The American journal of medicine
-
Recent studies suggest that there is an increase in cardiovascular disease after pneumonia; however, there is little information on cardiac arrhythmias after pneumonia. The aims of this study were to assess the incidence of, and examine risk factors for, cardiac arrhythmias after hospitalization for pneumonia. ⋯ An important number of patients have new cardiac arrhythmia during and after hospitalization for pneumonia. Additional research is needed to determine whether use of cardioprotective medications will improve outcomes for patients hospitalized with pneumonia. At-risk patients hospitalized with pneumonia should be monitored for cardiac arrhythmias during the hospitalization.
-
Endocarditis may be a marker for bacteremia-associated occult cancer. Intensive antibiotic treatment in endocarditis is suggested to reduce long-term cancer risk. We examined these hypotheses in a nationwide cohort study. ⋯ Endocarditis is a substantial clinical marker for presence of occult cancer. We found no evidence of decreased long-term cancer risk after antibiotic treatment for endocarditis.
-
Letter Case Reports
Chronic appendicitis: an often forgotten cause of recurrent abdominal pain.
-
Comparative Study
Respiratory impairment in older persons: when less means more.
Among older persons, within the clinical context of respiratory symptoms and mobility, evidence suggests that improvements are warranted regarding the current approach for identifying respiratory impairment (ie, a reduction in pulmonary function). ⋯ Among older persons, the LMS approach (vs the GOLD approach) classifies respiratory impairment less frequently in those who are asymptomatic and is more strongly associated with mobility disability.
-
In the United States, young and middle-aged black men have significantly higher total mortality than any other racial or ethnic group. We describe the characteristics of US counties with low non-Hispanic Black or African American male mortality (ages 25-64 years, 1999-2007). ⋯ These descriptive data demonstrate a small number of communities with low mortality rates among young and middle-aged black/African American men. Their characteristics may provide clinical and public health insights to reduce these higher mortality rates in the US population. Analytic epidemiologic studies are necessary to test these hypotheses.