Surgical Volumes Matter for Outcomes at Ambulatory Centers, Too
As seen for hospital-based procedures, ambulatory surgical outcomes were significantly better on average at centers with relatively high volumes, Medicare data indicated. Odds of hospital admission or emergency department visit within 7 days of an ambulatory surgical procedure were 21% greater in low- versus high-volume centers (95% CI 9%-36%), according to Jeffrey H. Silber, MD, […]
Benzodiazepines Tied to Worse Outcomes in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
People with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) who were prescribed benzodiazepine derivatives had a faster decline in PSP Rating Scale (PSPRS) scores than those who didn’t have benzodiazepines, a post hoc analysis showed. In a secondary analysis of concomitant drugs used in a phase II/III clinical trial, only one medication class — benzodiazepine derivatives, including lorazepam, […]
Co-Pays Hurt PrEP Use, Study Suggests
Higher out-of-pocket costs for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) were projected to lead to more people discontinuing PrEP altogether in a new analysis, raising concerns about a possible rise in HIV infections. Risk-adjusted abandonment rates climbed from 5.5% among patients with no cost sharing to a projected 42.6% for patients with $500 out-of-pocket costs in a […]
Midlife Cognitive Problems Tied to Sleep Disruptions Earlier in Life
People who had fragmented sleep in their 30s and 40s were more likely to have worse cognition a decade later, longitudinal data showed. Those in the highest versus the lowest tertile of the sleep fragmentation index had over twice the odds of performing poorly on three types of cognitive tests 11 years later, said Yue […]
Potent Benzodiazepine Masquerading as Xanax Hospitalizes Three in Chicago
Three young adults in Chicago who thought they were taking alprazolam (Xanax) actually ingested the unapproved and far more potent bromazolam, requiring an intensive care unit stay, public health officials warned. The “designer” benzodiazepine derivative that was synthesized in 1976 but never approved for therapeutic use has been on the rise across the world and […]
Mortality Reaches 20% for Hospitalized Patients With High-Risk Pulmonary Embolism
Mortality rates were high among patients with high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE), with the worst outcomes in those with hemodynamic collapse, according to a retrospective analysis of the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) Consortium Registry. In nearly 5,800 patients, in-hospital mortality occurred over five times more frequently among those with high-risk PE compared with those with […]
Nuclear Tracer Shortage; Weighing Post-Ablation OAC; Fix for Biased AI Tools?
Magnesium’s hemostatic effects in intracerebral hemorrhage were supported by reduced hematoma expansion in FAST-MAG participants who achieved higher serum magnesium levels with magnesium treatment. (Stroke) The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology alerted to a shortage of 99mTechnetium-pyrophosphate, a radioisotope tracer used in nuclear imaging of cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis. (Health Imaging) Postmortem toxicology data suggested disproportionately […]
Psych Nurses Sound the Alarm on Patient Violence at Pediatric Hospital
Nurses at Seattle Children’s Hospital demanded the hospital intervene after police were twice called to the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit (PBMU) over violent incidents during a 2-week period in November, according to the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA). On November 7, police were called to intervene after patients began overturning carts, wielding metal poles […]
Opinion | ‘We’re Doing God’s Work’: What We Heard This Week
“Treating patients and getting them well, it’s something — we’re doing God’s work.” — Steven Feldman, MD, PhD, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina, on treating patients with atopic dermatitis. “It’s kind of overkill.” — Raman Madan, MD, a dermatologist with Northwell Health in New York, on people under 25 getting […]
Proteins Predict Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease
Protein indicators of subclinical peripheral heath in plasma were linked with markers of Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegeneration, cross-sectional proteomic analyses showed. Greater protein-based risk for cardiovascular disease, heart failure mortality, and kidney disease was associated with plasma biomarkers of amyloid-beta, phosphorylated tau181 (p-tau181), neurofilament light (NfL, a measure of neuronal injury), and glial fibrillary acidic […]