Ambulatory diastolic blood pressure: a marker of comorbidity in elderly fit hypertensive individuals?

BACKGROUND: Masked diastolic hypotension is a new blood pressure (BP) pattern detected by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in elderly hypertensives. The aim of this study was to relate ABPM and comorbidity in a cohort of fit elderly subjects attending an outpatient hypertension clinic. METHODS: Comorbidity was assessed by Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) and CHA2DS2VASc score. All subjects evaluated with ABPM were aged ≥ 65 years. CCI and CHA2DS2VASc score were calculated. Diastolic hypotension was defined as mean ambulatory diastolic BP < 65 mmHg and logistic regression analysis was carried out in order to detect and independent relationship between comorbidity burden and night-time diastolic BP < 65 mmHg. RESULTS: We studied 174 hypertensive elderly patients aged 72.1 ± 5.2 years, men were 93 (53.4%). Mean CCI was 0.91 ± 1.14 and mean CHA2DS2VASc score of 2.68 ± 1.22. Subjects with night-time mean diastolic values < 65 mmHg were higher in females [54.7% vs. 45.3%, P = 0.048; odds ratio (OR) = 1.914, 95% CI: 1.047-3.500]. Logistic regression analysis showed that only CHA2DS2VASc score was independently associated with night-time mean diastolic values < 65 mmHg (OR = 1.518, 95% CI: 1.161-1.985; P = 0.002), but CCI was not. CONCLUSIONS: ABPM and comorbidity evaluation appear associated in elderly fit subjects with masked hypotension. Comorbid women appear to have higher risk for low ambulatory BP.

Do Sex-Related Differences of Comorbidity Burden and/or In-Hospital Mortality Exist in Cancer Patients? A Retrospective Study in an Internal Medicine Setting.

Cancer represents important comorbidity, and data on outcomes are usually derived from selected oncologic units. Our aim was to evaluate possible sex-related differences and factors associated with in-hospital mortality (IHM) in a consecutive cohort of elderly patients with cancer admitted to internal medicine. We included all patients admitted to our department with a diagnosis of cancer during 2018. Based on the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification, demography, comorbidity burden, and diagnostic procedures were evaluated, with IHM as our outcome. We evaluated 955 subjects with cancer (23.9% of total hospital admissions), 42.9% were males, and the mean age was 76.4 ± 11.4 years. Metastatic cancer was diagnosed in 18.2%. The deceased group had a higher modified Elixhauser Index (17.6 ± 7.7 vs. 14 ± 7.3, p < 0.001), prevalence of cachexia (17.9% vs. 7.2%, p < 0.001), and presence of metastasis (27.8% vs. 16.3%, p = 0.001) than survivors. Females had a higher age (77.4 ± 11.4 vs. 75.5 ± 11.4, p = 0.013), and lower comorbidity (10.2 ± 5.9 vs. 12.0 ± 5.6, p < 0.001) than males. IHM was not significantly different among sex groups, but it was independently associated with cachexia and metastasis only in women. Comorbidities are highly prevalent in patients with cancer admitted to the internal medicine setting and are associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, especially in female elderly patients with advanced disease.

Infections and internal medicine patients: Could a comorbidity score predict in-hospital mortality?

Infectious diseases (ID) are frequently cause of internal medicine wards (IMW) admission. We aimed to evaluate risk factors for in-hospital mortality (IHM) in IMW patients with ID, and to test the usefulness of a comorbidity score (CS).This study included ID hospital admissions between January 2013, and December 2016, recorded in the database of the local hospital. ICD-9-CM codes were selected to identify infections, development of sepsis, and to calculate a CS.We analyzed 12,173 records, (age 64.8 ±â€Š25.1 years, females 66.2%, sepsis 9.3%). Deceased subjects (1545, 12.7%) were older, had higher percentage of sepsis, pulmonary infections, and endocarditis. Mean value of CS was also significantly higher. At multivariate analysis, the odds ratio (OR) for sepsis (OR 5.961), endocarditis (OR 4.247), pulmonary infections (OR 1.905), other sites of infection (OR 1.671), and urinary tracts infections (OR 0.548), were independently associated with IHM. The CS (OR 1.070 per unit of increasing score), was independently associated with IHM as well. The calculated weighted risk, obtained by multiplying 1.070 for the mean score value in deceased patients, was 19.367. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that CS and development of sepsis were significant predictors for IHM (area under the curve, AUC: 0.724 and 0.670, respectively).Careful evaluation of comorbidity in internal medicine patients is nowadays matter of extreme importance in IMW patients hospitalized for ID, being IHM related to severity of disease, type and site of infection, and also to concomitant comorbidities. In these patients, a careful evaluation of CS should represent a fundamental step in the disease management.

Pulmonary embolism and internal jugular vein thrombosis as evocative clues of Lemierre's syndrome: A case report and review of the literature.

