European journal of internal medicine
-
Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Feb 2022
Randomized Controlled TrialNeutrophil count, lymphocyte count and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in relation to response to adjunctive dexamethasone treatment in community-acquired pneumonia.
It is hypothesised that community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients with more severe disease or inflammation might benefit more from adjunctive corticosteroid treatment. Neutrophil count, lymphocyte count and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) have been associated with inflammation and disease severity in CAP. We investigated the interaction between these parameters and adjunctive dexamethasone effects on clinical outcomes in CAP. ⋯ WBC count and/or neutrophil might be easily available biomarkers to guide selection of CAP patients who are more likely to benefit from adjunctive dexamethasone treatment. Future prospective trials are needed to confirm this predictive potential.
-
Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Feb 2022
Multicenter StudyEstimated 10-year cardiovascular risk in a large Italian cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients: Data from the Cardiovascular Obesity and Rheumatic DISease (CORDIS) Study Group.
Several cardiovascular (CV) risk algorithms are available to predict CV events in the general population. However, their performance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) might differ from the general population. This cross-sectional multicentre study aimed to estimate the 10-year CV risk using two different algorithms in a large RA cohort and in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). ⋯ RA patients have a significantly higher 10-year risk of CV events than OA subjects. In addition to effective disease control and joint damage prevention, specific protective measures targeting modifiable traditional CV risk factors should be implemented in RA.