Tag: patients

Study finds WeChat program helps recovery of heart disease patients

Patients recovering from life-threatening coronary heart disease who received rehabilitation through WeChat experienced a better recovery than those having standard care, new Curtin University-led research has found. The research, published in The Lancet Digital Health, recruited 312 patients with coronary heart disease from a hospital in Shanghai, China, and measured the effectiveness of a smartphone-based

CF patients experience improved lung health with lumacaftor-ivacaftor but with caveats

In adolescent and adult patients with cystic fibrosis taking lumacaftor-ivacaftor (ORKAMBI), the combination drug appears to improve lung function and body weight and reduce the need for intravenous antibiotic treatment, according to a French study published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. However, nearly one in five

Study shows nearly half of cancer patients who enter a comprehensive tobacco treatment program quit smoking

In the largest smoking cessation study of cancer patients to date, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that comprehensive tobacco treatment can help cancer patients successfully quit and abstain from smoking. The prospective study, published today in JAMA Network Open, analyzed 3,245 smokers treated in MD Anderson’s Tobacco Treatment Program

Survey suggests elderly patients with diabetes may favor more aggressive blood sugar control

Survey results of a national sample of elderly people with type 2 diabetes suggest that many long-time patients downplay medical and social factors that underpin professional recommendations for fewer medications and less aggressive treatment of high blood sugar. The survey study, conducted by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers, concludes that many older adults with diabetes, when

Phase 1 study shows novel KRAS inhibitor well tolerated by patients with adenocarcinoma and non-small cell lung cancer

A clinical trial testing the toxicity of a KRAS inhibitor demonstrated early promising antitumor activity and few adverse side effects in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer harboring KRAS G12C mutation, according to research presented today at the IASLC 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer, hosted by the International Association for the Study of

Blood pressure outside of clinic may better predict outcomes in black patients

(HealthDay)—Among African-Americans, higher daytime and nighttime systolic blood pressure (SBP) is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and all-cause mortality independent of blood pressure (BP) levels measured in the clinic, according to a study published online Aug. 14 in JAMA Cardiology. Yuichiro Yano, M.D., Ph.D., from Duke University in Durham, North

Why hospitals underreport the number of patients they infect

Would hospitals lie? It’s an important question for patients, certainly, but also for insurers, regulators, and policymakers interested in containing medical costs. Mohsen Bayati of Stanford Graduate School of Business has examined a version of that question in recent research on how hospitals report infections for Medicare patients. “Before starting this project, I was reading

Treating stroke patients just 15 minutes earlier can save lives

Initiating stroke treatment just 15 minutes faster can save lives and prevent disability, according to a new UCLA-led study, published today in JAMA. The research also determined that busier hospitals—those that treat more than 450 people for stroke each year—have better outcomes than those that treat fewer than 400 stroke patients per year. Researchers at

Osteoporosis undertreated in joint replacement patients

(HealthDay)—Osteoporosis is common in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty (TJA), yet the condition is often undertreated, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of Arthroplasty. James T. Bernatz, M.D., from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and colleagues retrospectively reviewed medical records of 200 consecutive adults (106 female and 94

Study finds accuracy gap in EHRs for eye care patients

When it comes to keeping track of prescribed medications between clinic visits, many patients rely on printed medication lists automatically generated from electronic health records (EHRs). An examination of the EHRs of a cohort of ophthalmology patients revealed that one-third had at least one discrepancy between the medications discussed in the clinician’s notes and those

Hospitals may divert ambulances to avoid treating certain patients

Some hospitals may strategically divert ambulances to avoid treating low‐paying patients who are uninsured or who have Medicaid, according to a recent analysis. Charleen Hsuan, assistant professor of health policy and administration at Penn State, led a study that examined whether hospitals are more likely to temporarily close their emergency departments to ambulances—a process known

Watch ‘Miss Foot Fixer’ pull out a patient’s ingrown toenail

Gruesome footage captures ‘Miss Foot Fixer’ pulling out an ingrown toenail from a patient’s foot Podiatrist Marion Yau has a patient with a ‘ingrown toe and massive growth’ Stomach-churning footage shows her cutting away at the growth with pliers Then removes half of the unnamed patient’s toe after it was ‘hidden’ by growth  A stomach-churning video

Using data to decide when to transfer patients by medical helicopter

The increased use of medical helicopters over the last half-century has saved countless lives by quickly getting patients from trauma to the emergency room (ER) within the so-called “golden hour.” But a growing number of medical experts contend emergency helicopters may be overused in some transfer situations. Their concern: Patients stuck with an exorbitant cost