a result of recent advances in the diagnosis, management and therapies for the disease.
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The adverse consequence of low medication literacy is a major problem that threatens patients' health. The number of people with hypertension is increasing in China. We described the current situation of medication literacy of patients with hypertension in China and its related influencing factor. ⋯ In addition, our study also demonstrates that we can identify the medication literacy level of hypertensive patients using the Chinese version Medication Literacy Scale for Hypertensive Patients. High medication literacy is an important factor for hypertensive patients to improve medication adherence, so as to better control blood pressure. We should pay attention to the improvement of medication literacy and take corresponding measures.
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Review Historical Article
Point of care ultrasonography from the emergency department to the internal medicine ward: current trends and perspectives.
The advent of portable devices in the early 80s has brought ultrasonography to the patient's bedside. Currently referred to as 'point of care ultrasonography' (POCUS), it has become an essential tool for clinicians. Initially developed in the emergency and critical care settings, POCUS has gained increasing importance in internal medicine wards in the last decade, with both its growing diagnostic accuracy and portability making POCUS an optimal instrument for everyday clinical assessment and procedures. ⋯ Since POCUS is highly user-dependent, pre- and post-graduate curricula are needed and the range of use should be clearly defined. This review focuses on trends and perspectives of POCUS in the management of diseases frequently encountered in emergency and internal medicine. In addition, questions are raised regarding the teaching and supervision of POCUS needing to be addressed in the near future.