Isr Med Assoc J
-
Multicenter Study
Performing Duplex within 72 Hours of Transient Ischemic Attack May Decrease Mortality, the Israeli National Program for Quality Indicators experience.
With diagnostic imaging, such as a duplex of the carotid arteries, finding of stenosis and atherosclerotic plaque and consequent end arterectomy may be important for decreasing the danger of developing cerebrovascular accident after transient ischemic attack (TIA). ⋯ A significant decrease in mortality was noted in patients with a new diagnosis of TIA who underwent duplex within 72 hours of diagnosis.
-
Surgical interventions in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), in particular plastic procedures, might cause undesired consequences. Notably, liposuction seems to possess greater risk as adipose tissue has been shown to play an important role in treating wounds and ulcers in patients with SSc. ⋯ She underwent abdominoplasty with liposuction and developed severe skin necrosis of the abdomen following the procedure and at the site of liposuction. The correlation with anticentromere and the role of liposuction in skin necrosis in SSc are presented.
-
Recommendations for a head computed tomography (CT) scan in elderly patients without a loss of consciousness after a traumatic brain injury and without neurological findings on admission and who are not taking oral anticoagulant therapy, are discordant. ⋯ None of our patients with neurological findings required neurosurgery. Careful palpation of the facial bones to identify facial fractures might aid in the decision whether to perform a head CT scan.
-
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a common clinical entity, with a mechanism that appears to involve endothelial dysfunction of the cardiac microcirculation. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) are bone marrow derived cells that are able to differentiate into functional endothelial cells and participate in endothelial surface repair. ⋯ Patients with HFpEF, like HFrEF, have significant reduction in EPC level and function.