Vitamin D fails to reduce statin-associated muscle pain: Study is the first placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial to study this
Patients who take statins to lower high cholesterol levels often complain of muscle pains, which can lead them to stop taking the highly effective medication and put them at greater risk of heart attack or stroke. Some clinicians have recommended vitamin D supplements to ease the muscle aches of patients taking a statin, but a […]
Twelve-Month Data Back Pegloticase-Methotrexate Gout Combo
PHILADELPHIA — Previous findings that adding methotrexate to pegloticase (Krystexxa) in patients with gout was more effective than pegloticase alone have now been extended to a full year of treatment. At month 12 in the randomized, 152-patient MIRROR RCT trial, 60% of patients receiving the combination had serum urate levels below the target of 6 […]
Biologic Shows Promise in Ongoing Food Allergy Trial
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Omalizumab (Xolair) may be an effective therapy for patients with multiple food allergies, according to an ongoing phase III trial. Most of the first 60 patients with multiple food allergies enrolled in stage one of the OUtMATCH clinical trial were able to tolerate serving-sized portions of those foods a year after receiving […]
Bariatric Surgery Cuts All-Cause Mortality Rate Over Many Years
SAN DIEGO –Patients who underwent bariatric surgery saw a reduction in all-cause mortality that held strong over multiple years, researchers reported. In a retrospectives study, bariatric surgery patients were 16% less likely to die from any cause than their matched non-surgical counterparts over a median 13.2 follow-up period (hazard ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.79-0.90, P<0.001), […]
Treatment De-Escalation Shows Promise in Testicular Cancer
A reduced dose of chemotherapy and involved node radiotherapy (INRT) may be viable for patients with stage IIA or IIB seminoma of the testis, results from a phase II study suggested. In a group of 116 patients, a single-dose of carboplatin along with de-escalated INRT yielded a 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate of 93.7% (90% […]
CDC: HIV Coinfection in Over 80% of Hospitalized Monkeypox Cases
In a cohort of patients hospitalized for monkeypox, four out of five had HIV and one in five died, CDC researchers said. Of the 57 adults hospitalized due to serious complications from monkeypox, 82.5% had HIV and 8.5% were receiving antiretroviral therapy, reported Maureen Miller, MD, of the CDC’s Monkeypox Emergency Response Team, and colleagues. […]
Start HIV Antiretroviral Therapy ASAP, Experts Urge
WASHINGTON — Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in patients with HIV can lead to better outcomes, especially for those ages 35 and younger, a follow-up analysis of the START trial showed. For patients who had deferred ART until their CD4 counts were below 350 cells/mm3, there was a 21% higher risk of death or […]
Novel Siderophore Cephalosporin Nets Promising Results in Tough-to-Treat CRAB
WASHINGTON – Cefiderocol (Fetroja) may be a viable targeted-therapy option in critically ill patients with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections (CRAB), according to the ongoing PROVE trial. In the real-world setting, patients with CRAB often had multiple comorbidities, including severe burns, which complicates therapy, explained Stephen Marcella, MD, of Shionogi in Florham Park, New Jersey. He […]
Oxygen Concentration During Surgery: No Help for Post-Op Nausea, Vomiting
NEW ORLEANS — There was no benefit to giving patients supplemental oxygen during surgery to reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), according to a post hoc analysis of a randomized trial. The multiple cross-over cluster trial had eight isolated operating rooms randomized to alternate between 80% versus 30% fractions of inspired oxygen every 2 weeks […]
Ivermectin: Still on a Losing Streak as COVID-19 Treatment
WASHINGTON — There were no differences in relief from mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms for patients on ivermectin versus placebo, according to the ongoing ACTIV-6 trial. Among >1,000 vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, the median time to recovery was 12 days for those in the ivermectin group and 13 days in the placebo group, reported Matthew McCarthy, MD, […]