November 29, 2012
Canadian investigators suggest that as many as 15% of patients who suffer transient ischemic attack (TIA) and minor strokes become disabled. Ongoing symptoms, diabetes, female gender, and CT/CT angiography-positive metric were predictive of disability after TIA and minor stroke. Just 12% of those who did not have a recurrent event were disabled, compared with 53% of those who did.…
Coronary revascularization with CABG appears to be associated with increased stroke risk at 30 days and at about 1 year when compared with PCI, according to an international investigation. After CABG, the 30-day rate of stroke was 1.20%, compared with 0.34% after PCI.…
Tight glycemic control appears to be achievable following cardiac surgery in children ages 0 to 36 months, with low rates of hypoglycemia, according to a randomized, control trial. The researchers noted, however, that tight glycemic control does not significantly change infection rates, mortality, length of stay, or measures of organ failure when compared with standard care.…
Investigators in Connecticut have found that patient perceptions of communication with ED medical teams appear to be positive. Results indicate that patients perceived ED teams to be respectful and willing to listen. “Excellent” scores were given most for the items on the survey, including:
“Let me talk without interruptions” (76.1%).…
Hospital procedure volume does not appear to be a significant predictor of mortality for the performance of panceatectomy, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, esophagectomy, or CABG. An analysis of discharge data from more than 260,000 patients found mortality risk to instead be primarily attributable to patient-level characteristics.…
Investigators from Washington suggest using patient decision aids appears to reduce rates of elective surgery and lowers cost for some health conditions for which treatment decisions are highly sensitive to patient and physician preferences. Decisions aids were associated with 26% fewer hip replacements and 38% fewer knee replacements.…
Proper management of agitated patients presenting to the ED is essential to keeping staff safe and ensuring appropriate care. In many cases, agitation cases can be managed with non-pharmacologic methods, but medications are becoming increasingly important in acute agitation in EDs.…
More than 100 hospital emergency departments are borrowing an idea from the restaurant industry: online reservations. Additional concierge services such as mobile apps for wait times make ER experiences more agreeable.…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Cometriq (cabozantinib) to treat medullary thyroid cancer that has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized).
Medullary thyroid cancer develops in cells in the thyroid gland that make a hormone called calcitonin, which helps maintain a healthy level of calcium in the blood.…
