Herpes zoster infection is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular events, suggests a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers in South Korea examined the medical records of 520,000 people from 2003 to 2013. During this time, 4% were diagnosed with herpes zoster. These patients were matched with control participants who didn’t […]
Read MoreAnnals of Surgery found death rate decline in South Carolina in hospitals that chose to participate in the program. The rate of patient death after surgery in South Carolina hospitals decreased substantially in hospitals that implemented a checklist developed by the World Health Organization, according to a summary of a study published online in Annals […]
Read MoreThis study indicates a strong link between chronic migraine and psychological symptoms and beliefs that contribute to disability. Psychological factors such as catastrophizing of pain are common in migraine and, along with depression and anxiety, contribute significantly to migraine-related disability, according to an observational study published in Headacheaimed at better defining features of distress in chronic […]
Read MoreIn a talk titled “Preventing persistent post-surgical pain and promoting opioid cessation after discharge,” given at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, March 15-19, 2017, in Orlando, Florida, Jennifer Hah, MD, MS, an anesthesiologist and pain specialist at the Pain Management Center at Stanford Health Care, California, provided an overview of postoperative […]
Read MoreHow healthy is “healthy”? According to the results of an analysis from the University of California, San Diego, surgical mortality in a relatively healthy (ASA I and II) patient population is decreasing across the United States. Nevertheless, the study of more than 1.5 million patients identified several clinical predictors of increased mortality risk in this population. Consideration […]
Read MoreAs many as 80% of patients with migraine experience photophobia, which can occur during or between attacks. Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna discovered higher rates of depression, anxiety, and stress in both patients with migraine and migraine-free control patients with photophobia. Their findings were recently published in the Journal of Headache and Pain.1 As […]
Read MoreNew England Journal of Medicine · March 21, 2017 Authors: Giovanni Landoni et al Background: Acute left ventricular dysfunction is a major complication of cardiac surgery and is associated with increased mortality. Meta-analyses of small trials suggest that levosimendan may result in a higher rate of survival among patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, […]
Read MoreWhile many patients who are critically ill may have altered levels of consciousness or be mechanically ventilated, they can still perceive pain. The Behavior Pain Assessment Tool (BPAT) is a brief, reliable, and valid tool for assessing pain in critically ill adults and in patients who cannot self-report pain, according to a study published in Pain.1 […]
Read MoreResearchers conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate the effect of pharmacologic treatments of diabetic peripheral neuropathy on pain and quality of life. Several classes of drugs reduce neuropathy-related pain better than placebo, according to a review recently published in Neurology.1 Julie M. Waldfogel, PharmD, from the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a […]
Read MoreUpper gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures may be commonplace, but they have surprisingly high complication and mortality rates. The advent of a modified laryngeal mask that can simultaneously protect the airway and facilitate the passage of an endoscope may reduce some of these adverse events. Preliminary results from an Australian study found that the mask facilitated endoscopic […]
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