Lemierre's syndrome (LS) is an uncommon condition with oropharyngeal infections, internal jugular vein thrombosis, and systemic metastatic septic embolization as the main features. Fusobacterium species, a group of strictly anaerobic Gram negative rod shaped bacteria, are advocated to be the main pathogen involved. We report a case of LS complicated by pulmonary embolism and pulmonary septic emboli that mimicked a neoplastic lung condition. A Medline search revealed 173 case reports of LS associated with internal jugular vein thrombosis that documented the type of microorganism. Data confirmed high prevalence in young males with Gram negative infections (83.2%). Pulmonary embolism was reported in 8.7% of cases mainly described in subjects with Gram positive infections (OR = 9.786; 95%CI: 2.577-37.168, P = 0.001), independently of age and gender. Only four fatal cases were reported. LS is an uncommon condition that could be complicated by pulmonary embolism, especially in subjects with Gram positive infections.

All-cause mortality and estimated renal function in type 2 diabetes mellitus outpatients: Is there a relationship with the equation used?

BACKGROUND: We investigated the relationship between serum creatinine (SCr) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), evaluated by different formulae, and all-cause mortality (ACM) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) outpatients. METHODS: This observational cohort study considered 1365 T2DM outpatients, who had been followed up for a period of up to 11 years. eGFR was estimated using several equations. RESULTS: Seventy subjects (5.1%) died after a follow-up of 9.8 ± 3 years. Univariate analysis showed that diagnosis of nephropathy (odds ratio (OR): 2.554, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.616-4.038, p < 0.001) and microvascular complications (OR: 2.281, 95% CI: 1.449-3.593, p < 0.001) were associated with ACM. Receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed that the areas under the curve for ACM were similar using the different eGFR equations. eGFR values were predictors of ACM, and the hazard ratios (HRs) of the different equations for eGFR estimation were similar. CONCLUSION: In our cohort of T2DM outpatients, different eGFR equations perform similarly in predicting ACM, whereas SCr did not.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and acute infectious diseases: a mini-review of case reports.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC), also defined as "stress cardiomyopathy," is characterized by a systolic dysfunction localized in the apical and medial left ventricles. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is more prevalent in females and it is usually related to an event triggered by physical or emotional stress. We systematically explored PubMed and Embase medical information source to identify case reports showing association between infection and TTC. For each kind of infection, we collected a set of data, including pathogen, site of infection, clinical outcome, patient age and sex, and author and year of publication. We found 26 articles dealing with 27 case reports (74% women). The mean age was 61.4 ± 13.7 years and bacterial infections were more frequent (n = 23, 85.2%). In 14 cases, there was a culture-based definition of the bacterial strain: gram+ in 8 cases (57.1%) and gram- in 6 cases (42.9%). Clinical outcome was always favorable.

Heart and lung, a dangerous liaison-Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy and respiratory diseases: A systematic review.

AIM: To investigate the possible association between Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC)-a reversible clinical condition mimicking an acute myocardial infarction characterized by multifactorial pathophysiologic mechanisms- and respiratory system diseases. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed and EMBASE medical information sources, to identify the different triggering causes, limiting our search to articles in English. The search keywords were: "tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy", "takotsubo", "takotsubo cardiomyopathy", "broken heart syndrome", "stress-induced cardiomyopathy", "apical ballooning syndrome", and "ampulla cardiomyopathy in combination with respiratory diseases, lung, pulmonary disease. For each kind of disease, we registered: author, year and country of study, patient sex, age, concurring situation, and outcome. RESULTS: Out of a total of 1725 articles found, we selected 37 papers reporting a total of 38 patients. As expected, most patients were women (81.6%), mean age was 65 ± 10 years. Outcome was favorable in 100% of cases, and all the patients have been discharged uneventfully in a few days. CONCLUSION: An association between respiratory diseases and TTC is likely to exist. Patients with severe respiratory diseases, due to the high dosages of ß2-agonists used or to the need of invasive procedures, are highly exposed to the risk of developing TTC.

[Falls and renal function: a dangerous association]. / Cadute e funzione renale: un'associazione pericolosa.

Falls are an important health problem and the risk of falling increases with age. The costs due to falls are related to the progressive decline of patients' clinical conditions, with functional inability inducing increasing social costs, morbidity and mortality. Renal dysfunction is mostly present in elderly people who often have several comorbidities. Risk factors for falls have been classified as intrinsic and extrinsic, and renal dysfunction is included among the former. Chronic kidney disease per se is an important risk factor for falls, and the risk correlates negatively with creatinine clearance. Vitamin D deficiency, dysfunction of muscles and bones, nerve degeneration, cognitive decline, electrolyte imbalance, anemia, and metabolic acidosis have been reported to be associated with falls. Falls seem to be very frequent in dialysis patients: 44% of subjects on hemodialysis fall at least once a year with a 1-year mortality due to fractures of 64%. Male sex, comorbidities, predialysis hypotension, and a history of previous falls are the main risk factors, together with events directly related to renal replacement therapy such as biocompatibility of the dialysis membrane, arrhythmias, fluid overload and length of dialysis treatment. Peripheral nerve degeneration and demyelination as well as altered nerve conduction resulting in muscular weakness and loss of peripheral sensitivity are frequent when the glomerular filtration rate is less than 12 mL/min. Moreover, depression and sleep disorders can also increase the risk of falls. Kidney function is an important parameter to consider when evaluating the risk of falls in the elderly, and the development of specific guidelines for preventing falls in the uremic population should be considered.