Mayo Clinic proceedings
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Approximately one-quarter to one-third of patients with ischemic stroke have an embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS). An estimated 5% to 10% of patients with ESUS have an active cancer diagnosis. Presence of cancer potentially increases the risk of acute ischemic stroke through various mechanisms such as cancer-related hypercoagulability, intracranial tumors leading to an arterial compression, or intracardiac tumors leading to cardioembolism. ⋯ Cancer screening in acute ischemic stroke patients can be considered when no other etiology for stroke can be established and clinical history such as tobacco use, unexplained constitutional symptoms such as fever or night sweats, or unexplained weight loss suggests an underlying malignancy. Selection of antithrombotics for secondary stroke prevention remains controversial as clinical trial data for use of antiplatelet therapy vs anticoagulation in ESUS and cancer patients is limited. Future clinical trials should specifically focus on patients with ischemic stroke related to malignancy are needed to guide appropriate therapeutic agent selection.
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Mayo Clinic proceedings · Nov 2022
Submaximal Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor and Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Dosing Among Persons With Proteinuria.
For persons with proteinuria, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEis) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are treatment mainstays for reducing kidney disease progression. Guidelines for managing hypertension and chronic kidney disease recommend titrating to the maximum ACEi/ARB dose tolerated. Using deidentified national electronic health record data from the Optum Labs Data Warehouse, we examined ACEi/ARB dosing among adults with proteinuria-defined as either a urine albumin to creatinine ratio of 30 mg/g or greater or a protein to creatinine ratio of 150 mg/g or greater-who were prescribed an ACEi/ARB medication between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018. ⋯ In adjusted analyses, age less than 40 years, female sex, Hispanic ethnicity, lower urine albumin to creatinine ratio, lack of diabetes, heart failure, lower blood pressure, higher serum potassium level, and prior acute kidney injury were associated with lower odds of maximal ACEi/ARB dosing. Having a prior nephrologist visit was not associated with maximal dosing. Our results suggest that greater attention toward optimizing the dose of ACEi/ARB therapy may represent an opportunity to improve chronic kidney disease care and reduce excess morbidity and mortality associated with disease progression.