Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · May 2018
Diabetic ketoacidosis in adult patients: an audit of factors influencing time to normalisation of metabolic parameters.
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is an acute life-threatening metabolic complication of diabetes that imposes substantial burden on our healthcare system. There is a paucity of published data in Australia assessing factors influencing time to resolution of DKA and length of stay (LOS). ⋯ Lower admission pH levels and higher admission serum potassium levels are independent predictors of slower time to resolution of DKA. This may assist to stratify patients with DKA using markers of severity to determine who may benefit from closer monitoring and to predict LOS.
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Internal medicine journal · May 2018
Exploring disparities in receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy in culturally and linguistically diverse groups: an Australian centre's experience.
Globally, racial and ethnic disparities exist in treatments and outcomes for cancer patients. In Australia, there are few published data related to cancer patients from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. ⋯ No difference was observed in adjuvant chemotherapy utilisation in patients who identified English as their first-preferred language compared to those who did not, as well as between non-CALD and CALD groups. This is the first study to assess these differences in Australia.
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Internal medicine journal · Apr 2018
Observational StudyBarriers to medication adherence and links to cardiovascular disease risk factor control: the Framingham Heart Study.
In the elderly, impaired cognition may weaken medication adherence and compromise treatment for cardiovascular disease (CVD). ⋯ Depressive symptoms might act as a barrier for medication adherence, which exacerbates CVD risk factors in older-aged adults.