Background: Obesity is associated with many cardiopulmonary comorbidities independently associated with worse health outcomes in acute illness, yet the physiological mechanisms potentially making obese patients more susceptible to COVID-19 remain uncertain. Adiposity-derived immunosuppression, increased thrombogenic potential, and predilection towards inflammatory hyperreactivity have all been postulated as potential mediators of this phenomenon. Yet, the most obvious [...]

Background: Obesity is associated with overall higher mortality risk in the general population however, some authors have noted patterns to suggest a survival advantage in a certain clinical subpopulation. Obesity paradox is reported for stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, renal disease, and diabetes. Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most common nosocomial infection in the [...]

Background: The obesity paradox describes a counterintuitive observation of improved outcomes in patients with obesity. Analysis of the association among overweight/obesity and leading causes of inpatient mortality in a systemic manner has not been conducted. Methods: We used STATA (StataCorp, College Station, Texas) to analyze the 2016 National Inpatient Sample (NIS). We recognized patients with [...]

Background: Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) is a common abnormality that affects between 25% and 34% of the general population. For most people, it is a benign finding; however, in some, the PFO can be wider, allowing a paradoxical embolus to transit from the venous to the arterial circulation, which is associated with cryptogenic stroke, migraine, [...]

Background: The Obesity Paradox postulates that obesity is a protective factor against mortality in certain chronic conditions such as chronic kidney disease (CKD) and congestive heart failure. Although this paradox is established in CKD, few studies have analyzed the paradox in acute kidney injury (AKI). There are both short and long term ramifications to AKI [...]

Case Presentation: A 20-year-old otherwise healthy male presented with a three day history of fever, sore throat, and myalgias. He was given supportive care and discharged home after testing negative for strep. He returned three days later with pleuritic chest pain, neck and ear pain, and had developed trismus. On arrival, his heart rate was [...]

Case Presentation: This is a 37-year-old male presented to ED with bilateral leg numbness and incontinence. An MRI was done that revealed herniation of nucleus pulposus of lumbar intervertebral disc with sciatica and he was taken to the OR for an emergent Full L4 laminectomy, bilateral L4-5 microdiscectomies, bilateral foraminotomies of the S1 nerve roots, [...]

Case Presentation: A 51-year-old female with pseudomyxoma peritonei was admitted to the hospital for surgical debulking. She was started on Lovenox post-operatively. A week later she became hypotensive with acute hypoxic respiratory failure. She was intubated and started on vasopressor therapy with an improvement in her hemodynamics. CT angiogram of the chest depicted a pulmonary [...]