Reducing Unnecessary Laboratory Testing: A Quality Improvement Initiative at Wellstar Spalding Medical Center.

Objectives: The healthcare industry is grappling with escalating expenses, partially attributed to the inefficient use of medical resources, particularly by ordering unnecessary laboratory tests. Such practices not only increase costs but also result in extended hospital stays, patient discomfort, and potential clinical complications such as iatrogenic anemia. Blood tests, although essential for guiding medical decisions, are associated with significant clinical and financial costs.

A Case Report on the Trilogy of Yellow Nail Syndrome: Yellow Nails, Pleural Effusion, and Lymphedema.

Yellow nail syndrome is a rare medical syndrome characterized by the combination of a triad of yellow nails, recurrent pulmonary manifestations, and lymphedema. All three features of the triad may not be present synchronously. The diagnosis is made clinically once other causes have been excluded.

Gemcitabine-Induced Thrombotic Microangiopathy in a Patient With Cholangiocarcinoma: An Atypical Case.

Gemcitabine-induced thrombotic microangiopathy (GITMA) is a rare but severe complication seen in cancer patients on gemcitabine therapy. This case report describes a 45-year-old female with metastatic cholangiocarcinoma on gemcitabine-capecitabine who developed acute kidney injury and hypertension without typical hematologic signs of thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). Despite initial management targeting hypertensive urgency and acute kidney injury, renal function continued to decline and progressed to end-stage renal disease requiring hemodialysis.

Progesterone Hypersensitivity Induced by Exogenous Progesterone Exposure.

Progesterone hypersensitivity (PH) is a rare hypersensitivity reaction to either endogenous or exogenous progesterone. There are around 200 reported cases of progesterone hypersensitivity in the medical literature. We present the case of a 31-year-old female who presented with cyclical urticaria and angioedema after exogenous progesterone exposure.

Outcomes of Acute Mesenteric Ischemia in Patients With COVID-19: A Nationwide Database Study.

Introduction Initially regarded as primarily a respiratory illness, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has since been recognized as a complex disease affecting multiple systems. A COVID-19 infection can cause a hypercoagulable state leading to thrombotic complications in various systems. Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) has been reported as a rare complication of COVID-19, carrying a significant mortality rate.

Renin-Angiotensin System: Updated Understanding and Role in Physiological and Pathophysiological States.

The classical view of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is that of the circulating hormone pathway involved in salt and water homeostasis and blood pressure regulation. It is also involved in the pathogenesis of cardiac and renal disorders. This led to the creation of drugs blocking the actions of this classical pathway, which improved cardiac and renal outcomes.

Osteoporosis in a 60-Year-Old Male With a History of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Treated With Imatinib Mesylate.

Secondary osteoporosis is defined as a decline in bone mineral density due to any underlying etiology, which usually results in accelerated bone loss than expected for the individual's age or gender. Almost 50-80% of men diagnosed with osteoporosis have secondary osteoporosis. We present a case of a 60-year-old male with secondary osteoporosis with a history of imatinib mesylate-treated chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL) Presenting with Joint Swelling: Case Report and Literature Review of a Rare Rheumatological Manifestation of a Hematological Disease.

Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare malignancy that primarily affects the bone marrow, peripheral blood, and spleen. The most common presenting features of HCL are splenomegaly or cytopenias causing fatigue, infections, or hemorrhagic manifestations. Symptoms involving the soft tissue or bone are rare.

Thyrotoxic Periodic Paralysis With Severe Hypokalemia Precipitated by Acute Alcohol Intoxication in a Patient With Graves' Disease.

We present a case of a 29-year-old male who presented with thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) precipitated by acute alcohol intoxication. TPP is an endocrine emergency that presents with an episode of acute flaccid paralysis with hypokalemia in the setting of thyrotoxicosis. Individuals who present with TPP are thought to have an underlying genetic predisposition.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome Secondary to the Use of Dabrafenib and Trametinib for the Treatment of Advanced Thyroid Carcinoma.

BRAF V600E mutation in thyroid malignancies is associated with an aggressive phenotype with more rapid tumor growth and higher mortality. V600E is a driver mutation in the BRAF proto-oncogene, where valine (V) is substituted by glutamic acid (E) at amino acid 600. New chemotherapeutic agents targeting the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, including direct BRAF inhibitors, have become available and are increasingly used in various advanced thyroid malignancies.

Concomitant Vitamin B1 and Vitamin B12 Deficiency Mimicking Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura.

Vitamin B12 deficiency-induced pseudo-thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (pseudo-TTP) is a rare condition. In reported literature, most cases were due to pernicious anemia (confirmed by the presence of anti-parietal cells or anti-intrinsic factor antibodies). Nutritional vitamin B12 deficiency causing pseudo-TTP is a much rarer entity.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors and Pancreatitis: A Potential Dose-dependent Relationship.

Unlabelled: Acute pancreatitis (AP) remains one of the most common causes of emergency department visits in the USA. The literature supports an association between angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi), mainly at steady-state doses, and AP. We present a case of recurrent AP and pseudocyst formation following multiple ACEi dose adjustments after a steady-state period lasting for over a decade.

A Cause-Effect Relationship of Infliximab and Pulmonary Embolism: A Case Report.

Biological monoclonal antibodies such as infliximab have significantly remodeled inflammatory bowel disease's treatment course. Despite multiple side effects reported with infliximab, this medication has shown to be robust and practical. There is a paucity of cases reporting venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurrence during the treatment with infliximab.

Telemedicine, the current COVID-19 pandemic and the future: a narrative review and perspectives moving forward in the USA.

A narrative review was conducted to examine the current state of the utilisation of telemedicine amid the current COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate the benefits of continuing telemedicine usage in the future. A literature review was performed for articles related to telemedicine. Databases including PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and Ovid MEDLINE were searched.

Meta-analysis of optimal timing of coronary intervention in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome.

Objectives: We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to compare the efficacy and safety of early versus delayed invasive management of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).

Background: Coronary angiography is recommended for patients with NSTE-ACS, however, the optimal timing for this remains controversial.

Methods: Literature search of Pubmed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Embase for all RCTs that compared early with delayed invasive approaches in treating NSTE-ACS was conducted by two independent authors.