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Multimorbidity in heart failure | Additional interventions to HPV vaccine | Chagas manifestations among Texas blood donors

January 15, 2015

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Multimorbidity in heart failure

Multimorbidity is common in heart failure, and differences in co-occurrence of conditions exist by type of heart failure and sex, highlighting the need for a better understanding of the clinical consequences of multiple chronic conditions in heart failure patients. The American Journal of Medicine (9/2014) Share:

Clinical Updates

Additional interventions to HPV vaccine

Countries may be considering additional interventions to deliver in conjunction with the human papillomavirus vaccine to 9-to-13-year-olds. This review provides evidence of effectiveness from already implemented and evaluated interventions. The results support a recommendation to focus on iron supplementation, promotion of physical activity, and sexual and reproductive health/HIV interventions. Journal of Adolescent Health (1/2015) Share:

Chagas manifestations among Texas blood donors

This study concluded that cardiologists should consider Chagas disease in their differential for patients who may have clinically compatible electrocardiogram changes or non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, even if the patient has no history of residing in a Chagas-endemic country. The American Journal of Cardiology (1/1/2015) Share:

Variability in parent responses to children's pain

The widely used Adult Responses to Children's Symptoms (ARCS) measures parental responses to child symptom complaints among youths aged 7 years to 18 years with recurrent/chronic pain. Given developmental differences between children and adolescents and the impact of developmental stage on parenting, the factorial validity of the parent-report version of the ARCS with a pain-specific stem was examined separately in 743 parents of 281 children (7 to 11 years) and 462 adolescents (12 to 18 years). Results suggest revised structures that differ across developmental groups can be used with youth with a range of clinical pain-related conditions. The Journal of Pain (1/2015) Share:

Missed opportunities for vaccination contributes to underimmunization

In 2013, only 70% of American children 19 months to 35 months of age had received all recommended vaccinations. This retrospective analysis found that 82% of the children in the study had at least one missed opportunity to administer a vaccination, and 38% had at least one missed opportunity to administer an overdue vaccination. Underimmunization was 3.5 times greater for children who had ever experienced a missed opportunity for an overdue vaccination compared with those who had not. (Free access is time limited.) The Journal of Pediatrics (11/2014) Share:

Early oral refeeding based on hunger in moderate and severe acute pancreatitis: a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial

While early enteral nutrition is considered beneficial for patients with acute pancreatitis, the best timing and criteria for switching to oral refeeding remain unclear. This clinical trial studied the feasibility and safety of resumption of an oral diet based on hunger in patients with moderate and severe acute pancreatitis. Patients who began an oral diet when they felt hungry had a shorter duration of fasting and hospital stay, with no difference in the number of complications or adverse events versus the control group. Nutrition (1/2015) Share:

Dynapenic obesity and lower extremity function in elderly adults

Dynapenic obesity versus dynapenia alone or obesity alone -- which affects lower extremity function loss more? Dynapenia, or loss of muscle power, occurs as one ages. Both obesity and dynapenia have been related to impaired lower extremity function. Chinese researchers found that dynapenic obesity had a stronger association with slower gait speed and mobility disability than either dynapenia alone or obesity alone. (Free abstract only.) Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (1/2015) Share:

Medical News

Study: Older diabetes patients may be overtreated
Nearly two-thirds of seniors with diabetes and poor health were placed on strict glucose control treatment, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine. However, researchers found the medications put them at greater risk of hypoglycemia and that intensive glucose control did not seem beneficial. HealthDay News (1/12) Share:

Study finds more than 10% improperly use daily low-dose aspirin
About 12% of people who were prescribed daily low-dose aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke should not have been using the medication, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers, who analyzed records for more than 68,800 patients, said the risks of side effects from taking a daily aspirin outweighed the potential prevention benefits in these patients. MedPage Today (free registration) (1/14), HealthDay News (1/12) Share:

Study links positive outlook to cardiovascular health
A study in the journal Health Behavior and Policy Review suggested people who have a positive outlook may be more likely to have a healthy heart. University of Illinois researchers said adults with the highest levels of optimism were twice as likely to be in ideal cardiovascular health, compared with people who were more pessimistic. Science World Report (1/9) Share:

Business Practice News

NIH working group calls for better obesity collaboration
Health care specialties that deal with obesity should increase collaboration to improve their understanding of behavior and physiology and reduce the number of people who regain lost weight, an NIH working group wrote in a report published in Obesity. Dr. George Bray of Louisiana State University wrote in a related commentary that the report highlights big differences in individual responses to weight-loss interventions. Healio (free registration)/Endocrine Today (1/9) Share:

Mobile health becoming more mainstream for doctors
The prevalence of smartphones, along with powerful new technologies, has sped the advance of mobile health among physicians, who are turning to health applications to lower the cost of health care, ease caregiving among patients and provide them with greater control over their treatment, this Wall Street Journal report states. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (1/9) Share:

Patient's Perspective

Study links greater physical activity to lower risk of alcoholism
Survey data from more than 18,000 adults linked higher levels of physical activity to a lower risk of developing an alcohol-use disorder, Danish researchers reported in Alcohol and Alcoholism. Co-author Dr. Ulrik Becker said genetics as well as environmental factors can play a role in developing the disorder. Reuters (1/9) Share:

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