Southern medical journal
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Southern medical journal · Jun 2012
Misclassification of pulmonary hypertension in adults with sickle hemoglobinopathies using Doppler echocardiography.
To compare the diagnostic utility of Doppler echocardiography-derived tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity (TRV) ≥ 2.5 m/s to right heart catheterization (RHC) in defining pulmonary hypertension (PH) in adult patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). ⋯ In adults with SCD, a TRV of 2.5 m/s lacks specificity for use as a screening tool in the diagnosis of PH. Using a TRV of ≥ 2.88 m/s allows the TRV to be used as a screening tool and reduces the false-positive rate and need for unnecessary RHC.
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Southern medical journal · Jun 2012
Epidemiology of the reported severity of copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) snakebite.
The goal of this study was to analyze trends in the annual rates of reported medical outcomes of US copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) snakebites published in the annual reports of the American Association of Poison Control Centers in the course of 26 years. ⋯ Annual rates of copperhead snakebites producing no effects and minor outcomes significantly decreased, those producing moderate outcomes significantly increased, and those producing major outcomes did not significantly change in a 26-year period.