The American journal of medicine
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Review Case Reports
Oxalate nephropathy due to 'juicing': case report and review.
A patient presented with oxalate-induced acute renal failure that was attributable to consumption of oxalate-rich fruit and vegetable juices obtained from juicing. We describe the case and also review the clinical presentation of 65 patients seen at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) from 1985 through 2010 with renal failure and biopsy-proven renal calcium oxalate crystals. The cause of renal oxalosis was identified for all patients: a single cause for 36 patients and at least 2 causes for 29 patients. ⋯ Identification of calcium oxalate crystals in a kidney biopsy should prompt an evaluation for causes of renal oxalosis, including a detailed dietary history. Clinicians should be aware that an oxalate-rich diet may potentially precipitate acute renal failure in patients with chronic kidney disease. Juicing followed by heavy consumption of oxalate-rich juices appears to be a potential cause of oxalate nephropathy and acute renal failure.
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Multicenter Study
Early diagnosis of myocardial infarction using absolute and relative changes in cardiac troponin concentrations.
Absolute changes in high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) seem to have higher diagnostic accuracy in the early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction compared with relative changes. It is unknown whether the same applies to high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) assays and whether the combination of absolute and relative change might further increase accuracy. ⋯ Absolute changes seem to be the preferred metrics for both hs-cTnT and hs-cTnI in the early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. The combination of absolute and relative changes provides a small added value for hs-cTnT, but not for hs-cTnI.
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There are limited data informing the optimal treatment strategy for acute myocardial infarction in the oldest old (aged ≥85 years). The study aim was to examine whether decade-long increases in guideline-based cardiac medication use mediate declines in post-discharge mortality among oldest old patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction. ⋯ Between 1997 and 2007, 90-day survival improved among a population-based sample of patients aged ≥85 years hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction. This encouraging trend was explained by increased use of guideline-based medications.
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Review
Initiating basal insulin therapy in type 2 diabetes: practical steps to optimize glycemic control.
Primary care practitioners are increasingly responsible for the management of the escalating numbers of patients with type 2 diabetes. The majority of these patients will require insulin replacement therapy as their disease progresses, because glycemic control is often unsustainable using oral antidiabetic drugs. ⋯ The importance of patient education in overcoming barriers to insulin is discussed, as well as the choice of available basal insulins and the necessity to optimize basal insulin dosage by self-titration. The traditional view of insulin therapy as a last resort is challenged with the modern basal insulin analogues (insulin detemir and insulin glargine), which offer simple and effective glycemic control with a reduced risk of hypoglycemia compared with older insulin formulations such as neutral protamine Hagedorn.