Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Dec 2021
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in critically ill patients with COVID-19 in Australia: implications for screening and treatment.
We report four cases of invasive pulmonary aspergillus co-infection in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus terreus were isolated, with early infection onset following ICU admission. ⋯ We propose screening of these high-risk patients with twice-weekly fungal culture from tracheal aspirate and, if feasible, Aspergillus polymerase chain reaction. Diagnosis is challenging and antifungal treatment should be considered in critically ill patients who have new or worsening pulmonary changes on chest imaging and mycological evidence of infection.
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Internal medicine journal · Dec 2021
Acromegaly Might Not Negatively Affect Microvascular Circulation.
Endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis are well known complications of acromegaly. However, current data on microvascular circulation are limited. ⋯ Although the number of capillaries was statistically lower in patients with acromegaly, they were within a normal range and the difference was not clinically significant. Moreover, there was no difference in morphological characteristics between the groups. While endothelial dysfunction is the earliest known marker of the atherosclerotic process and is considered to be one of the complications of acromegaly, the disease may not result in impairment of microvasculature of those people afflicted by it.
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Internal medicine journal · Nov 2021
'Anxiety is still ongoing!' Evaluation of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety severity of physicians working in the internal medicine department after 1 year: a collaborative cross-sectional study.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased anxiety in society and particularly in healthcare workers, as shown with a questionnaire in our centre at the beginning of the pandemic. In this collaborative study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of the pandemic on anxiety 1 year later by applying the same questionnaire to the physicians working in the same department. ⋯ As in the first survey, female gender, having family members over 65 years of age, and having family members with chronic diseases were significantly associated with high anxiety scores and levels. There were no statistically significant differences between the first and second survey participants in any of the anxiety scales, which means anxiety persists.