Systems

Stem cells for heart failure: What is the evidence?

September 27, 2017
Stem cells for heart failure: What is the evidence?

By Maxine Wallis Stachel, MD

Peer Reviewed

The Scale of the Problem

Despite decades of rigorous data collection, drug research, patient education and evidence-based practice, ischemic heart disease (IHD) and congestive heart failure (CHF) remain among the most deadly diagnoses in America. The standardization of medical therapy and surgical revascularization have reduced morbidity and mortality, but these measures have not kept pace with the burden and cost of disease, which continue to expand as the population ages and more patients survive acute myocardial infarction. IHD …

Read more »

Spotlight: Pneumocystis Pneumonia in a Patient Without AIDS, A Clinical Vignette

September 20, 2017
Spotlight: Pneumocystis Pneumonia in a Patient Without AIDS, A Clinical Vignette

By Martin Fried, MD

Peer reviewed

Learning Objectives

Why does impaired cellular immunity increase the risk for Pneumocystis jiroveci Pneumonia (PJP)?  How do acquired humoral immune deficiencies, such as the use of rituximab, increase the risk for PJP? At what dose of chronic steroids use should patients be given prophylaxis for PJP?

Case Summary

The patient is a 35-year-old man with a history of psoriatic arthritis and complex regional pain syndrome on prednisone, methotrexate and abatacept who presented with two weeks of dyspnea on exertion …

Read more »

50% of the Daily Salt Intake Recommended by the JNC-8 Is Consumed in a New York Minute

September 13, 2017
50% of the Daily Salt Intake Recommended by the JNC-8 Is Consumed in a New York Minute

By Andrew Sideris

Peer Reviewed

Reduction of dietary sodium is a well-known nonpharmacologic therapy to reduce blood pressure. The 8th Joint National Commission (JNC-8) recommends that the general population limit daily intake of sodium to less than 2.4 grams. On average, a mean reduction in systolic blood pressure of 2-8 mmHg is expected if dietary sodium intake is limited to no more than 2.4 grams per day.1 Further reduction of sodium to 1.5 grams is desirable for people with hypertension because it is associated with …

Read more »

Slow Respiration to Lower Blood Pressure

September 7, 2017
Slow Respiration to Lower Blood Pressure

By Omotayo Arowojolu

Peer Reviewed

Approximately 32% of American adults have high blood pressure (>140/90 mmHg),1 or hypertension, and only 54% of these individuals have well-controlled hypertension.2,3 Hypertension costs $48.6 billion each year in healthcare services, medications, and missed days of work. Additionally, one in three Americans have pre-hypertension (120-139/80-89 mmHg) and are considered at risk for developing hypertension.1 These individuals benefit from management of risk factors with changes in diet (reduced sodium), weight loss, increased physical activity, and smoking or alcohol cessation. On the …

Read more »

Should Beta Blockers be Used in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction?

August 23, 2017
Should Beta Blockers be Used in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction?

By Lauren Christene Strazzulla

Peer Reviewed

The lifetime risk for developing heart failure from age 55 on is 33% for men and 28.5% for women, and as the population ages, there is an increasing prevalence of this disease along with its associated health care costs . Heart failure is divisible into 2 distinct entities: those with left ventricular systolic dysfunction and those with cardiovascular compromise that does not decrease LV ejection fraction, which is termed heart failure with persevered ejection fraction (HFpEF) . While …

Read more »

Spotlight: Hepatic Encephalopathy and TIPS: A Clinical Vignette

April 26, 2017
Spotlight: Hepatic Encephalopathy and TIPS: A Clinical Vignette

By Samantha Kass Newman, MD

Peer Reviewed

Today marks the first publication of the new Spotlight series in Clinical Correlations. This series uses case vignettes to explore diagnosis, pathophysiology, and management of a wide variety of diseases seen in the outpatient and inpatient settings.  Articles in the Spotlight section contain clinical pearls that will be highlighted in the case discussion.  While the occasional zebra may appear, the goal of the series is to provide clinically relevant information, and each case has been selected specifically for …

Read more »

Oxygen Saturation Target of 88-92% in COPD: Evidence-based Medicine?

April 12, 2017
Oxygen Saturation Target of 88-92% in COPD: Evidence-based Medicine?

By Christopher V. Cosgriff

Peer Reviewed

The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends supplemental long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) in all patients who have severe resting hypoxemia, defined as a PaO2 ≤55 mmHg or an SpO2 ≤88%. In patients with cor pulmonale or polycythemia they recommend initiation of oxygen therapy at a PaO2 ≤59 mmHg.1 Absent from the ACP recommendation is a target range to which saturation should be restored. The accepted standard of practice is restoration to a range of 88%-92%, and there are British …

Read more »

How Reliable Is Hemoglobin A1c?

April 6, 2017
How Reliable Is Hemoglobin A1c?

By Alexa Yuen

Peer Reviewed 

According to the CDC, there are 22 million people with an established diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in the United States, but more frightening is that the rate of diabetes continues to rise both nationally and globally, with predictions that 7.7% of the world’s adult population will be afflicted with the disease in 2030., Preventing, monitoring, and managing this disease is of utmost importance in responding to the growing epidemic. The hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) blood test has become a powerful tool …

Read more »