August 2019
33 ArticlesNo Section
D-dimer levels enhance the discriminatory capacity of bleeding risk scores for predicting in-hospital bleeding events in acute pulmonary embolism
Bleeding is a major complication of anticoagulation in acute pulmonary embolism (APE) while estimating individual bleeding risk remains challenging. Elevated D-dimer levels (DD) have been shown to... more
Letter to the Editor
Lung ultrasonography in pulmonary tuberculosis: Integrating chest radiology? Authors' reply
We would like to thank Mirijello, De Cosmo and Sperandeo for their interest in our work [1]. In our article we evaluated lung ultrasonography (LUS) signs and their accuracy in the diagnosis of... more
Pegloticase and lowering blood pressure in refractory gout; is it uric acid or hydrogen peroxide?
Epidemiologic and experimental studies have demonstrated that high levels of serum uric acid ((SUA) Hyperuricemia) are strongly associated with poorly controlled hypertension, arterial stiffness,... more
Estimation of the attitude toward diet in hospitalized patients with diabetes by assessing bedside snacks - A common practice based on false assumptions
Moral judgment and Stigmatization are common in our society [1], and health care professionals are no different [2–5]. Patients who trigger moral judgment are often patients in which the medical... more
Is morphine safe in acute decompensated heart failure? A systematic review of the literature
Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is one of the most common diseases in the emergency department worldwide. Historically one of the most recommended therapeutic drugs, in addition to diuretics... more
Predictors of mortality of bloodstream infections among internal medicine patients: Mind the complexity of the septic population! Authors' reply
We would like to thank Dr. Tosoni and his colleagues for commenting on our recent article and we appreciate this opportunity to further clarify our work [1]. We fully agree that Internal Medicine... more
Clinical course of primary immune thrombocytopenia with positive antiphospholipid antibodies
Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are frequently detected in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and whether they play a role in ITP prognosis is controversial. Previous studies have shown that aPL... more
Clinical course and management of adult-onset immune-mediated cytopenia associated with Kabuki syndrome
Kabuki syndrome (KS) is a rare genetic disease characterized by congenital malformations, growth deficiency, mental retardation and altered immune regulation [1]. Autoimmune cytopenias may develop... more
Prevalence of use and appropriateness of antidepressants prescription in acutely hospitalized elderly patients
Depression is often under-recognized in older patients, even if antidepressants (AD) are commonly prescribed, with a prevalence of use that increase with ageing [1]. Nevertheless, even if a diagnosis... more
Ultrasound and hepatic abscess: A successful alliance for the internist
even if liver abscess is a rare disease, with an incidence ranging from about 8 to 20 cases/100000 hospital admissions, it is related to high mortality rates. Mortality ranges between 8% and 31% [1,2... more
Additional predictive value of C-reactive protein to GRACE score in patients with acute coronary syndrome
The awareness that active inflammation plays a major role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis dates back to the seminal observations of Ross et al. [1]. Although this concept relies... more
What is the value of repeated upper gastro intestinal endoscopy in cases of a previous endoscopy without macroscopic abnormalities?
Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGE) is routinely used in daily practice [1,2]. Some patients are repeatedly sent for UGE despite the fact that a previous procedure showed no abnormalities.... more
Listeria infection in patients using anti-TNFα treatment: Should there be preventive strategies?
Recently, one of our patients was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit with a severe listeria sepsis while using adalimumab, an anti- TNFα biological. It is a 50-year old man of Moroccan descent with... more
The potential role of SLE-key test in identifying patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Results from a prospective, real-world experience
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by extremely heterogeneous clinical manifestations [1].
