Pulmonology
- A sleeping beast: Obstructive sleep apnea and stroke
Up to two-thirds of patients who have had a stroke have obstructive sleep apnea afterward, with worse outcomes.
- Anti-Xa assays: What is their role today in antithrombotic therapy?
Should clinicians abandon the aPTT for monitoring heparin therapy in favor of anti-Xa assays?
- Can procalcitonin guide decisions about antibiotic management?
Yes, but clinical judgment must still be exercised.
- Rapidly progressive pleural effusion January 2019
Readers comment about deviation from guidelines during treatment of a patient with rapidly progressive pleural effusion (January 2019) and the effect of metformin on vitamin B12 levels (January 2019).
- A paraneoplastic potassium and acid-base disturbance
A 55-year-old smoker with COPD presents with malaise, paresthesias, and severe hypertension. What is the cause?
- Managing malignant pleural effusion
Depending on the circumstances, options are observation, thoracentesis, an indwelling catheter, and chemical pleurodesis.
- Rapidly progressive pleural effusion
A 33-year-old nonsmoker presents with severe pleuritic chest pain; the differential diagnosis is broad.
- Which patients with pulmonary embolism need echocardiography?
The decision should be based on clinical presentation, burden of pulmonary embolism, and other imaging fi ndings.