More articles from Editorial
- The diagnostic dilemma of myocardial infarction without obstructive coronary artery disease: Advanced imaging to the rescue!
Advances in cardiac and coronary imaging and physiologic assessment now allow for a thorough, accurate workup of this condition that accounts for up to 15% of all myocardial infarctions.
- The history of blood cultures: From the research laboratory to the bedside
Efforts to prove that bacteria cause endocarditis paved the way for use of blood cultures in the clinic.
- Sorting out aortic aneurysms: A team enterprise
Aortic aneurysms present considerable diagnostic and treatment challenges owing to their diverse causes, incomplete understanding of pathogenesis, and variations in presentation and disease course.
- Stop the clot: When is laboratory evaluation for thrombophilia warranted?
Evidence does not support routine testing for an underlying hereditary thrombophilia after an arterial or venous thrombosis. Instead, the benefits of testing must be discussed with each patient.
- Perspectives on travel and healthcare
Further guidelines are needed to address the challenges faced by patients traveling to receive medical care away from their home country or returning to their home country to die.
- Wearable cardiac monitors: Where do we stand?
Wearable monitors perform well as screening tools for atrial fibrillation, but questions remain: Can they help with stroke prevention, what is their role in patients with known atrial fibrillation, and how do we streamline interpretation?
- Surgical de-escalation: Are we ready for ‘observation’ of benign high-risk breast lesions found on core needle biopsy?
Surgical de-escalation is part of a larger movement of de-escalation of multidisciplinary breast cancer treatment. The challenge is to balance oncologic outcomes with surgical morbidity and quality of life.
- Reincarnating autoimmunity: Immune-related adverse events as new diseases
The range of adverse events is broad. Any organ can be affected, and any naturally occurring autoimmune process can be mimicked by the massive inflammation generated by checkpoint inhibition.
- Vitamin D: A metabolic bone disease perspective
When checking levels, clinicians should keep in mind that vitamin D levels fluctuate by season and time of day, and that different laboratories may use different assays that yield different results.
- Making best use of bone turnover markers to monitor oral bisphosphonate therapy
Clinical applications of bone turnover markers can include determining when to start or end a bisphosphonate “holiday” and measuring treatment response.