The American journal of the medical sciences
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The effect of abdominal palpation on bowel sounds is controversial. The authors developed an auscultation apparatus to count bowel sounds and determined whether abdominal palpation modifies the number of bowel sounds in healthy volunteers and gastrointestinal outpatients. ⋯ Using an apparatus devised by medical students, the authors found that abdominal palpation did not modify the number of bowel sounds in healthy volunteers and gastrointestinal outpatients.
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Risk stratification is important for the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The present study aimed to investigate the clinical impact of N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) on prognosis and to identify clinical characteristics associated with NT-proBNP elevation in CAP patients. ⋯ NT-proBNP level was a useful marker for the prediction of 30-day mortality in patients hospitalized with CAP, and provided additional prognostic value to PSI or CURB-65 alone.
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There has been much interest in environmental temperature and race as modulators of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) infection and mortality. However, in the United States race and temperature correlate with various other social determinants of health, comorbidities, and environmental influences that could be responsible for noted effects. This study investigates the independent effects of race and environmental temperature on COVID-19 incidence and mortality in United States counties. ⋯ Higher environmental temperatures correlated with reduced COVID-19 cases, but this benefit does not yet appear in mortality models. Black race was an independent risk factor for increased COVID-19 cases and deaths. Thus, many proposed mechanisms through which Black race might increase risk for COVID-19, such as socioeconomic and healthcare-related predispositions, are inadequate in explaining the full magnitude of this health disparity.
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Infection is postulated as a possible risk factor for ischemic heart disease with a spiralling body of evidence. Hepatitis B is one of the most comprehensively investigated infection for its association with ischemic heart disease. This study aims at establishing an association between Hepatitis B core antibody status and ischemic heart disease using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. ⋯ In conclusion, the present analysis points toward a possible association between past Hepatitis B infection and ischemic heart disease. Hepatitis B infection was associated with a decreased incidence of ischemic heart disease. Further research with better design and possible molecular mechanism is warranted.