Tag: patients

The muscles of people in intensive care are less able to use fats for energy, contributing to extensive loss of muscle mass, finds a new study co-led by UCL, King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Intensive care patients can lose 20% of their muscle mass in just 10 days, which

British doctors fit patients with pacemakers that let them track their heart rates on their smartphones in world first A medical breakthrough means patients can track their heart rate and exercise levels Through the device in their chest they can also check how much battery life it has left wherever they are The smart pacemakers

Further exploration into the endpoints of the NRG Oncology/RTOG 0424 trial resulted in the discovery that MGMT promoter methylation is an independent prognostic biomarker of high-risk, low-grade glioma treated with temozolomide and radiation. This is the first study of its kind to validate the prognostic significance of MGMT promoter methylation in this patient population and

For many women diagnosed with breast cancer, genetic testing can offer important information that might guide treatment choices. But studies have shown that only about half of women who could benefit receive genetic testing. A new study finds that surgeons are a key influence. “The surge of genetic testing in cancer care is a major

(HealthDay)—Among Medicare beneficiaries on hemodialysis, few patients are enrolled in hospice at the end of life, regardless of the spending trajectory during the last year of life, according to a study published in the June issue of Health Affairs. Ann M. O’Hare, M.D., from the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues examined hospice use

High risk, frail heart patients might derive benefits from “prehabilitation,” a strategy designed to enhance the recovery process after heart surgery by maintaining or improving the patient’s overall physical and mental status before surgery, according to a group of eminent cardiac specialists writing in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology. The authors reviewed the current evidence

A physician-scientist at the University of Arizona Cancer Center investigated a novel treatment for pancreatic cancer patients whose tumors exhibited a harmful genetic mutation. The results, in which a type of drug called a PARP inhibitor showed early promise in treating pancreatic cancer in patients with mutations in the BRCA gene, were published online last

A large proportion of the American public opts to receive cancer screenings with the hope that testing will reduce their chance of cancer death. Now, a team led by University of Missouri psychological science researchers has determined that patients may want cancer screenings even if the potential harms outweigh the benefits. Researchers believe that clinicians

Extending medical insurance to low-income Michigan residents meant they had better access to health care, earlier detection of serious illnesses, better care for existing health problems and improved ability to work, attend school and live independently, according to a newly published survey of primary care providers. Published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine by

How 53-year-old retail worker became one of the first NHS patients to be saved by ‘miracle’ cancer treatment Eighteen months on from successful treatment for an aggressive type of skin cancer, Tina Manning, 53, of Luton, faced the words no patient wants to hear The cancer was back — and it had spread to her brain

People who are prescribed a combination pill to manage their high blood pressure are more likely to take their medicine as instructed and have better health outcomes than those who take the same medications prescribed as separate pills, according to a new study published today. “Using single-pill combinations rather than multiple pills may represent a

Treating severe skin conditions with UV light rather than creams, pills and injections could save the NHS millions of pounds while improving patient outcomes, according to a new University of Dundee study. Dr. John Foerster and colleagues from the University’s School of Medicine found the annual per-patient cost of filtered UV light treatment, known as

In a study of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), persistent substance use—especially of hard illicit drugs—was linked with higher risks of CKD progression and early death. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). CKD is common in the United States, and affected patients

Historically, hospital patients have been at a high risk for adverse effects after they are discharged, according to the Institute of Medicine. These effects can be defined as unplanned bad circumstances that are directly related to the patient’s diagnosis, clinical conditions or the care they received while in the hospital. Many times these events lead

A drug that reduces delirium in postoperative patients may work by preventing the overactivity of certain receptors in brain cells, according to a new study published in the Online First edition of Anesthesiology, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). The researchers say the findings could lead to more widespread use

Gender can have an influence on psychotherapy. This is backed up by the latest analysis and long-term research carried out by the director of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Science BA-degree programme at Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in Krems (KL Krems). The results show that gender identity affects the emotions of both patients and

Premenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer and a high risk of recurrence who are treated with an aromatase inhibitor plus ovarian function suppression may gain 10 to 15 percent improvement in freedom from distant recurrence at eight years, according to a new clinical trial analysis reported at the annual meeting of the American

Since 2013, severely ill psychiatric patients in Denmark have been able to decide when to admit themselves to hospital without having to first go to the emergency department for evaluation. Now, scientists in Denmark have assessed whether or not the scheme works. Pervious pilot studies have suggested that patient-controlled admissions, as they are called, reduced

New research at this year’s Euroanaesthesia congress in Copenhagen, Denmark, suggests that nail treatments such as acrylic nails or nail polishes do not, as previously thought, affect readings from digital pulse oximetry (DPO) devices used to monitor patients’ blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) levels in hospital. DPO is used to measure blood oxygen levels in patients,

Getting a new pharmaceutical from an idea in the chemistry lab to market takes many years and billions of dollars. Each year just several dozen new drugs are approved for use in the United States. Human “organs-on-chips” are leading a revolution in drug safety testing. These devices use human cells to model the structure and