Vancomycin Underdosing Very Common in the Obese
More than 70% of obese patients do not receive adequate doses of vancomycin, possibly resulting in subtherapeutic concentrations, according to Dallas-based researchers. Criteria that are more stringent suggest that this may also be true of a much wider group of patients. In the June issue of the American Journal of Medicine, Dr. Ronald G. Hall […]
WellPoint Profit Beats Estimates, Shares Rise
Health insurer WellPoint Inc said on Wednesday profit fell 10 percent, as medical costs ate further into premiums, but its shares rose more than 6 percent as results beat projections, helped by strength in its pharmacy and behavioral health businesses. Although the largest U.S. health insurer by membership tempered its full-year profit and enrollment forecasts, […]
Growth Hormone Therapy May Decrease Diabetes Risk in Girls With Turner Syndrome
Growth hormone (GH) treatment has beneficial effects on body composition, regional fat deposition and glucose tolerance in girls with Turner syndrome, a study suggests. "We found that GH-treated girls were leaner, with less abdominal fat and normal glucose tolerance compared with never-treated girls in the current study and compared with Turner syndrome girls in studies […]
Drug Misuse Partially Accounts for Excess Mortality in Scotland
Mortality rates in Scotland are substantially higher than in England and Wales – the so-called "Scottish effect." New research suggests that loss of life related to problem drug use accounts for a significant portion of the excess death rate.
Cymbalta® is now approved for fibromyalgia
Cymbalta is a selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SSNRI) indicated in adults for Acute and maintenance treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) Management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP) Treatment of acute generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) The management of fibromyalgia, with or without depression Although the mechanism of the antidepressant action of Cymbalta in […]
Effective Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer Remains Elusive
Although therapeutic strategies have advanced for many common gastrointestinal cancers, significant progress in the treatment of pancreatic cancer remains elusive. The eagerly anticipated results of randomized trials that evaluated gemcitabine-based combination regimens have proven to be disappointing, researchers report in a review paper that discusses the use of systemic therapy in advanced pancreatic cancer. Whereas […]
The Effect of Live Classical Piano Music on the Vital Signs of Patients Undergoing Ophthalmic Surger
AbstractContext: Music and surgery.Objective: To determine the effect of live classical piano music on vital signs of patients undergoing ophthalmic surgery.Design: Retrospective case series.Setting and Patients: 203 patients who underwent various ophthalmologic procedures in a period during which a piano was present in the operating room of St. Francis Medical Center. [Note: St. Francis Medical […]
1 in 7 Americans Lack Health Insurance
One in seven Americans — one in six Americans under age 65 — do not have any kind of health insurance, the CDC reports. Lack of health insurance is greatest in the Southwest and lowest in the Northeast, with huge variation — by about 20% — among the states. "Overall, 43.1 million Americans lacked health […]
New AHA Obesity Statement Urges Clinicians to Think Beyond Clinical Treatment and Prevention
Think bigger: that's the thrust of the American Heart Association's (AHA) new scientific statement on obesity prevention [1]. To have any meaningful impact on the obesity epidemic, clinicians need to go beyond clinical prevention and treatments for obesity and use influence and advocacy to effect social and environmental change, authors of the statement say.
Association Between Critical Care Physician Management and Patient Mortality
Association Between Critical Care Physician Management and Patient Mortality in the Intensive Care UnitLevy MM, Rapoport J, Lemeshow S, et alAnn Intern Med. 2008;148:801-809 Critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) are thought to benefit from more intensive healthcare delivery from nurses, physicians, and other providers (eg, critical care pharmacists).[1-15] The authors examined […]
