‘Practice Changing’ Trial on Activity Recs After Prolapse Surgery
Telling patients who undergo pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery they can resume physical activity and work as soon as they’re able to resulted in noninferior anatomic and symptomatic outcomes compared with standard recommendations, a randomized trial showed. Of 107 women who underwent minimally invasive surgery at a single center, maximum anatomic POP support loss and […]
Neurologic Events After COVID-19 Vaccines Assessed
All patients hospitalized with new or relapsing neurologic events after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination at a New York tertiary hospital had one or more risk factors for their neurologic condition, a prospective study showed. The most prominent neurologic index events in these vaccinated patients were ischemic stroke (37.7%), encephalopathy (32.6%), seizure (15.9%), and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH; 9.4%), […]
Obesity-Related Medication Use Remains Low After Bariatric Surgery
Fewer patients with obesity used lipid-lowering, cardiovascular, or antidiabetic drugs after bariatric surgery compared with matched patients who did not have surgery for morbid obesity, a population-based cohort study in Sweden and Finland found. Bariatric surgery patients had a lower probability of receiving a prescription for one of the three categories of medication in all […]
Mucus Plugs in Airways of COPD Patients Linked to Higher Mortality
WASHINGTON — Mucus plugs obstructing the airways of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were associated with higher all-cause mortality compared with no mucus plugs, according to an observational retrospective analysis. Over a median 9.5-year follow-up, mortality rates were 34.0%, 46.7%, and 54.1% in patients who had mucus plugs in zero, one to two, […]
Plastic Surgeon Who Livestreamed Procedures on TikTok May Lose License
An Ohio plastic surgeon who livestreamed procedures on TikTok, and who at least 11 patients say caused severe complications from treatment at her clinic and rehab center, is fighting to keep her medical license in hearings this week. Katharine R. Grawe, MD, also known as “Dr. Roxy” on TikTok, had her license suspended in November […]
Potential ‘Game Changer’ for Leprosy Prevention
A single dose of rifapentine reduced the incidence of leprosy among household contacts of patients with the infectious disease, a cluster-randomized trial out of China found. In an intention-to-treat analysis, the cumulative incidence of leprosy among 7,450 household contacts was 0.09% with an oral dose of rifapentine over 4 years of follow-up, as compared with […]
Racial, Ethnic Disparities Persist in OUD Treatment
Black and Hispanic patients with a disability had a tougher time getting medication to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) despite frequent contact with healthcare providers, Medicare claims data showed. Within 180 days of an index OUD-related event, Black patients received a prescription for buprenorphine 12.7% of the time, Hispanic patients 18.7% of the time, and […]
Daytime Sleepiness Drugs of Varying Performance in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
One drug stood out for reducing excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a meta-analysis, researchers reported. Compared with placebo, users of solriamfetol (Sunosi) showed improvement on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS; mean difference -3.8, 95% CI -5.24 to -2.50) after 4 weeks, as did groups taking armodafinil/modafinil (mean difference […]
GLP-1 Agonists Come Out on Top in Cardiovascular Comparison of Newer Diabetes Meds
Diabetes patients adding a newcomer drug to their medications may derive cardiovascular benefits to varying degrees depending on their choice between GLP-1 agonists and SGLT-2 inhibitors, a large observational dataset suggested. Among U.S. veterans already on metformin, sulfonylurea, or insulin treatment and without cardiovascular disease (CVD), the addition of a GLP-1 agonist, instead of a […]
Exercise Rehab Helpful After Pulmonary Embolism
Exercise rehabilitation may confer functional improvements to patients struggling to breathe following a pulmonary embolism (PE), a randomized controlled trial found. Patients with persistent dyspnea in the two-center study who were assigned to rehabilitation scored significantly higher on the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT) compared with controls (difference 53 m, 95% CI 17.7-88.3, P=0.0035), reported […]