New onset atrial fibrillation predicts heart failure progression | Pretreatment pain predicts survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma | Health-related quality of life in children with gastrointestinal diseases
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October 23, 2014
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New onset atrial fibrillation predicts heart failure progression
In addition to being a discrete electrophysiologic event, in heart failure patients, new-onset atrial fibrillation is a predictor of and trigger for clinical heart failure progression. The American Journal of Medicine (10/2014) Share: Email
 
Clinical Updates
Pretreatment pain predicts survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Survival outcomes in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) vary by extent of disease and behavioral and socioeconomic factors. This report assessed the extent to which pretreatment pain influences survival in 2,340 newly diagnosed patients. Results show that pretreatment pain was an independent predictor of survival in a large sample of HNSCC patients even after accounting for the cancer's stage, fatigue, age, race/ethnicity, smoking and alcohol intake. Therefore, symptoms at presentation and pre-cancer treatment are important factors to be considered in understanding survival outcomes in HNSCC patients. The Journal of Pain (10/2014) Share: Email
 
Health-related quality of life in children with gastrointestinal diseases
To assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children with functional and organic gastrointestinal diseases, 689 families of patients who had 1 of 7 GI disorders completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. School days missed, days in bed and needing care, parent workdays missed, work impact, and health care utilization also were assessed. Patients with functional or organic GI diseases had a lower HRQOL than controls across all dimensions, with larger effects sizes for patients with a functional GI disease. The Journal of Pediatrics (9/2014) Share: Email
 
Psychosocial burden of childhood diabetes
Psychosocial burden is a major contributor to glycemic outcomes early in the course of childhood diabetes. Early intervention and prevention efforts to maximize quality of life are needed. Youths with type 2 diabetes are at greater risk than their type 1 counterparts, possibly because of other contextual variables outside diabetes. Journal of Adolescent Health (10/2014) Share: Email
 
Group B streptococcal disease in newborns
The introduction of prevention guidelines for invasive group B streptococcal disease in 199 in the Netherlands did not reduce the incidence of disease in neonates. The guidelines should be reassessed and alternative approaches to prevent infant invasive group B streptococcal disease should be sought. The Lancet Infectious Diseases (11/2014) Share: Email
 
Benign syncope in long QT syndrome family members
The data indicate that family members from families with long QT syndrome have a benign form of syncope, most likely related to vasovagal syncope and not ventricular tachyarrhythmic syncope. The American Journal of Cardiology (10/15/2014) Share: Email
 
Family perceptions of hospice care in nursing homes
How do family perceptions of death with hospice care in nursing homes differ from hospice care in community dwellers? A study from the University of Missouri-Columbia measured family members' anxiety, depression, quality of life, social networks, perceptions of pain medication and health and compared the two groups. While family members of those cared for by nursing home hospice reported higher quality of life, results were similar between the two groups regarding anxiety, depression, perceptions of pain medicine and health. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (10/2014) Share: Email
 
Medical News
Semi-annual doctor visits help with blood pressure control
Researchers analyzed data from 37,000 adults and found that patients who visited their physician twice a year were 3.2 times more likely to keep their blood pressure under control than those who saw their physician once a year or less. The study was published in the journal Circulation. HealthDay News (10/20) Share: Email
Diabetes patients show poor response to stress
Type 2 diabetes patients exhibited an impaired ability to regulate blood pressure, cholesterol and heart rate in response to stress, a study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicated. Researchers also noted greater depressive and hostile symptoms in type 2 diabetes patients. Business Insider (10/21) Share: Email
Men are more likely to get esophageal cancer, study says
Men are more likely than women to develop esophageal cancer, especially those with adenocarcinoma, according to French researchers. The study in Gut included global and North American estimates of esophageal cancer rates. Healio (free registration) (10/17) Share: Email
Business Practice News
CDC issues new Ebola guidelines for health care workers
The CDC has released new guidelines for health care workers treating patients with Ebola. The new guidelines stress the use of protective garments, requiring workers to be "repeatedly trained" when it comes to putting on and taking off their personal protective equipment, leaving no skin exposed while caring for infected patients. All workers will be supervised by a trained observer or site manager to ensure protective protocols are followed while removing and putting on protective gear. NBC News (10/20), ABC News/The Associated Press (10/20), National Public Radio/The Two-Way blog (10/20) Share: Email
Hospital-owned physician practices show higher per-patient costs
Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed the total per-patient cost in California was 10.3% higher for hospital-owned physician offices compared with independent physician practices. Data also showed the cost was nearly 20% greater in larger multiple-hospital health systems that owned groups than in physician-owned offices. Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model) (10/21) Share: Email
Patient's Perspective
Healthgrades' rankings website allows searches by experience
A new version of the Healthgrades.com website that launches this week uses data from 500 million claims and patient reviews to rank physicians on complication rates, patient satisfaction and experience. Leapfrog Group CEO Leah Binder said the website is "game changing" because people can search for physicians based on experience in a specific medical area or procedure. USA Today (10/20) Share: Email
SmartQuote
Minds are like parachutes; they work best when open."
-- Thomas Dewar,
Scottish businessman Share: Email
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