The American journal of medicine
-
Practice Guideline
North American Thrombosis Forum, AF Action Initiative Consensus Document.
The North American Thrombosis Forum Atrial Fibrillation Action Initiative consensus document is a comprehensive yet practical briefing document focusing on stroke and bleeding risk assessment in patients with atrial fibrillation, as well as recommendations regarding anticoagulation options and management. Despite the breadth of clinical trial data and guideline recommendation updates, many clinicians continue to struggle to synthesize the disparate information available. This problem slows the uptake and utilization of updated risk prediction tools and adoption of new oral anticoagulants. This document serves as a practical and educational reference for the entire medical community involved in the care of patients with atrial fibrillation.
-
The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion is the most common cause of hyponatremia in clinical practice, but current management of hyponatremia and outcomes in patients with syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion are not well understood. The objective of the Hyponatremia Registry was to assess the current state of management of hyponatremia due to syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion in diverse hospital settings, specifically which diagnostic and treatment modalities are currently used and how rapidly and reliably they result in an increase in serum sodium concentration ([Na(+)]). A secondary objective was to determine whether treatment choices and outcomes differ across the United States and the European Union. ⋯ Current treatment of hyponatremia in syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion often uses therapies with limited efficacy; the most commonly chosen monotherapy treatments, fluid restriction and isotonic saline, failed to increase the serum [Na(+)] by ≥5 mEq/L in 55% and 64% of monotherapy treatment episodes, respectively. Appropriate laboratory tests to diagnose syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion were obtained in <50% of patients; success rates in correcting hyponatremia were significantly higher when such tests were obtained. Few outcome differences were found between the United States and the European Union. A notable exception was hospital length of stay; use of tolvaptan was associated with significantly shorter length of stay in the European Union but not in the United States. Despite the availability of effective therapies, most patients with syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion were discharged from the hospital still hyponatremic.
-
Infective endocarditis is a serious infection, often resulting from injection drug use. Inpatient treatment regularly focuses on management of infection without attention to the underlying addiction. We aimed to determine the addiction interventions done in patients hospitalized with injection drug use-associated infective endocarditis. ⋯ We found that patients hospitalized with injection drug use-associated infective endocarditis had high rates of readmission, recurrent infective endocarditis and death. Despite this, addiction interventions were suboptimal. Improved addiction interventions are imperative in the treatment of injection drug use-associated infective endocarditis.
-
Clinical Trial
Assessing the Caprini Score for Risk Assessment of Venous Thromboembolism in Hospitalized Medical Patients.
The optimal approach to assess risk of venous thromboembolism in hospitalized medical patients is unknown. We examined how well the Caprini risk assessment model predicts venous thromboembolism in hospitalized medical patients. ⋯ Although a linear association between the Caprini risk assessment model and the risk of venous thromboembolism was noted, an extremely low incidence of venous thromboembolism events in non-intensive care unit medical patients was observed. The Caprini risk assessment model was unable to identify a subset of medical patients who benefit from pharmacologic prophylaxis.