Postgraduate medicine
-
Postgraduate medicine · Mar 2020
The influence of value reference point and risk preference on adherence in hypertensive patients in a low-income area of China.
Aims: Prevention and control of hypertension can be achieved by improving patient adherence to long-term treatment regimens. Non-adherence is an obstacle to chronic disease management. We studied the impact of value reference point and risk preference on patient adherence and influencing factors from the perspective of behavioral economics so as to offer targeted recommendations to improving patient adherence in low-income areas. ⋯ Satisfaction with current services and relationship with physicians, as well as type of drugs also influenced adherence. Conclusions: Adherence may be improved by changing patients' value reference points and perceptions through health education and better health service resources. One of the key to increasing adherence is through identifying and eliminating bias.
-
Postgraduate medicine · Mar 2020
The effect of genotype on musculoskeletal complaints in patients with familial Mediterranean fever.
Objectives: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease, characterized by recurrent, self limited attacks of fever with serositis. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency of musculoskeletal complaints in children with FMF and to investigate the effect of genotype on these findings. Methods: Files of patients who had been seen in our department (during routine follow-up visits) were retrospectively evaluated. ⋯ Among patients with heterozygous mutations; children with M694V mutation had more frequently arthralgia, leg, and heel pain (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Musculoskeletal problems were commonly encountered in patients with FMF. Genotype seems to affect the frequency of these problems and M694V mutation is a predisposing factor for musculoskeletal complaints.
-
Postgraduate medicine · Mar 2020
Influence of relative wall thickness on electrocardiographic voltage measures in left ventricular hypertrophy: a novel factor contributing to poor diagnostic accuracy.
Objective: To characterize the influence of relative wall thickness (RWT) on Cornell, Sokolow-Lyon and Peguero-Lo Presti voltages and elucidate its potential impacts on their diagnostic accuracy for LVH in a large general Chinese population. Methods: A total of 10,614 permanent residents aged ≥ 35 years were recruited for this study. All the participants were subjected to ECG and echocardiogram during the same visit. ⋯ Besides, subjects with RWT > 0.42 exhibited higher rates of LVH diagnosed by Cornell (OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.45-2.20), Sokolow-Lyon (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.08-1.56), and Peguero-Lo Presti voltage (OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.29-1.70) after adjustments for age, gender and echocardiographic LVH. Furthermore, concentric remodeling or concentric hypertrophy displayed higher rates of LVH diagnoses via Cornell and Peguero-Lo Presti voltage criteria, as compared with normal geometry or eccentric hypertrophy, respectively (all Ps < 0.05), findings of which were independent of age, gender and LVMI. Conclusion: Echocardiographic RWT was independently correlated with electrocardiographic voltage measures of LVH, which influenced their positive rates and contributed to poor diagnostic performance.
-
Postgraduate medicine · Mar 2020
Within subject variability of HDL-cholesterol in HIV-infected patients.
Background and objective: Within-subject variability of cardiovascular risk factors may influence the development of cardiovascular disease. We aimed to improve knowledge on HDL-cholesterol variability and its clinical significance in HIV-infected patients, a population at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Methods: This was a cohort study to quantify the variability of HDL-cholesterol between two consecutive visits and to determine factors associated with such variability, in a group of HIV-infected patients. ⋯ In a multivariable analysis the number of cigarettes smoked per day showed a significant, negative, correlation with the absolute difference in serum HDL-cholesterol level between the two visits (P = 0,009). Conclusions: Within-subject variability of HDL-cholesterol was substantial among our HIV-infected patients. Smoking was inversely correlated with such variability.
-
Postgraduate medicine · Mar 2020
Cardiologists' and cardiovascular surgeons' attitudes toward managing endodontic infections and oral health in patients with cardiovascular diseases.
Objective: A relationship between dentists and medical doctors should be encouraged to reduce cardiovascular risk in cardiac patients with dental infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons (cardiac specialists) toward managing endodontic infections and oral health in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Methods: A survey of 16 questions assessing knowledge of endodontic infection, dental examination, timing of endodontic treatment, and antibiotic prophylaxis was sent to cardiac specialists in Turkey. ⋯ Cardiac patients were referred to a dentist by 66.6% of the cardiologists and 80.3% of the cardiovascular surgeons (p = 0.002). Almost all participants (97.3%) believed that the heart health of cardiac patients with endodontic infections could be negatively affected by this infection. Conclusion: Although there is not yet any conclusive evidence on whether the presence of an endodontic infection may have an impact on CVDs, this study showed that most cardiac specialists attached importance to endodontic infections.