Background. Dementia remains a growing concern for societies globally, particularly as people now live longer. About 90% of individuals with advanced dementia suffer from eating problems that lead to general health decline and ultimately impacts upon the physical, psychological, and economic wellbeing of the individuals, caregivers, and the wider society. Objective. To evaluate the burdens and perceived benefits of tube feeding in individuals with advanced dementia. Design. Narrative review. Methods. Computerized databases, including PubMed, Embase, Medline, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar were searched from 2000 to 2019 to identify research papers, originally written in or translated into English language, which investigated oral versus tube feeding outcome in individuals with advanced dementia. Results. Over 400 articles were retrieved. After quality assessment and careful review of the identified articles, only those that met the inclusion criteria were included for review. Conclusion. Tube feeding neither stops dementia disease progression nor prevents imminent death. Each decision for feeding tube placement in individuals with advanced dementia should be made on a case-by-case basis and involve a multidisciplinary team comprising experienced physicians, nurses, family surrogates, and the relevant allied health professionals. Careful considerations of the benefit-harm ratio should be discussed and checked with surrogate families if they would be consistent with the wishes of the demented person. Further research is required to establish whether tube feeding of individuals with advanced dementia provides more burdens than benefits or vice-versa and evaluate the impacts on quality of life and survival.

BackgroundWe present a case of unsuspected Paget-Schroetter syndrome (also called effort thrombosis), one of the rare causes of upper extremity deep vein thrombosis. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first such case in our hospital. Our patient may have been discharged with an incomplete diagnosis and inappropriate management but for one of the few physicians who knew about effort thrombosis, made the diagnosis, and referred the patient promptly to the appropriate team.Case presentationA 37-year-old Caucasian man who was an active judo tutor presented to the acute medical unit in our hospital. He had initially presented to his primary care physician complaining of redness and swelling of his right arm and elbow of 1 week’s duration. He had been prescribed some antibiotics by his general practitioner, but his symptoms worsened. At that point, he was referred to our hospital for further review of his arm swelling.ConclusionsWhen considering a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis, the age, hobbies, and occupation, among other things, of individual patients should be put into context at all times to avoid missing rare causes such as Paget-Schroetter syndrome. This report is intended to raise awareness of this rare condition. Knowledge of this condition and its management is essential for all medical practitioners, especially medical doctors who are involved in unselected medical admissions in accident and emergency or medical admission units, where the majority of such patients are seen.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is open to people of all races, is committed to equality of educational opportunity, and does not discriminate against applicants, students, or employees based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability. Any complaints alleging failure of this institution to follow this policy should be brought to the attention of the Assistant to the Chancellor. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill actively seeks to promote integration by recruiting and enrolling a larger number of African American, Native American, and other minority students. POLICY ON NONDISCRIMINATION It is the policy of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that educational and employment decisions be based on individuals' abilities and qualifications and not on factors or personal characteristics that have no connection to academic abilities or job performance. Among the traditional irrelevant factors are race, sex, religion, and national origin. It is the policy of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that an individual's sexual orientation be treated in the same manner. This policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation does not apply to the University's relationship with outside organizations, including the federal government, the military, ROTC, and private employers.

Background We present a case of a suspected tranexamic acid–related bilateral pulmonary embolism in a healthy and active middle-aged woman who was receiving tranexamic acid for menorrhagia with no other known significant risk factors for thromboembolism. Case presentation A 46-year-old Asian woman who was usually fit and well with no remarkable past medical history except for menorrhagia of 1-year duration for which she was receiving tranexamic acid presented to our accident and emergency department with a 2-week history of intermittent pleuritic central chest pain. She was reviewed and discharged to home with a diagnosis of musculoskeletal pain on two hospital visits because she had no significant risk factors for thromboembolism and her workup investigation results for pulmonary embolism and other differential diagnoses were largely unremarkable. On her third visit to the emergency ambulatory clinic with recurring symptoms of pleuritic chest pain, a pulmonary computed tomographic angiogram confirmed bilateral subsegmental pulmonary embolism. Conclusion This case report reinforces the possible increased risk of thromboembolism in patients receiving tranexamic acid.

Background: World population is not only aging but suffering from serious chronic illnesses, requiring an increasing need for end-of-life care. However, studies show that many healthcare providers involved in the care of dying patients sometimes express challenges in knowing when to stop non-beneficial investigations and futile treatments that tend to prolong undue suffering for the dying person. Objective: To evaluate the clinical signs and symptoms that show end-of-life is imminent in individuals with advanced illness. Design: Narrative review. Methods: Computerized databases, including PubMed, Embase, Medline,CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar were searched from 1992 to 2022 for relevant original papers written in or translated into English language that investigated clinical signs and symptoms of imminent death in individuals with advanced illness. Results: 185 articles identified were carefully reviewed and only those that met the inclusion criteria were included for review. Conclusion: While it is often difficult to predict the timing of death, the ability of healthcare providers to recognize the clinical signs and symptoms of imminent death in terminally-ill individuals may lead to earlier anticipation of care needs and better planning to provide care that is tailored to individual’s needs, and ultimately results in better end-of-life care, as well as a better bereavement adjustment experience for the families.