The American journal of medicine
-
This communication, based on a review of the relevant literature on ratios deriving from blood pressure and heart rate measurements, and their conformance/nonconformance to the mathematical golden rule (ie, 1.681), proposes that such ratios, particularly emanating from large numbers of home blood pressure and heart rate measurements obtained by the patients themselves or their caretakers, may constitute new risk markers, useful in the assessment of health and cardiovascular pathologies, prognosis of morbidity and mortality, and implementation to clinical practice and research.
-
Gaining familiarity with bedside procedures during medical school is essential for preparing medical students for intern year. However, this is often not a core component of undergraduate medical education, and students often feel unprepared to perform bedside procedures upon graduation from medical school. Extended reality technologies have rapidly developed in the past few years, become more accessible, and show great promise in education, most recently in healthcare. We aim to show the feasibility and usability of a mixed-reality lumbar puncture simulated experience. ⋯ We demonstrate that mixed reality is an acceptable and effective modality to train health care professionals in lumbar punctures with opportunities to further enhance the immersive learning experience.
-
With the aging of the population and the increase in chronic diseases, there is an inherent risk of polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and incidence of potentially inappropriate medication use and its correlation with polypharmacy. ⋯ An increased emphasis is needed to review and reevaluate the appropriateness of medication use among the older population in internal medicine.
-
We sought to evaluate the associations of chest pain and dyspnea with the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease including coronary disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke. ⋯ In individuals without cardiovascular disease, chest pain and dyspnea were independently associated with incident cardiovascular disease for about 3 decades, suggesting the need for evaluating chest pain from a broader perspective of cardiovascular disease beyond coronary disease and the importance of dyspnea for cardiovascular risk assessment including myocardial infarction.