Archive for January, 2017

When not to use beta-blockers

The researchers said that there was a significant reduction of death almost a quarter as a result of using the drug by. However, the same beneficial drugs could be linked to a risk increase by 34 percent for the moderate or severe dementia patient, making it almost impossible for them to carry out their everyday activities.

A sub-study done on bariatric surgery patients, they recorded a 29 percent reduced rate of developing atrial fibrillation as opposed to the non-surgery group. These patients were subjected to almost 20 years follow up as explained by the study lead author Shabbar Jamaly, MD, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and colleagues.

The other finding of the study was that younger patient receiving bariatric surgery benefited the most as they recorded a much more reduction in the risk of developing atrial fibrillation (P=0.001 for interaction). The benefit was also shared by patients who previously had higher diastolic blood pressure (P=0.028).

The National Cancer Institute goes on to estimate that 1,980 people will die as a result of the disease. Generally, there is a 98.1 percent five-year survival rate for the thyroid cancer patients. By using the newly released statistics, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) opted to update a recommendation of what it had issued in 1996 on the same topic.

New draft recommendation issued

The USPSTF published a daft recommendation on November 22nd, alongside a draft evidence review on screening adults for thyroid cancer. By using the examined evidence, the USPSTF recommended that asymptomatic patients should not be screened for thyroid cancer.

How the study was done

The prospective study was done on 115 patients receiving treatment at the intensive care units. The study was conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston under the leadership of Anand Srivastava, MD, MPH. The investigators found out that of the 115 patients, the 29 who experienced AKI depicted a significant high mean plasma uric acid levels contrasted to the 86 patients who had none. The rate was 5.5 versus 4.2 mg/dl. After multivariable analysis, for every 1 mg/dl increase in uric acid at the intensive care unit admission, a 29% rise in the AKI incident was depicted. This record was shown after a number of adjustments on sex, age, APACHE II score and baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

Of all the 13 cases, 7 happened between May 2013 and August 2016 and their details have been outlined in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that was first published on November 4th. The other six cases are still under investigation because their discovery happened after the report was taken online.

The CDC released a clinical alert to U.S. health care facilities in June and stated that the C. auris had emerged globally. The alert went to request that laboratories to notify the state and local health departments. Ever since the alert, the CDC has collaborated with various state and local health departments to carry out C. auris investigations.