Jon-Emile S. Kenny MD [@heart_lung] “…. She was here on earth to grasp the meaning of its wild enchantment and to call each thing by its right name …” -Boris Pasternak Background Over the last half-decade, there has been a distinct shift in the approach to lactate elevation. The long-held belief that elevated serum lactate [… read more]
People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) had an increased rate of heart attacks and strokes in the first month after starting long-acting inhaled bronchodilators. That’s the conclusion of an observational study from Taiwan, published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers analyzed data on 284,220 Taiwanese adults with COPD who had never used bronchodilators, and were started on [… read more]
By Scott Aberegg, M.D., M.P.H. This post is going to be an in-depth “journal club” style analysis of the PROPER trial. In this week’s JAMA, Freund et al report the results of the PROPER randomized controlled trial of the PERC (pulmonary embolism rule -out criteria) rule for safely excluding pulmonary embolism (PE) in the emergency department (ED) [… read more]
By Salynn Boyles, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today A clinical assessment protocol proved to be as effective as blood testing and CT imaging in the emergency department setting for ruling out pulmonary embolism in very low-risk patients in a newly reported French clinical trial. The crossover cluster-randomized PROPER study was conducted at 14 emergency departments (EDs) in France [… read more]
Vertex Pharmaceuticals won FDA approval for its third drug to treat cystic fibrosis, the company announced. Ivacaftor (Kalydeco) combined with tezacaftor, a new agent, will be sold as Symdeko. Symdeko was approved for patients age 12 or older who are homozygous for the F508 deletion of the CFTR gene, or who have another mutation that [… read more]
Overview Vasopressors and inotropes are cornerstones in the management of shock syndromes. Understanding vasopressors’ receptor activity and resultant pharmacological response enables clinicians to select the ideal vasopressor(s) for a patient suffering from shock. The following table outlines common vasopressors/inotropes and their general receptor activity profiles.1,2 Drug Dose α1 ß1 ß2 DA V1 V2 cAMP Norepinephrine [… read more]
By Salynn Boyles, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Treatment with statins may be beneficial in terms of improving exercise tolerance, pulmonary function and quality-of-life among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with co-existing cardiovascular disease, increased systemic inflammation or hyperlipidemia. That is the finding from meta-analysis of 10 randomized, controlled trials involving close to 1,500 patients, [… read more]
Jon-Emile S. Kenny MD [@heart_lung] “It’s these expressions, I never give, That keep me searching for a heart of gold … And I’m gettin’ old.” -Neil Young An 86 year old woman is admitted with progressive dyspnea and lower extremity edema. 8 months ago she received a trans-catheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for severe aortic [… read more]
The first real-world results from a population-based deployment of lung cancer screening are in, from a demonstration project at Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals. Screening was generally effective at identifying early-stage lung cancer, but with far more effort per cancer detected than in the seminal National Lung Screening Trial. High false positive rates led to a [… read more]
Jon-Emile S. Kenny MD [@heart_lung] With the birth of ‘fluid responsiveness’ physiology [1], there has been a slow and solemn drumbeat ushering the central venous pressure [CVP] up the squeaking planks of the hemodynamic gallows [2, 3]. Despite this, a few years ago I made a humble defense of the central venous pressure. Importantly, I was [… read more]
by Salynn Boyles, MedPage Today The FDA approved a nebulized formulation of glycopyrrolate (Lonhala Magnair) for long-term maintenance treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe COPD, said manufacturer Sunovion Pharmaceuticals. It’s the first long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) to be sold in this form. Recommended dosing is 25 mcg twice daily. The approval was made on the strength of data [… read more]
The Hospitalist & The Resuscitationist April 18-19, 2018 Two awesome days in Montreal where we focus on basics, but the right basics. The key points, the key pearls, and especially, the key physiological points in managing sick people. Day 1, pretty sick people. Day 2, really sick people. Do one day, do both, whatever fits [… read more]
In case you missed it, major professional societies in critical care now strongly recommend prone positioning for patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with a PaO2-to-FiO2 (P/F) ratio of ≤ 100. The recommendation marks a major shift in advised care for ARDS. Prone positioning improves ventilation-perfusion matching (transferring delivered oxygen into the bloodstream more [… read more]
by Salynn Boyles Contributing Writer, MedPage Today The FDA has approved AstraZeneca’s biologic drug benralizumab (Fasenra) for the add-on maintenance treatment of patients age 12 years and over with severe asthma with an eosinophilic phenotype, the drugmaker announced. Approval was based on pivotal trials showing up to a 51% reduction in the annual asthma exacerbation [… read more]
Multiple randomized trials have suggested that vitamin D supplementation might improve asthma control and reduce severity of asthma attacks. A new meta-analysis bolsters that hypothesis, and may encourage more physicians and people with asthma to consider vitamin D supplements for low vitamin D levels. In a study in Lancet Respiratory Medicine, authors analyzed the experience [… read more]
“Don’t get admitted to the hospital on a weekend.” Listen, and you might hear that rueful advice muttered under the breath of a frustrated physician unable to get a prompt Saturday consultation or procedure, the requested specialist being at another hospital, or maybe her son’s soccer game. The weekend effect — patients admitted on a [… read more]
N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and sodium bicarbonate are commonly provided to patients undergoing angiographic procedures with intravenous contrast. Small randomized trials had suggested NAC or bicarbonate or both could prevent kidney injury from so-called contrast nephropathy. That practice has no benefit, based on results of a large randomized trial showing neither NAC nor bicarb improved outcomes after [… read more]
by Salynn Boyles, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Asthma costs the U.S. economy more than $80 billion a year in medical expenditures, missed school and work days, and deaths, according to CDC researchers. The condition is responsible for 8.7 million lost workdays and 5.2 million lost school-days annually, at an estimated cost of around $3 billion, reported Tursynbek [… read more]
Authors: Samuel Copeland, MD; Ebtesam Islam, MD, PhD Pulmonary nodules are small, generally spherical abnormalities, commonly noted incidentally on chest radiography or computed tomography1. Ground glass opacifications (GGO) are a subset of pulmonary nodules or masses with non-uniformity and less density than solid nodules. GGO are usually described as either pure ground glass or part solid [… read more]
by Milton Packer MD –From MedPage Today I am severely near-sighted and have worn glasses for most of my entire life. With the onset of presbyopia, the sharpness of images disappeared regardless of distance. Add ongoing issues with retinal membranes, and I can barely see. I could benefit from retinal surgery, but have put it off. [… read more]
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