Specialized telemedicine support for primary care providers can help initiate and expand access to treatment for hepatitis C virus.

High-intensity aerobic training reduces risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease similarly in late pre- and early postmenopausal women.

This study assessed trends and correlates of tuberculosis (TB) treatment completion documentation among individuals incarcerated at diagnosis. A lower proportion of individuals incarcerated at diagnosis had documented TB treatment completion than non-incarcerated individuals (75.6% vs 93.7%). Being foreign-born was the strongest correlate of no documented completion among people incarcerated at diagnosis, while social risk factors for TB (e.g., homelessness, substance abuse) did not emerge as correlates of no documented completion. Strengthened collaboration between correctional and public health agencies could improve continuity of care among released inmates.

Placement of a Foley catheter in a male can be relatively uncomfortable. Strategies such as insertion of Xylocaine jelly prior to catheter insertion have been used to minimize discomfort. Most of the difficulty with placing a catheter is at the level of the external sphincter, prostate, and bladder neck. When there is difficulty due to an enlarged prostate, stricture, or bladder neck contracture, the catheter should not be forced because it can lead to a false passage. Pain level during urethral catheterization in males can be significantly reduced when the patient is instructed to void during the insertion of the catheter.

Among adolescents, poor health care experience is associated with poor health. Adolescents with the greatest need report poorer experience of care, which may further exacerbate their health problems. Can higher-quality services address these disparities and improve outcomes?

Systemic corticosteroid responsiveness in children with severe asthma is heterogeneous. Assessment of these responses is challenging due to the absence of a gold standard and infrequent uses of systemic corticosteroid challenges. Fitzpatrick et al. reported that clinical phenotypic predictors were of limited utility in discriminating systemic triamcinolone response in children with severe asthma. The group did find that the systemic mRNA expression of inflammatory mediators that related to several cytokines, including IL-2, IL-10 and TNF pathways, strongly differentiated children who failed to achieve control after system triamcinolone administration. Current definitions of severe asthma in children are associated with varied responses to systemic corticosteroids. Molecular endotypic as well as clinical phenotypic features should be considered in the evaluation of systemic corticosteroid responses in severe asthma.

While receiving post-acute care through VA-provided skilled nursing and rehabilitation services, veterans also connect with each other and staff. Through this socialization, an unintended consequence may be that longer stays happen, even past their originally planned discharge date. This could be due to the strong bonding between peers and staff. Further research is warranted as this may be an underrecognized phenomenon.

A Swedish study presented at the annual European Association of Preventive Cardiology conference found women with greater body surface area, measured based on weight and height, had a higher risk of atrial fibrillation compared with smaller women. The findings, based on over 1.5 million women who became pregnant for the first time at an average age of 28 years, showed the risk was 2.61 times greater for those with the highest BSA than those with the lowest BSA.

Scientists with the Scripps Research Institute have made populations of HIV-resistant cells by binding antibodies to immune cells, denying HIV access to key cell receptors, according to findings reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The institute will work with City of Hope's Center for Gene Therapy on preclinical testing.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association linked the number of cardiovascular risk factors a middle-age person has with the likelihood of developing beta-amyloid in the brain, which can lead to Alzheimer's disease. Data showed 31% of people without vascular risk factors when the study began had elevated beta-amyloid later on, compared with 61% who had at least two risk factors.

Medicare spent between $2.4 billion and $6.5 billion in 2014 on health care services that either do not help or might harm patients, according to an analysis of claims data, but experts say payment and delivery system reforms might prove effective at reducing the waste. Imaging for nonspecific lower back pain, tests for prostate and colon cancers in elderly patients, cardiovascular tests and procedures, and spinal injections for low-back pain were among the most frequently administered low-value procedures.

A report from Healthcare IT News and HIMSS Analytics shows that more than half of 85 health care organizations surveyed intend to use artificial intelligence within five years, and about 35% plan to within two years. Respondents cited clinical decision support, patient diagnosis, population health and precision medicine as the top areas where AI will have the greatest impact initially.

A review of patient pain scores after surgery found people with higher education levels had lower levels of pain intensity and greater self-management behavior compared with those who had less education. Researchers reported in the AORN Journal that women had higher pain intensity levels and lower pain self-management behavior than men.