Primary Care Strategy Fails to Reduce Kidney-Dysfunction Triad Hospitalizations
Using a personalized algorithm to identify primary care patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), type 2 diabetes, and hypertension (the kidney-dysfunction triad) — plus practice facilitators to help providers deliver guideline-based interventions — didn’t move the needle for reducing hospitalizations, the ICD-Pieces study found. At 1 year, the hospitalization rate of patients in the intervention […]
PROs for Cutaneous Chronic GVHD After Transplant Tied to Disease Severity, Mortality
Skin-involved chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) had a significant association with long-term impairment of patient-reported outcomes (PROs), which also had a prognostic association with mortality, a multicenter prospective study showed. Patients with sclerotic cGVHD had significantly worse scores on a validated quality-of-life (QOL) instrument compared with those who had epidermal-type cGVHD. Patients with combination GVHD subtypes […]
Female Reproductive Factors Linked to COPD Risk
Female reproductive factors were associated with risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including age at menarche, number of children, miscarriage, stillbirth, and age at natural menopause, according to an analysis of three cohorts. Among nearly 300,000 women, a U-shaped association was observed between age at menarche and COPD (≤11 vs 13 years: HR 1.17, […]
Embolization Proves Its Mettle for Subdural Hematoma
PHOENIX — For chronic or subacute subdural hematoma, embolization of the middle meningeal artery (MMA) reduced recurrence, three randomized trials showed. Two trials with the Onyx liquid embolic system and one with the Squid liquid embolic system were reported with what one presenter called “very consistent” findings at the closing late-breaking science session of the […]
Telehealth, Default Orders Show Promise in Palliative Care
A palliative telecare intervention improved quality of life for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure (HF), and interstitial lung disease (ILD), the ADAPT randomized clinical trial found. Patient phone calls with a nurse and social worker — who met separately with a primary care and palliative care physician and specialists as needed […]
Gabapentinoids in COPD Patients May Raise Risk for Severe Exacerbations
Gabapentinoid use in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was associated with a higher risk for severe exacerbations, a population-based cohort study from Canada indicated. Among more than 27,000 COPD patients, those who started therapy with the anticonvulsant for either epilepsy, neuropathic pain, or some other form of chronic pain had a 39% greater […]
Axatilimab Shows Efficacy in Recurrent/Refractory GVHD
SAN DIEGO — Axatilimab achieved rapid and durable responses in patients with recurrent/refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), according to the phase II AGAVE-201 trial. The highest overall response rate (ORR) was observed in patients treated with the lowest dose of axatilimab at 0.3 mg/kg every 2 weeks, with an ORR of 74% (95% CI 63-83) […]
Methotrexate Tied to Greater Risks for Older Patients With CKD
Older patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) had greater risks for serious adverse events when starting on low-dose methotrexate rather than hydroxychloroquine, a propensity score-matched analysis found. About 60% of the cohort’s new prescription came from a rheumatologist. Within 90 days of starting either treatment, the risk for the composite outcome — a hospital visit […]
Clinical Challenges: Diagnosing Axial Spondyloarthritis
The diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) can be highly challenging because its hallmark symptom — chronic back pain — is experienced by some 20% of adults at some point in their lives. Yet axSpA only accounts for 0.5% to 1% of those cases, “so axSpA is lost within a sea of chronic back pain,” said […]
Tirzepatide Wins FDA Approval for Weight Loss
The FDA approved tirzepatide (Zepbound), the latest injectable for chronic weight management in adults, the agency announced on Wednesday. The combination glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor agonist is indicated for adults with obesity or overweight with at least one weight-related condition, alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. Eli Lilly’s […]