Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
ReviewImpact of the COVID-19 pandemic on provision of interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery services in Australia: a review of Medicare claims data.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted healthcare service provision worldwide. There is limited information on changes in invasive cardiovascular services during the pandemic, particularly in Australia. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in reductions in the use of interventional cardiology and cardiac surgery services, with cardiac surgery most affected. However, an increase in uptake of transcatheter aortic valve implantation has been observed during the pandemic. This may have implications for future planning and resource allocation in the aftermath of the pandemic.
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
Risk factors for malignancy and serious infection in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: a retrospective analysis.
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at increased risk of malignancy and infection compared to the general population. ⋯ Factors including ileocolonic CD and increasing IBD duration were associated with higher malignancy risk in this cohort. Compared with non-exposure, patients exposed to thiopurines were not at increased risk of malignancy or serious infection. Similarly, patients exposed to anti-TNF treatment did not experience increased rates of malignancy or serious infection compared to patients not exposed to this treatment.
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
A comparison of the outcomes of pulmonary versus extrapulmonary extensive-stage small cell carcinoma.
Extrapulmonary small cell carcinomas (EPSCCs) are rare cancers, comprising 0.1-0.4% of all cancers. The scarcity of EPSCC studies has led current treatment strategies to be extrapolated from small cell lung cancer (SCLC), justified by analogous histological and clinical features. ⋯ EPSCC and SCLC appeared to have comparable OS and treatment outcomes. However, the wide range of OS in EPSCC highlights the need for an improved understanding of its genomics to explore alternative therapeutics.
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Internal medicine journal · Mar 2024
Ethnic differences in the characteristics of patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer in the Te Manawa Taki region of New Zealand.
Māori have three times the mortality from lung cancer compared with non-Māori. The Te Manawa Taki region has a population of 900 000, of whom 30% are Māori. We have little understanding of the factors associated with developing and diagnosing lung cancer and ethnic differences in these characteristics. ⋯ The findings point to the need to address barriers to early diagnosis and the need for system change including the need to introduce a lung cancer screening focussing on Māori. There is also the need for preventive programmes to address comorbidities that impact lung cancer outcomes as well as a continued emphasis on creating a smoke-free New Zealand.