Every eleventh adult has diabetes, and every third has prediabetes. Over 95% of diabetics are of type 2. It is well established that diabetes doubles the risk of heart disease and stroke apart from increasing the risk of microvascular complications. Hence, strict glycemic control is necessary. However, it increases the risk of hypoglycemia, especially in patients with longstanding diabetes. Continuous glucose monitors (CGM) use a sensor to continuously measure the glucose levels in the interstitial fluid every 10 seconds and gives out mean values every five minutes. CGMs are emerging tools in the management of type 2 diabetes. The prime objective of this review is to find out if there is enough supporting evidence, suggesting that continuous glucose monitoring is more effective than self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) in type 2 diabetes. We conducted a systematic literature search in Medline (PubMed) looking for any studies addressing our objective. It is observed that there is a varying level of evidence supporting that employing a CGM can reduce glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), hypoglycemic events, and increase patient satisfaction. However, some studies reported no significant benefits. This systematic review with meta-analysis concludes that the use of CGM in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is beneficial, as it significantly reduces HbA1c compared to the usual method of SMBG. The pooled mean difference in HbA1c was -0.25 (-0.45, -0.06) and statistically significant (at p = 0.01) when comparing CGM to SMBG.

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a malignant widespread metastatic disease without an identifiable primary site after extensive clinical investigation. Recently, a decline is observed in the diagnosis of CUP, mainly due to improvement in detection of the primary tumors, thus decreasing the unknown primaries. Worldwide, CUP is the sixth to eighth most common malignancy, accounting for 2.3% to 5% of a new cancer diagnosis. CUP is third to fourth most common cause of death due to cancer-related mortality. The prognosis of CUP is depressing with the median survival of three to six months in the previous studies, but according to recent studies, median survival is less than one year. High risk for developing CUP is seen in heavy smokers (26 or more cigarettes/day) and individuals with the lowest quartiles of waist circumference. A weak association is observed with the use of alcohol consumption and low level of education. Human papillomavirus DNA plays a role in those with squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primaries in head and neck regions. In the diagnosis of CUP, comprehensive medical history, complete physical examination (including genitourinary, rectal exam, and breast examination in women) and necessary laboratory tests are crucial.Whole-body positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) is the investigation of choice to assess the entire body for CUP. Multiparametric 3T-MRI (MP-MRI) is used to examine the local soft tissue status, helps in the staging of the tumor, and to determine the extent of involvement of tissue for medical as well as prognostic purposes. Immunohistochemistry outlines the specific markers, including caudal-related homeobox protein (CDX2), homeobox protein Nkx-3.1 (NKX3-1), paired box gene 8 (PAX8), special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2 (SATB2), thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1), and splicing factor 1 (SF1) with the focus on the effectiveness of lineage-restricted transcription factors. Patients response to treatment can be evaluated by the gene expression profiling (GEP) test that also predicts tissue of origin (TOO). Tumor identified through gene profiling is sensitive to platinum/taxane therapy, others that are not TOO tumors are resistant to platinum/taxane. The new therapeutic method based on molecular profiling is associated with higher treatment response. In comprehensive genomic profiling, it is observed that there is at least one clinically appropriate genomic alteration in CUP that can influence the targeted therapy. The targeted therapeutic approach will not only improve the disease outcome but will also be cost-effective and save time from finding the primary site.

Critically ill patients often develop multiorgan dysfunction syndrome. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is part of it. Renal replacement therapy (RRT) remains the primary choice of treatment in severely ill patients who develop AKI. Recent data have shown increased use of RRT in AKI patients. Therefore, the right choice of RRT plays an important role in the renal recovery of such patients. The question of which mode of RRT to apply has been the topic of study in the last two decades. Whether RRT should be conducted in intermittent mode, as intermittent hemodialysis (IHD), or in continuous mode, as continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), is still being investigated. CRRT has a hypothetical advantage when compared to IHD, as it involves a process in which there is gradual removal of fluids, better control of urea, better maintenance of the acid/base balance, and hemodynamic stability. However, IHD is more practical, cost-effective, does not require anticoagulation, decreases the bleeding risk, and removes the solute efficiently and rapidly in acute life-threatening conditions.Other modalities of RRT like sustained low-efficiency daily dialysis (SLEDD) and prolonged intermittent renal replacement therapy (PIRRT) have shown to encompass the benefits of both CRRT in terms of hemodynamic stability and IHD in terms of cost-efficiency. Although SLEDD is progressively being used as an alternative to CRRT and IHD, very few studies have shown to support it. In this article, we try to summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the different techniques used in RRT. With SLEDD gaining more popularity among the different modalities of RRT, we want to assess the possibility of its routine implementation as the single-best choice for RRT.

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare complication of hypercoagulable states such as pregnancy, lupus anticoagulant syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, malignancies, and the use of oral contraceptive pills. It most commonly occurs in young people, especially women, but can occur in the elderly as well. The signs and symptoms vary from focal neurological deficiencies to alteration in mental status. In this review, we compare the efficacy and safety profile of traditional anticoagulants heparin and vitamin K antagonists (warfarin) to novel oral anticoagulants, which include rivaroxaban, apixaban, dabigatran. The advantages of the new anticoagulants are their effectiveness, short half-life, oral intake instead of parenteral, and the decreased need for constantly monitoring prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and the international normalized ratio (INR). In this review, we discuss studies that demonstrate that these novel oral anticoagulants are effective and safe in treating cerebral venous thrombosis without many adverse effects when compared with traditional treatment options. There are also some case reports that point towards the effectiveness of newer agents; however, we need more studies with bigger samples to reach a conclusion in favor of new oral anticoagulants. The studies that have already been conducted can become the basis for conducting newer studies that can revolutionize the modern treatment for conditions like CVT.

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition that requires treatment throughout the pregnancy. Seizures should be well controlled before conception with a specific type of anti-epileptic drug (AED) for each epileptic syndrome. The selection of AED is crucial in women with epilepsy (WWE). AEDs with the lowest malformations rates should be used for treatment during pregnancy. Valproate should be avoided in WWE of childbearing age as it is associated with the highest risk of neurocognitive malformations. However, pregnancy might alter the levels of AEDs, which can lead to an increase in seizure frequency. It is important to monitor AED levels and make necessary dose adjustments to control seizures during pregnancy. WWE should be treated with the lowest possible dose allowed and preferably with a single AED to avoid harmful effects on the developing fetus. Women should be counseled to take folic acid during pregnancy as it reduces the risks for cardiovascular, genitourinary, and neural tube defects. Generally, WWE usually have normal pregnancies and can bear healthy offspring. Pregnant women need continuous follow-up in a coordinated manner with the neurologist and obstetrician to assess for adverse pregnancy and fetal outcomes.