The American journal of the medical sciences
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Editorial Biography Historical Article
The Underappreciated Doctors of The American Civil Rights Movement. Part I: Theodore Roosevelt Mason Howard, MD.
During the fight to end segregation in the United States, most of the 25 or so black physicians who had not already left Mississippi took risks to become active in civil rights locally and nationally. One of the first was T. R. ⋯ His reports of these events and collaborations with other civil rights icons helped trigger the modern civil rights movement. At the same time, he became a nationally known proponent of abortion rights and then fled to Chicago in 1956, after arming his Delta mansion with long guns and a Thompson machine gun. Howard will be remembered for many things, including his activism for the social determinants of health as president of the National Medical Association.
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Review
Effective Self-Management Interventions for Patients With Lupus: Potential Impact of Peer Mentoring.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with significant mortality, morbidity and cost for the individual patient and society. In the United States, African Americans (AAs) have 3-4 times greater prevalence of lupus, risk of developing lupus at an earlier age and lupus-related disease activity, organ damage and mortality compared with whites. Evidence-based self-management interventions that incorporate both social support and health education have reduced pain, improved function and delayed disability among patients with lupus. ⋯ This article presents the argument that peer mentoring may be an especially effective intervention approach for AA women with SLE. SLE peers with a track record of success in lupus management and have a personal perspective that clinicians often lack. This commonality and credibility can establish trust, increase communication and, in turn, decrease disparities in healthcare outcomes.
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We evaluated the role of presepsin (soluble CD14 subtype, sCD14-ST) in predicting the outcome of critically ill septic patients in parallel with procalcitonin and C-reactive protein. ⋯ Presepsin revealed an optimal prognostic performance in patients with severe sepsis and provided interesting diagnostic value. Prediction of outcome in critically ill patients is crucial to optimize management decisions and level of treatment.
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Letter Case Reports
Dextrocardia With Situs Inversus and Levo-Transposition of Great Vessels.