J Natl Med Assoc
-
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a worldwide reorganization of healthcare systems focusing on limiting the spread of the virus. The impact of these measures on heart failure (HF) admissions is scarcely reported in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) including Suriname. We therefore assessed HF hospitalizations before and during the pandemic and call for action to improve healthcare access in Suriname through the development and implementation of telehealth strategies. ⋯ HF admissions were reduced during the pandemic while HF readmissions increased compared to the pre-pandemic period. Due to in-person consultation restrictions, the HF clinic was inactive during the pandemic period. Distance monitoring of HF patients via telehealth tools could help in reducing these adverse effects. This call for action identifies key elements (digital and health literacy, telehealth legislation, integration of telehealth tools within the current healthcare sector) needed for the successful development and implementation of these tools in LMICs.
-
Case Reports
Disseminated Streptococcus gallinaceus infection. A new breed of zoonotic Streptococcus.
Streptococcus gallinaceus is a new species of Streptococcus that was first isolated in 2004 in chickens. Infections in humans are associated with chicken exposure. There are very few case reports of human infections with this organism and none with disseminated infection. ⋯ He subsequently underwent anaortic valve repair. Pathology confirmed acute endocarditis with associated vegetations and granulation tissues. He was successfully treated with a six-week course of ceftriaxone.
-
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States. Despite a substantial decline in lung cancer incidence and mortality across all races in the last few decades, medically underserved racial and ethnic minority populations continue to carry the greatest burden of disease throughout the lung cancer continuum. ⋯ The reasons for those disparities are multifactorial and include socioeconomic (eg, poverty, lack of health insurance, and inadequate education), and geographic inequalities. The objective of this article is to review the sources of racial and ethnic disparities in lung cancer, and to propose recommendations to help address them.