The American journal of medicine
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Review
Update in Outpatient General Internal Medicine: Practice-Changing Evidence Published in 2015.
Identifying new practice-changing articles is challenging. To determine the 2015 practice-changing articles most relevant to outpatient general internal medicine, 3 internists independently reviewed the titles and abstracts of original articles, synopses of single studies and syntheses, and databases of syntheses. For original articles, internal medicine journals with the 7 highest impact factors were reviewed: New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), British Medical Journal, Public Library of Science Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, and JAMA Internal Medicine. ⋯ Criteria for inclusion were as follows: clinical relevance, potential for practice change, and strength of evidence. Clusters of important articles around one topic were considered as a single-candidate series. The 5 authors used a modified Delphi method to reach consensus on inclusion of 7 topics for in-depth appraisal.
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Although bicuspid aortic valve is the most common congenital abnormality, it is perhaps erroneous to consider this disease one clinical entity. Rather, it may be useful to consider it a cluster of diseases incorporating different phenotypes, etiologies, and pathogenesis. Discussion of bicuspid aortic valve can be difficult because there is no clear consensus on a phenotypic description among authors, and many classification schemes have been proposed. ⋯ In addition, recent studies suggest a genetic basis for the disease, yet few genes have so far been described. Furthermore, recent scientific literature has been focusing on the increased risk of aortic aneurysms, but the pathogenesis of bicuspid aortic valve aortopathy is still unclear. The aim of this paper is to review the current evidence about the unsolved issues around bicuspid aortic valve.
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Breast cancer is an uncommon disease in men. As a result, the diagnosis may not initially be considered. Understanding the common benign and malignant entities affecting the male breast is critical for timely and accurate diagnosis in the primary care setting. ⋯ Imaging of the male breast generally relies on mammography and ultrasound, with mammography employed as the initial imaging modality of choice and ultrasound when a mass is detected or suspected. Here we describe the normal male breast anatomy and present an evaluation algorithm for the male patient with breast signs or symptoms. The most common benign and malignant entities are described.
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Venous thromboembolism is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, and comprehensive studies profiling the epidemiology and pattern of health services use are needed. In this study we provide contemporary estimates of venous thromboembolism incidence and case fatality over the past decade. ⋯ The incidence of acute venous thromboembolism remained unchanged over a 10-year period. However, the case fatality of venous thromboembolism is substantial.
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The diagnosis of pulmonary embolism in the Emergency Room setting is challenging. Multiple patients have to undergo radiologic assessment with its inherent shortcomings. The D-dimer test with accepted cutoff level of 500 μg/L is associated with a high proportion of false-positive results. The present study aimed to validate the advantages of using an age-adjusted D-dimer cutoff level, compared with 500-μg/L value in the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism. ⋯ An age-adjusted D-dimer cutoff level may be safely used to exclude pulmonary embolism in patients with a low or intermediate probability for acute pulmonary embolism, alleviating the need to perform unnecessary imaging evaluations.