Journal of internal medicine
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Multicenter Study
CRB-65 predicts death from community-acquired pneumonia.
The study was performed to validate the CURB, CRB and CRB-65 scores for the prediction of death from community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in both the hospital and out-patient setting. ⋯ Both the CURB and CRB-65 scores can be used in the hospital and out-patients setting to assess pneumonia severity and the risk of death. Given that the CRB-65 is easier to handle, we favour the use of CRB-65 where blood urea nitrogen is unavailable.
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Multicenter Study
Bystander mouth-to-mouth ventilation and regurgitation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
To determine whether there is an association between bystander mouth-to-mouth ventilation and regurgitation in prehospital cardiac arrest patients. ⋯ The mode and role of bystander CPR in cardiac arrest needs to be further evaluated.
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Combined calcium and vitamin D supplementation is an essential component of the management of osteoporosis, supported by a strong scientific rationale. The types of individuals who should receive calcium and vitamin D supplements are those: (i) patients with documented osteoporosis receiving antiresorptive or anabolic treatment; (ii) patients receiving glucocorticoids; and (iii) individuals with or at high risk of calcium and/or vitamin D insufficiencies, in particular older women and men. ⋯ Benefits are most apparent when 800 IU day(-1) vitamin D is complemented with a dose of 1000-1200 mg day(-1) elemental calcium. Compliance is also key to optimizing clinical efficacy.
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The endothelial glycocalyx exerts a wide array of vasculoprotective effects via inhibition of coagulation and leucocyte adhesion, by contributing to the vascular permeability barrier and by mediating shear stress-induced NO release. In this review, we will focus on the relationship between fluid shear stress and the endothelial glycocalyx. We will address the hypothesis that modulation of glycocalyx synthesis by fluid shear stress may contribute to thinner glycocalyces, and therefore more vulnerable endothelium, at lesion-prone sites of arterial bifurcations. Finally, we will discuss the effects of known atherogenic stimuli such as hyperglycaemia on whole body glycocalyx volume in humans and its effect on endothelial function.
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Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a herpes virus that infects and is carried by 70-100% of the world's population. During its evolution, this virus has developed mechanisms that allow it to survive in an immunocompetent host. For many years, HCMV was not considered to be a major human pathogen, as it appeared to cause only rare cases of HCMV inclusion disease in neonates. ⋯ Numerous products of the HCMV genome are devoted to control central functions of the innate and adaptive immune responses. By influencing the regulation of various cellular processes including the cell cycle, apoptosis and migration as well as tumour invasiveness and angiogenesis, HCMV may participate in disease development. Thus, the various drugs now available for treatment of HCMV disease (e.g. ganciclovir, acyclovir and foscarnet), may also prove to be useful in the treatment of other, more widespread diseases.