Search

The decision whether to treat individuals not previously known to have cardiovascular disease is based on a new risk table in which Dutch research data on morbidity have been incorporated. An explanation of the roles of additional risk factors ignored in the cardiovascular risk function, such as a sedentary lifestyle and a high BMI, is provided. A method for estimating the cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis has been developed. New recommendations concerning the measurement of blood pressure at home and in the ambulatory setting have been formulated. The recommendations for the choice of antihypertensive drugs have been revised. The recommendations on handling therapy-resistant hypertension are provided. Recommendations for choosing statins based on a current cost-effectiveness analysis are provided.

A 24-year old man presented himself to the emergency ward with complaints of fever, nausea, headache, muscle ache and chest pain. Two weeks before presentation he had been bitten by a pet rat. We determined that he had bacteraemia caused by a Streptobacillus moniliformis infection, which led to the development of an illness called rat bite fever. S. moniliformis is a pleomorphic gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium that is considered part of the normal nasopharyngeal flora in rats. It is the cause of two similar illnesses: rat bite fever and Haverhill fever. Clinicians should consider these infections in the work-up of unexplained fever or sepsis, certainly in the presence of known exposure to rats. Treatment consists of antibiotics.

Evidence-based medicine is increasingly being viewed as a sine-qua-non for the modern and high-quality practice of medicine. 'Evidence' refers to the availability of epidemiological research. In this paper, we discuss a number of limitations of over-emphasis on epidemiological evidence. We focus on the availability, reliability and applicability of epidemiological evidence in the context of individualised medicine. We conclude that relying excessively on epidemiological evidence is a danger that we are insufficiently aware of. The implications of our conclusions for patient care and health policy are discussed. We propose that epidemiological evidence should be used for benchmarking average care provided by doctors working alone or in group practices, but not for benchmarking care provided to individual patients.

A 79-year-old male with a Bricker loop and chronic renal failure was admitted to hospital because progressive dyspnoea. This was due to severe hyperchloraemic metabolic acidosis. Hyperchloraemic acidosis can occur if urinary diversions are constructed from the colon or ileum. Contact between intestinal mucosa and urine may cause reabsorption of ammonium and chloride, and secretion of bicarbonate. Hyperchloraemic acidosis is rarely seen with an incontinent ileal loop due to its small absorbing surface area and the rapid drainage of urine from the loop. Hyperchloraemic acidosis in a patient with a Bricker loop may point to prolonged contact between the ileum and urine. A loopogram is necessary to investigate the cause. In our patient the loopogram showed that the incorporated bowel segment was too long. After shortening of the Bricker loop, the patient recovered from the hyperchloraemic metabolic acidosis.

There is no consensus in international guidelines about the role of acetylsalicylic acid in primary prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes mellitus.Primary prevention trials suggest that in diabetic patients, acetylsalicylic acid has either no or less favourable effects in preventing cardiovascular events compared to patients with other cardiovascular risk factors.Increased platelet activity, increased activation of clotting factors and interaction between glycation and acetylation are the most plausible explanations for this loss of efficacy in patients with diabetes mellitus.The evidence for the use of alternative antiplatelet therapy in addition or instead of acetylsalicylic acid is too limited to recommend this as an alternative preventive method. Also increasing the dose of acetylsalicylic acid is probably not worthwhile.We do not recommend acetylsalicylic acid as primary prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes mellitus, but we do recommend it as a means of secondary prevention.