Early vs late ICU admission in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Introduction: The type of admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) influences the prognosis of patients with severe pneumonia and, in the case of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, this is still unexplored. The objective of this study was to determine the differences between early and late ICU admission.

Methodology: A retrospective cohort study of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia at two high-complexity hospitals in Colombia.

Ketamine-induced cystitis: A case report and literature review.

Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic drug, has gained popularity as a recreational substance, particularly among young adults. However, chronic ketamine abuse can lead to various complications including ketamine-induced cystitis. We present the case of a 46-year-old Caucasian male with a history of HIV infection and daily recreational ketamine use for 7 months, who was admitted to the emergency room with hypogastric pain and hematuria.

High and very high risk of osteoporotic fracture in Colombia, 2003-2022: identifying diagnostic and treatment gaps.

Unlabelled: This study examined the clinical characteristics and refracture rates of Colombian patients with high- and very high-risk osteoporosis. This reveals osteoporosis diagnoses and treatment gaps. Only 5.

A Rare Case of Single-Organ Vasculitis of the Hepatic Artery in a Female Patient: Diagnosis and Management Challenges.

This case report describes a rare occurrence of isolated vasculitis of the hepatic artery in a female patient. The patient presented with abdominal pain, fever, and weight loss, and a diagnosis was made through a combination of imaging studies and serological evaluation of systemic vasculitis. The management of this case was challenging because of the involvement of the hepatic artery without any other clinical manifestations of the systemic disease, apart from the presence of rheumatoid factor and anti-citrullinated cyclic peptide.

Randomized Trial of Anticoagulation Strategies for Noncritically Ill Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19.

Background: Prior studies of therapeutic-dose anticoagulation in patients with COVID-19 have reported conflicting results.

Objectives: We sought to determine the safety and effectiveness of therapeutic-dose anticoagulation in noncritically ill patients with COVID-19.

Methods: Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 not requiring intensive care unit treatment were randomized to prophylactic-dose enoxaparin, therapeutic-dose enoxaparin, or therapeutic-dose apixaban.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a patient with secondary hypoparathyroidism: A case report.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) has direct and indirect actions on cardiovascular cells. The effects of chronic hypoparathyroidism on cardiac morphology, function, and conduction are still unclear. Low PTH states are associated with multiple manifestations in the heart, acute or chronic.

Bilateral striopallidal calcinosis secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus.

Bilateral symmetric striatopallidal calcinosis with or without deposits in dentate nucleus, thalamus, and white matter is reported in patients ranging from asymptomatic, metabolic, toxic, and genetic autosomal dominant, familial or sporadic forms. Of the connective tissue diseases, it has been reported in very few cases in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, many incorrectly labeled as Fahr syndrome without even having hypoparathyroidism. Here we describe a 30-year-old female patient with neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus manifested at diagnosis with mood disorders and anxiety, and 1-year later develops Lupus headache; Incidentally, an aneurism of the right middle cerebral artery and bilateral and symmetric calcifications of the caudate and lenticular nuclei were noted; this finding is a rarely reported manifestation of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus.

Pulmonary Cystic Disease Associated With COVID 19 Pneumonia: An Emerging Atypical Manifestation.

Chest tomography has played an essential role during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic since it has allowed to suspect and diagnose the disease early and to assess the severity of lung involvement, predict the disease's course, and detect the complications associated with it. Certain chest CT findings have been reported in more than 70% of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test-proven COVID-19 cases, including ground-glass opacities, vascular enlargement, bilateral abnormalities, lower lobe involvement, and posterior predilection. In COVID-19-endemic regions, observing these chest CT findings should raise the suspicion of a possible COVID-19 diagnosis.

Clinical outcome of patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia treated with corticosteroids and colchicine in Colombia.

Background: To date, there is no specific antiviral therapy for severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Since there is no specific therapy against SARS-CoV2, current efforts aim to prevent contagion through public health measures and develop a protective vaccine. While waiting for the latter, it is necessary to evaluate the drugs that at least, in initial studies, suggested some degree of utility in the management of Covid-19 or its complications.

Dexamethasone vs methylprednisolone high dose for Covid-19 pneumonia.

Background: There is no effective therapy for the severe acute respiratory syndrome by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) responsible for the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). To date, dexamethasone has shown a decrease in mortality in patients who require oxygen, especially those with invasive mechanical ventilation. However, it is unknown if another corticosteroid can be used, the optimal dose and its duration, to achieve a better clinical outcome.

Mediastinal Hibernoma: A Rare Cause of Chronic Cough.

A hibernoma is an uncommon benign soft tissue tumor composed of brown adipose cells; the mediastinal location as presentation is scarce, with only six cases previously reported. The diagnosis of hibernoma is challenging and must be made based on the clinical, radiographic, and cytologic features. Here we present a 33-year-old woman without any relevant medical history presented for outpatient evaluation of a dry cough persisting for three months, and the X-rays revealed a dense well-defined mass with smooth borders in the left upper posterior mediastinum.

Uncommon patterns of antinuclear antibodies recognizing mitotic spindle apparatus antigens and clinical associations.

Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are key biomarkers in the evaluation of rheumatic diseases. The prevalence and clinical significance of uncommon or rare patterns, particularly those directed at the mitotic spindle apparatus (MSA), are not well understood. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical significance of anti-MSA patterns in a Colombian population.

Systemic Sclerosis at an Intensive Care Unit: A Case Series and Literature Review.

Introduction: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystemic autoimmune disease. Few studies have focused on the outcomes of SSC patients who require intensive care unit (ICU) admission, largely due to the absence of protocols for the optimal management of this disease during an ICU stay.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the outcomes of a series of SSc patients admitted to the ICU at a single center in Cali, Colombia.

Risk factors associated with different stages of atherosclerosis in Colombian patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Since atherosclerosis development is a gradual process of damage inside the artery wall, and the phenotype-genotype correlation of complex diseases may vary depending on ethnicity, we sought to investigate the influence of clinical features, routine inflammatory markers, and the genetic component of RA on different stages of atherosclerosis in northwestern Colombian patients with RA.

Methods: A group of 140 patients with RA were enrolled in this study.