Arch Intern Med
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Comment Letter
Can faculty assess resident professionalism with duty hours?
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Sleep apnea occurs frequently among patients with stroke, but it is still unknown whether a diagnosis of sleep apnea is an independent risk factor for mortality. We aimed to investigate whether obstructive or central sleep apnea was related to reduced long-term survival among patients with stroke. ⋯ Patients with stroke and obstructive sleep apnea have an increased risk of early death. Central sleep apnea was not related to early death among the present patients.
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Despite increases in obesity and diabetes mellitus, mortality caused by coronary disease continues to decline. Recent trends in coronary disease prevalence are unknown. ⋯ Declines in coronary disease prevalence overall (during 1981-2004) reinforce arguments that any increased prevalence resulting from improved survival among persons with disease was offset by reductions in disease incidence. Study findings suggest that declines in coronary disease prevalence have ended. The question of whether recent trends are attributable to increasing obesity and diabetes mellitus awaits further investigation.
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Early detection and treatment for interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may ameliorate disease progression. The objective of this study was to identify asymptomatic lung disease and potential therapeutic targets in patients having RA and preclinical ILD (RA-ILD). ⋯ Asymptomatic preclinical ILD, which is detectable by HRCT, may be prevalent and progressive among patients having RA. Cigarette smoking seems to be associated with preclinical ILD in patients having RA, and treatment using methotrexate may be a risk factor for progression of preclinical ILD. Quantification of alveolar proteins indicates that potential pathogenic mechanisms seem to differ in patients having RA-ILD and symptomatic RAPF.
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Hospice provides supportive care to terminally ill patients at the end of life. However, some enrollees leave hospice before death in search of therapies that may prolong survival. Because of a greater preference for life-sustaining therapies at the end of life, African American patients may be more likely than white patients to withdraw from hospice to seek life-prolonging therapies. ⋯ African American patients were more likely than white patients to revoke hospice to pursue life-prolonging therapies. Models of health care that couple curative and palliative therapies may be more attractive to African American patients and more effective at maximizing continuity throughout life-limiting illness.