Left Ventricular Non-compaction Cardiomyopathy: The Key to Its Diagnosis and Implications for Management.

Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) cardiomyopathy is a condition with increasing prevalence as cardiac imaging technology improves, although there is currently no diagnostic gold standard. Characterized by the presence of a bilayered myocardium with prominent trabeculations, LVNC cardiomyopathy has a wide range of presentations, from asymptomatic to severe heart failure, thromboembolism, and sudden cardiac death. We present the case of a 62-year-old male who was admitted for a heart failure exacerbation with a worsening ejection fraction and signs of increased trabeculations of the left ventricle on an echocardiogram.

Development of the Oncology Opportunity Cost Assessment Tool: Item Generation and Content Validity Testing.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop the Oncology Opportunity Cost Assessment Tool (OOCAT), a survey instrument to evaluate the opportunity costs patients experience when seeking medical oncology care.

Methods: Development of the OOCAT involved extensive patient engagement through both focus groups and interviews. First, the study team developed a list of opportunity cost concepts, which included patients' logistical and financial considerations related to seeking care.

COVID-19 Pandemic Influence on Medical Oncology Provider Perceptions of Telehealth Video Visits.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid expansion of telehealth use in oncology, a specialty in which prior utilization was low in part because of barriers perceived by providers. Understanding the changing perceptions of medical oncology providers during the pandemic is critical for continued expansion and improvement of telehealth in cancer care. This study was designed to identify medical oncology providers' perceptions of telehealth video visits as influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medical Oncology Patient Perceptions of Telehealth Video Visits.

Purpose: Telehealth in medical oncology has expanded secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, quantitative research on medical oncology telehealth use shows conflicting results on patient satisfaction, whereas qualitative data are sparse. Our qualitative study aimed to identify the factors influencing patient acceptability of video visits for medical oncology care before and at the onset of the expansion of telehealth because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medical Oncology Professionals' Perceptions of Telehealth Video Visits.

Importance: Telehealth has emerged as a means of improving access and reducing cost for medical oncology care; however, use by specialists prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic still remained low. Medical oncology professionals' perceptions of telehealth for cancer care are largely unknown, but are critical to telehealth utilization and expansion efforts.

Objective: To identify medical oncology health professionals' perceptions of the barriers to and benefits of telehealth video visits.

Evidenced-Based Review and Evaluation of Clinical Significance: Nonpharmacological and Pharmacological Treatment of Insomnia in the Elderly.

Insomnia in the elderly is a prevalent condition that poses treatment challenges to practitioners across medical fields. There are many behavioral and other nonpharmacological therapies, 18 Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmacotherapies, and numerous off-label, over the counter and alternative treatments. Most reviews on this subject focus either on pharmacological treatments or behavioral treatments.

The Operative management in Bariatric Acute abdomen (OBA) Survey: long-term complications of bariatric surgery and the emergency surgeon's point of view.

Background: The number of bariatric procedures is increasing worldwide. No consensus or guidelines about the emergency management of long-term complications following bariatric surgery are currently available. The aim of this study is to investigate by a web survey how an emergency surgeon approaches this unique group of patients in an emergency medical scenario and to report their personal experience.

Transcatheter arterial embolization versus surgery for refractory non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding: a meta-analysis.

Background: Nowadays, very few patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding fail endoscopic hemostasis (refractory NVUGIB). This subset of patients poses a clinical dilemma: should they be operated on or referred to transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE)?

Objectives: To carry out a systematic review of the literature and to perform a meta-analysis of studies that directly compare TAE and surgery in patients with refractory NVUGIB.

Materials And Methods: We searched PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, and Embase.

Mortality Rate and Antibiotic Resistance in Complicated Diverticulitis: Report of 272 Consecutive Patients Worldwide: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Complicated diverticulitis (CD) is a common problem for surgeons. In treating it, as a general principle, every verified source of infection should be controlled. Supplementary antimicrobial management involves a delicate balance of optimizing empirical therapy while reducing unnecessary antibiotic use.

Acute appendicitis: Epidemiology, treatment and outcomes- analysis of 16544 consecutive cases.

Aim: To investigate the epidemiology, treatment and outcomes of acute appendicitis (AA) in a large population study.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study derived from the administrative dataset of the Bergamo district healthcare system (more than 1 million inhabitants) from 1997 to 2013. Data about treatment, surgery, length of stay were collected.

Advanced gastric cancer: What we know and what we still have to learn.

Gastric cancer is a common neoplastic disease and, more precisely, is the third leading cause of cancer death in the world, with differences amongst geographic areas. The definition of advanced gastric cancer is still debated. Different stadiating systems lead to slightly different stadiation of the disease, thus leading to variations between the single countries in the treatment and outcomes.