The American journal of medicine
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Review Meta Analysis
Aortic Dissection and Aortic Aneurysms Associated with Fluoroquinolones: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Our objective was to evaluate the association between fluoroquinolone use and aortic dissection or aortic aneurysm in a systematic review and meta-analysis. ⋯ Evidence from a small number of studies suggests that exposure to fluoroquinolones is consistently associated with a small but significantly increased risk of aortic dissection and aortic aneurysm.
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Comparative Study
Efficacy and Safety of Apixaban Versus Warfarin in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and a History of Cancer: Insights from the ARISTOTLE Trial.
Cancer is associated with a prothrombotic state and increases the risk of thrombotic events in patients with atrial fibrillation. We described the clinical characteristics and outcomes and assessed the safety and efficacy of apixaban versus warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation and cancer in the Apixaban for Reduction in Stroke and Other Thromboembolic Events in Atrial Fibrillation (ARISTOTLE) trial. ⋯ Cancer was not associated with a higher risk of stroke. The superior efficacy and safety of apixaban versus warfarin were consistent in patients with and without cancer. Our positive findings regarding apixaban use in patients with atrial fibrillation and cancer are exploratory and promising, but warrant further evaluation.
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The traditional approach to dizziness encourages providers to emphasize the type of dizziness. However, symptom types might substantially overlap in individual patients, thus limiting the clinical value of this approach. We aimed to describe the overlap of types of dizziness using a US nationally representative sample. ⋯ Substantial overlap of dizziness types exists among US adults with dizziness. People otherwise having features of traditionally vertigo-based disorders also typically report multiple dizziness types and do not typically report vertigo as the primary type. Symptom types correlate more strongly with each other than with other clinical or demographic variables. These findings suggest that the traditional emphasis on dizziness types is likely of limited clinical utility.
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Rapid clinical decision-making on further management of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest may be challenging. Recently, a "futility" score (NULL-PLEASE) incorporating multiple adverse resuscitation features (Nonshockable rhythm, Unwitnessed arrest, Long no-flow or Long low-flow period, blood PH <7.2, Lactate >7.0 mmol/L, End-stage chronic kidney disease on dialysis, Age ≥85 years, Still resuscitation, and Extracardiac cause) has been proposed to help identify patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest unlikely to survive; however, external independent score validation is lacking. ⋯ The NULL-PLEASE score was predictive for early in-hospital outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, with a 3.3-fold greater odds for fatal outcome at the score values of ≥5.