The American journal of medicine
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Circulating lipids have been implicated as important modulators of immune response, and altered lipid levels correlate with the severity of infection. However, long-term prognostic implications of lipid levels regarding future infection risk remain unclear. The current project aims to explore whether baseline lipid levels are associated with risk of future serious infection, measured by hospitalization for pneumonia. ⋯ Lower baseline HDL-C and higher triglyceride levels were strongly associated with increased risk of long-term pneumonia hospitalization in a large longitudinal US cohort.
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Observational Study
The diagnoses and outcomes of emergency patients with an elevated D-dimer over the next 90 days.
It is not known what diagnoses are associated with an elevated D-dimer in unselected patients attending emergency departments (ED), nor have their associated outcomes been determined. ⋯ In this study, nearly half of all patients attending the ED had an elevated D-dimer level, and these patients were more likely to be admitted to hospital and to re-present to health services or die within 90 days. In this unselected ED patient population, elevated D-dimer levels were found to not only be significantly associated with venous thromboembolism, but to also be associated with infection, cancer, heart failure, and anemia.