The American journal of medicine
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Acute aortic dissection in blacks: insights from the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection.
Few data exist on race-related differences in acute aortic dissection patients. ⋯ Our study shows differences in type, etiology, and presentation of blacks and whites with acute aortic dissection, yet similar mortality for these cohorts.
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Several common misconceptions can make the clinical diagnosis of subacute pericardial tamponade challenging. Widely known physical findings of pericardial tamponade lack sensitivity and specificity. ⋯ Over-reliance on echocardiography may result in over-utilization of pericardial drainage procedures. Awareness of these misconceptions with an integrative approach to both clinical and imaging data will help clinicians to assess the hemodynamic impact of pericardial effusion and the need for drainage.
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The prognostic implications of preoperative hypernatremia are unknown. We sought to determine whether preoperative hypernatremia is a predictor of 30-day perioperative morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Preoperative hypernatremia is associated with increased perioperative 30-day morbidity and mortality.
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A variety of claims about possible associations between gun ownership rates, mental illness burden, and the risk of firearm-related deaths have been put forward. However, systematic data on this issue among various countries remain scant. Our objective was to assess whether the popular notion "guns make a nation safer" has any merits. ⋯ The number of guns per capita per country was a strong and independent predictor of firearm-related death in a given country, whereas the predictive power of the mental illness burden was of borderline significance in a multivariable model. Regardless of exact cause and effect, however, the current study debunks the widely quoted hypothesis that guns make a nation safer.