European journal of internal medicine
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jul 2024
Observational StudySerum potassium abnormalities, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor discontinuation, and clinical outcomes in patients with chronic cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal conditions: A population-based analysis.
Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASIs) play a crucial role in the treatment of several chronic cardiovascular conditions. Nonetheless, hyperkalemia, a frequent side effect, often leads to the discontinuation of RAASIs. The implications of hyperkalemia-driven changes in RAASI medications are poorly understood. ⋯ In this large, observational study, hyperkalemia was linked to a greater likelihood of discontinuing RAASIs. Down-titration of RAASI was independently associated with unfavorable clinical outcomes such as hospitalization and specially mortality. Although the observational nature of the study, these findings underscore the importance of preventing circumstances that may lead to RAASI down-titration, such as hyperkalemia, as well as preventing hospitalizations and mortality, to ensure RAASI benefits.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jul 2024
Early and accurate diagnosis of steatotic liver by artificial intelligence (AI)-supported ultrasonography.
Steatotic liver disease is the most frequent chronic liver disease worldwide. Ultrasonography (US) is commonly employed for the assessment and diagnosis. Few information is available on the possible use of artificial intelligence (AI) to ameliorate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography. ⋯ The use of AI improves accuracy and speed of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of liver steatosis. Further studies should evaluate the routine use of this technique in the management of liver steatosis at high cardio-metabolic risk.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jul 2024
Sex-based differences in the comprehensive geriatric assessment in elderly hospitalized patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) represents the most common supraventricular arrhythmia, with a prevalence of 1-3 % in the world population. Growing evidences show that AF plays an important role as a risk factor for the development of cognitive impairment (CoI) and dementia, depression and functional limitation. The purpose of the study is to evaluate, in a large cohort of elderly hospitalized patients with nonvalvular AF (NVAF) on direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) therapy, the prevalence of CoI, depression, and functional limitation, and to assess the different variables that may be detrimental or protective on the risk of CoI or functional limitation. 1004 elderly patients were enrolled, 384 men and 620 women, with a mean age of 84±7.1 years. ⋯ In addition, the two groups differed in the CHA2DS2VASc score 5.3 ± 1.3 vs 4.2 ± 1.4 pts (p < 0.0001) and HAS-BLED score 2.5 ± 0.7 vs 2.3 ± 0.8 pts (p = 0.009) that were significantly higher in women. Our study revealed that in a cohort of elderly patients hospitalized with AF taking DOACs, CoI and disability are widely represented, and female sex increases the risk of being affected by CoI by about 3-fold, while improvement of functional limitations reduce this risk by about 15 %. In addition, CoI and depressive symptoms increase the risk of functional impairment about 2-fold and 28 % respectively, while antihypertensive and anti-diabetic therapy reduce this risk.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jul 2024
Letter Case ReportsDiagnosis traps for patients with acquired NLRP3 mutation.