Weight Loss Advice From GPs Falls Flat for Patients With Obesity
Weight loss advice given by general practitioners (GPs) to patients with obesity appeared to be lacking, one U.K.-based qualitative study suggested. In an analysis of 159 audio recordings of patient consultations from the Brief Interventions for Weight Loss trial, the most common advice was diet and exercise, typically following an “eat less and do more” […]
COVID-19 Tied to Doubled Risk of Endocarditis in Substance Use Disorder Patients
Patients with cocaine or opioid use disorder (OUD) had a higher risk of endocarditis if they also contracted COVID-19, a retrospective study showed. COVID-19 infection was associated with an increased risk of newly diagnosed cases of endocarditis among patients with opioid use disorder (HR 2.23, 95% CI 1.92-2.60) and with cocaine use disorder (HR 2.24, […]
AML Study Suggests Intensive Chemo Unnecessary Before Allo-HCT
NEW ORLEANS — Patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) achieved similar outcomes with allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplant (allo-HCT) whether they went to transplant as soon as possible or underwent intensive salvage chemotherapy first, the randomized ASAP trial suggested. At day 56 post-transplant, complete remission (CR) rates were a similar 84.1% for patients […]
Rigid In-Hospital Diet Offers No Advantage in Patients After HSCT
NEW ORLEANS — Patients who have neutropenia after undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) do not need to restrict themselves to unpalatable hospital foods, a researcher said here. A randomized study of over 200 patients with hematologic diseases showed that patients who received a non-restrictive diet — including fresh fruits and vegetables, cold cuts, and […]
Opinion | Shouldn’t Doctors Be Paid for Responding to Health Portal Messages?
The Cleveland Clinic recently announced they will begin charging patients a fee for online correspondence with physicians through their online portal. Such fees are perhaps a necessary response to the ever-growing volume of portal messages, through which patients seek advice outside of the traditional structure of a billable visit. As a busy clinical cardiologist, my […]
Sequential Gemcitabine/Docetaxel Promising in NMIBC After BCG Relapse
SAN DIEGO — The use of sequential intravesical gemcitabine and docetaxel appeared effective and well tolerated in patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) following the failure of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy, a retrospective study showed. At a median follow-up of 18 months, the 6-, 12-, and 24-month high-grade recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates among […]
Metastasis-Directed Therapy May Delay ADT in Advanced Prostate Cancer
Metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) in selected patients with recurrent oligometastatic prostate cancer led to PSA responses in a majority of patients and delayed initiation of hormonal therapy by 18 months, a retrospective study showed. Overall, 77 of 124 patients had PSA declines of more than 50% with surgery or stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). In particular, […]
HHS Proposes Rule to Ensure Better Care Coordination for Patients With SUD
In an effort to enhance care coordination for patients with substance use disorder (SUD), HHS, acting through its Office for Civil Rights and in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, proposed changes to “Part 2” rules to better align privacy measures with those of HIPAA on Monday. If implemented, the proposed […]
Clinical Challenges: Therapeutic Options for AOSD
Rheumatologists primarily treat patients diagnosed with adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD) empirically and based on sporadic cases, retrospective case studies, and small clinical trials. “You want to help these people,” said Nilanjana Bose, MD, MBA, a rheumatologist at Lonestar Rheumatology in Houston. “Oftentimes these patients go from doctor to doctor and no one knows what is […]
Robotic Surgery Proves Its Mettle for Liver Cancer
Fully robotic liver resection was safe and effective for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared with open liver resection, a cohort study found. Propensity score-matched analysis showed “better perioperative tolerability … based on clinical, oncologic, and technical criteria” compared with open resection, reported Fabrizio Di Benedetto, MD, PhD, of the University of Modena and Reggio […]