Internal medicine journal
-
Internal medicine journal · May 2023
Impact of a pharmacist led thiopurine monitoring service in outpatients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Thiopurines are effective therapies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); however, treatment comes with safety concerns and adverse effects. Knowledge of the impact of pharmacists performing thiopurine monitoring is limited. ⋯ Pharmacist monitoring of thiopurine therapy initiation in IBD outpatients improves adverse effect monitoring and increases medication persistence.
-
Internal medicine journal · May 2023
Sentinel cluster of locally acquired Japanese encephalitis in southern Australia.
Prior to January 2022, only a single case of infection with Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) had been reported on the Australian mainland, acquired in the northern extremity on Cape York. We report the clinical characteristics of the sentinel cluster of cases that confirmed the local acquisition of JEV in southern Australia along the Murray River bordering New South Wales and Victoria.
-
Internal medicine journal · May 2023
Observational StudySite of care and factors associated with mortality in unvaccinated Australian aged care residents during COVID-19 outbreaks.
Residential InReach presents an alternative to hospital admission for aged care residents swabbed for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), although relative outcomes remain unknown. ⋯ Unvaccinated aged care residents meeting COVID-19 testing criteria seen by InReach during a pandemic experience high mortality rates, including with negative swab result. Residents remaining within-facility (with InReach) experienced similar adjusted mortality odds to residents transferred to hospital for public health/facility-based reasons, and lower than those transferred for clinical acuity.
-
Internal medicine journal · May 2023
The impact of posttraumatic stress disorder on upper gastrointestinal investigations in Australian Defence Force veterans: a retrospective review.
Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly exhibit associated gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. We compared upper GI endoscopy and abdominal ultrasound rates in veterans with and without PTSD. Veterans with PTSD were 77-81% more likely to undergo these procedures than those without PTSD. PTSD symptomatology influences GI investigation rate and more emphasis on clinician and patient education is recommended regarding stress-related gut symptoms.