Publications by authors named "Amaan Shafi"
Background: Patients with a bicuspid aortic valve have increased risk of infective endocarditis, but common organisms are not always the culprit. We describe a case of an otherwise healthy young gentleman with bicuspid aortic valve who experienced endocarditis. The aim of this case report is to highlight an uncommon cause of endocarditis associated with significant morbidity and mortality in order to improve the care provided by trainees and clinicians.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Multiple studies have investigated the correlations of mortality, mechanical ventilation, and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions with CAC scores. This analysis overviews the prognostic capability of CAC scoring in mortality, mechanical ventilation, and ICU admission for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods: Online search was conducted on PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Scopus from inception to 22 November 2021 to identify studies involving CAC scores in relation to ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and death rates.
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- Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are commonly used in hospitals to prevent and treat stress gastric ulcers, but there are concerns about their link to an increased risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).
- A systematic analysis of 12 studies involving 74,132 patients showed that PPIs increased the risk of hospital-acquired CDI by 38.6% compared to histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs).
- The overall quality of the evidence was rated as low, but results suggest that using H2RAs may be a safer alternative to reduce CDI risk.
Article Synopsis
- Hospital palliative care can improve the quality of life for seriously ill patients and was studied to see its impact on hospital stay duration and in-hospital death rates.
- A systematic review of 16 studies revealed that while hospital palliative care led to a significant 34% reduction in in-hospital mortality, it didn’t statistically affect the length of hospital stays.
- However, the quality of the evidence regarding these findings was rated as very low to low, indicating the need for further research.