Current and future workforce of general internal medicine in Switzerland: a cross-sectional study.

Aim Of This Study: General internal medicine is a crucial element in healthcare systems. Understanding how many people are and will be working in this field is important to maintain and improve quality for patients in healthcare systems. This can provide a basis for political decisions.

Management of acute non-specific low back pain in the emergency department: do emergency physicians follow the guidelines? Results of a cross-sectional survey.

Objectives: Clinical guidelines for acute non-specific low back pain (LBP) recommend avoiding imaging studies or invasive treatments and to advise patients to stay active. The aim of this study was to evaluate the management of acute non-specific LBP in the emergency departments (ED).

Setting: We invited all department chiefs of Swiss EDs and their physician staff to participate in a web-based survey using two clinical case vignettes of patients with acute non-specific LBP presenting to an ED.

[Internal differential diagnoses in acute back pain : An internal perspective on the possible causes of acute back pain].

The majority of patients with acute back pain have no serious underlying disease; however, many internal diseases can be manifested as acute or chronic back pain. Therefore, in the assessment of patients with back pain the clinical history and clinical examination are important in order to detect indications for a possible underlying disease. Particularly red flags that indicate an acute or life-threatening disease should not be missed.

Efficacy of metamizole versus ibuprofen and a short educational intervention versus standard care in acute and subacute low back pain: a study protocol of a randomised, multicentre, factorial trial (EMISI trial).

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP) is among the top three most common diseases worldwide, resulting in a life with pain-related disability. To date, no study has assessed the efficacy of metamizole (dipyrone), a non-opioid analgesic and antipyretic prodrug compared with the conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen, in patients with an acute LBP episode. Further, it is unclear, whether a short educational intervention is superior to usual care alone.

Right ventricular adaptations and arrhythmias in amateur ultra-endurance athletes.

Objective: Ultra-endurance sports are becoming increasingly popular in middle-aged amateur athletes. Right ventricular (RV) arrhythmogenic remodelling has been described in high-level endurance athletes, like professional cyclists. The clinical relevance for amateurs is unknown.

Effect of lifetime endurance training on left atrial mechanical function and on the risk of atrial fibrillation.

Background: Left atrium (LA) dilation and P-wave duration are linked to the amount of endurance training and are risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of LA anatomical and electrical remodeling on its conduit and pump function measured by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (STE).

Method: Amateur male runners >30 years were recruited.