Angiotensin receptor blockers therapy and cancer risk
Angiotensin receptor blockers are widely prescribed to treat hypertension. The relationship between angiotensin receptor blockers and cancer is extensively studied. Recently one meta-analysis... more
Original Article
Methotrexate therapy is not associated with increased liver stiffness and significant liver fibrosis in rheumatoid arthritis patients: A cross-sectional controlled study with real-time two-dimensional shear wave elastography
To explore the significance of the association between treatment with methotrexate (MTX) and liver stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
Diagnostic model of visceral leishmaniasis based on bone marrow findings. Study of patients with clinical suspicion in which the parasite is not observed
Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a serious protozoal disease endemic in diverse areas, including the southern area of Madrid (Spain), where an outbreak was detected in 2009. The objective of this work... more
Influence of the length of hospitalisation in post-discharge outcomes in patients with acute heart failure: Results of the LOHRCA study
To investigate the relationship between length of hospitalisation (LOH) and post-discharge outcomes in acute heart failure (AHF) patients and to ascertain whether there are different patterns... more
The efficacy and safety of bortezomib-based chemotherapy for immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis
The role of bortezomib in the treatment of immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis is not well defined. We performed this meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bortezomib-based... more
Vaccination against influenza and pneumococcal infections in patients with autoimmune disorders under biological therapy: Coverage and attitudes in patients and physicians
Patients under biological therapy for auto-immune disease are considered immunosuppressed and several recent recommendations highlight the need for vaccination against influenza and pneumococcal... more
Assessment of frequency and reporting of design changes among clinical drug trials published in influential medical journals
Modifications of primary outcome measures after trial initiation can undermine their scientific validity. We aimed to quantify these changes and to characterize potential predictors in clinical drug... more
3P association (3PAs): Pituitary adenoma and pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma. A heterogeneous clinical syndrome associated with different gene mutations
Pituitary adenomas (PA) associated with pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas (Pheo/PGL), also known as “the three P association” or “3PAs” could be the results of coincidence, but new evidence supports a... more
Statin and all-cause mortality in patients receiving anticoagulant therapy for venous thromboembolism. Data from the RIETE registry
The clinical outcomes during the course of anticoagulation in patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) using statins remain controversial.
Pulmonary hypertension in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms: A large cohort of 183 patients
Chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are recognized as a cause of pulmonary hypertension (pH). We ought to describe the prevalence and characteristics of PH in a cohort of MPN who were screened... more
Tramadol- and codeine-induced severe hyponatremia: A Swedish population-based case-control study
Although tramadol and codeine occasionally have been reported to cause hyponatremia the evidence is scarce. The objective of this investigation was to study the association between weak opioids (... more
Transcutaneous carbon dioxide monitoring as a predictive tool for all-cause 6-month mortality after acute pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism (PE) frequently remains undiagnosed. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2), a surrogate of dead-space ventilation, is useful in the evaluation of the degree of pulmonary... more
Serum 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, a marker of oxidative DNA damage, is associated with mortality independent of inflammation in chronic kidney disease
Oxidative stress and low-grade systemic inflammation are common interrelated sequelae of chronic kidney disease (CKD) that associate with mortality. We investigated the association of serum 8-hydroxy... more
No major reduction in bone mineral density after long-term treatment of patients with Celiac Disease
Celiac Disease (CD) is a disorder characterized by mucosal inflammation and villous atrophy (VA) in the small intestine. The disease has been shown to affect at least 1% of the European population [1... more
Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency in diabetes mellitus - prevalence and characteristics
The prevalence of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) in diabetes mellitus (DM) varies widely between studies, which may be explained by methodological problems. We aimed to establish the... more
Determination of salivary cortisol to assess time-related changes of the adrenal response to stress in critically ill patients
The value of salivary cortisol measurement to study stress-related adrenal response is controversial. The study aim was to assess the role of salivary cortisol measurement to detect time-related... more
Functional benefit of smoking cessation in severe COPD patients undergoing bronchial valve implantation
Tobacco smoke is the leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The aim of this study is to highlight the effectiveness of smoking cessation along with bronchial valve implantation in... more
The international St-aging system as a prognostic marker in general senior population: Findings from the EPIDOS cohort study
The International Staging System (ISS) -calculated from serum albumin and beta-2 microglobulin (β2m)- is an established prognostic marker in multiple myeloma (MM), which has also been suggested to... more
Metamizole-associated neutropenia: Comparison of patients with neutropenia and metamizole-tolerant patients
Reports of metamizole-induced neutropenia have increased in Switzerland and Germany over the last decades, most likely reflecting increased use of metamizole. To date, there are no effective... more