Articles: disease.
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Mar 2020
Cardiovascular target organ damage in premenopausal systemic lupus erythematosus patients and in controls: Are there any differences?
to analyze the presence of cardiac and vascular preclinical damage in premenopausal women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and controls, matched for demographic characteristics and for other cardiovascular risk factors. ⋯ in young patients with SLE and low activity index of the disease, we did not observe significant vascular alterations as compared to controls with similar CV risk. The early LV systolic impairment observed in SLE patients needs confirmation.
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Nosocomial pneumonia is one of the leading entities of nosocomial infections in Germany and worldwide with invasive ventilation being one of the major risk factors. However nosocomial pneumonia without ventilator support is an underappreciated complication as demonstrated by prevalence studies of the European Centre for Disease Control in 2011 and 2016. ⋯ For non-ventilated patients early mobilization and/or frequent position changes, correct use of feeding tubes and mouth care are key components. In preoperative patients training of a simple breathing exercise combined with mnemonic aids for its use in the postoperative period has been proven to be helpful.
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Improving chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care and reducing hospital readmissions is an urgent healthcare system priority. However, little is known about the organizational factors that underlie intersite variation in readmission rates. Evidence from other chronic diseases points to care coordination as one such factor. ⋯ The most notable differences between high- and low-readmission sites were related to the quality of relational coordination and the presence of structural barriers to coordination, rather than specific readmission reduction initiatives. Implementing organizational reforms aimed at enhancing relational coordination and removing structural barriers would enhance care for COPD and may improve quality of care for other chronic conditions.