European journal of internal medicine
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Apr 2020
Long-term efficacy of maintenance therapy with Rituximab for IgG4-related disease.
IgG4-Related Disease (IgG4-RD) promptly responds to glucocorticoids but relapses in most patients. Rituximab (RTX) represents a promising strategy to avoid IgG4-RD flares but its administration for maintaining disease remission has never been assessed in terms of optimal timing of infusion, dosage, and duration of treatment. In the present study we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of RTX for maintenance of IgG4-RD remission. ⋯ Administration of RTX every 6 months as maintenance of remission therapy prevents IgG4-RD flares.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Apr 2020
One-year clinical events and management of patients with atrial fibrillation hospitalized in cardiology centers: Data from the BLITZ-AF study.
The management of atrial fibrillation (AF) has changed with the introduction of direct anticoagulants (DOACs) and new techniques such as catheter ablation. An update collection of data from "real world" AF patients followed by cardiologists is useful to obtain information on both management, outcomes and guideline adherence in clinical practice. ⋯ The follow-up of the BLITZ-AF study provide an up to date picture of the clinical course of patients with AF, who appear frequently affected by heart failure and severe comorbidities which might have led to the high mortality rate.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Apr 2020
Long term clinical outcomes in survivors after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Information regarding long-term outcomes in patients surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is scarce. Our aim was to study the long-term clinical outcomes of a large cohort of OHCA patients surviving until hospital discharge and to identify predictors of mortality and cardiovascular events. ⋯ Even though few patients experience recurrent cardiac arrest events, survivors after OHCA face high morbidity and mortality during long-term follow-up. Therefore, they may benefit from multidisciplinary teams providing an integral management and ensuring continuity of care.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Apr 2020
Impact of left ventricular dysfunction and fluid balance on the outcomes of patients with sepsis.
Left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is a predictor of mortality in patients with sepsis. However, whether the adverse impact of LV dysfunction depends on fluid balance remains unclear. We retrospectively investigated the impact of LV dysfunction and fluid balance on various outcomes of patients with sepsis. ⋯ LV dysfunction has an adverse impact on renal outcomes and mortality in patients with sepsis and seems to be independent of fluid balance. Additional therapeutic options to restore organ perfusion are needed for patients with sepsis who have LV dysfunction, in addition to intravenous fluid restriction.