The American journal of medicine
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The purpose of this study was to describe levels of adherence to guideline-based medical management in patients with aortic aneurysms, using an analogous population with coronary artery disease as a comparator. Adherence among those with aortic aneurysms has never been studied. ⋯ Adherence among those with aortic aneurysms is very low, differs by subtype, and declines with time. Levels of adherence in those with aortic aneurysms is significantly lower compared to those with coronary artery disease. This should prove a reasonable target for implementation initiatives.
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Review Case Reports
Unusual Presentations of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: a Narrative Review.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by an almost 10:1 female predominance, the presence of deleterious nuclear autoantibodies, a tendency for flare, and striking protean manifestations. Early diagnosis is associated with less damage accrual, lower costs, and improved quality of life due to timely treatment. However, early disease may not uncommonly show nonspecific presentation, a single classification criterion, or an unusual organ involvement contributing to frequent, often substantial diagnostic delays. ⋯ These can involve almost every organ and system, and thus, present to physicians in every discipline and setting. Increasing physicians' awareness of the potential of occult SLE to appear in varied, diverse, and unexpected presentations, may encourage the inclusion of SLE in the differential. Informed history and examination focusing on systemic and joint symptoms and mucocutaneous involvement, and basic tests (focusing on leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and proteinuria; followed by antinuclear antibodies and complement levels) will correctly diagnose most patients on presentation or within the following months and enable timely treatment.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The Effect of Creative Arts Therapy on Psychological Distress in Healthcare Professionals.
Work-related psychological distress is common among health care professionals. We determined whether 4 creative arts therapy (CAT) programs were acceptable, feasible, and improved psychological distress and job turnover intention in health care professionals with burnout symptoms. ⋯ A CAT program is feasible, acceptable, and may reduce psychological distress and turnover intention for health care professionals.
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This study aimed to determine whether clinicians are encountering a phenotype of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that is evolving from the disease recognized several years ago. ⋯ These novel observations are counter-intuitive to practitioners (expecting hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to be associated with particularly substantial hypertrophy), and potentially impact disease recognition, while also highlighting emergence of symptomatic obstructive patients with mild septal thickness < 15 mm, requiring modification of the traditional myectomy operation. While a primary change in the phenotypic expression of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy cannot be excluded by our data, these observations most likely reflect evolving referral practice patterns including greater diagnostic suspicion for the disease in the community particularly at advanced ages, and/or with less substantial left ventricular hypertrophy.
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Alcoholic cirrhosis is an advanced form of alcohol-related liver disease. In the United States, between 2010 and 2016, alcohol-related liver disease was the primary cause of nearly 1 in 3 liver transplants, surpassing hepatitis C. ⋯ These alarming trends in mortality from alcoholic cirrhosis in the United States contribute to the formulation of many hypotheses. These require testing in analytic studies designed a priori to do so. Meanwhile, clinical and public health efforts are necessary to curb the epidemics of heavy alcohol consumption and overweight and obesity in the United States that may be contributing to these alarming trends.