It’s no secret that our bodies change over time, but what you may not realize is that these changes can affect the way some drugs work in our bodies. In fact, by the time we hit 65, some drugs—whether prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) — may act differently in your body, but you might actually think… Continue reading 5 Potentially Dangerous Medications in People 65 and Older
Tag: Medical Care
Automated Process Paves the Way for Screening, Prevention, and Treatment
A breakthrough in machine learning has also brought about a “game changer” for the science of metabolomics, the study of substances involved in metabolism. A researcher at the University of Alberta in Canada contends that the discovery will hasten the development of diagnostic and predictive tests for Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes and numerous other conditions, leading… Continue reading Automated Process Paves the Way for Screening, Prevention, and Treatment
High rates of MRSA Transmission Between Nursing Home Residents and Health-Care Workers
Healthcare workers frequently contaminate their gloves and gowns with drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA during routine care of nursing homes residents. That is the finding of a study published in May 2015 in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. A release from the society quotes… Continue reading High rates of MRSA Transmission Between Nursing Home Residents and Health-Care Workers
Short-Term Hospital Stays Linked to Development of Disability in Last Year of Life
Yale researchers found a close association between “acute hospitalizations”, meaning those for short-term treatment, and the development and progression of disability among older adults at the end of life. A release from the university notes that the findings may have profound implications for medical decision-making for older people and those who care for them. The… Continue reading Short-Term Hospital Stays Linked to Development of Disability in Last Year of Life
Bug Bites and Stings: When to See a Dermatologist
Although most bug bites and stings are harmless, some can be dangerous. This is especially true if you are allergic to the bug’s venom, or if the bug is carrying a disease. Here, from the American Academy of Dermatology, is advice about when to see a dermatologist. In the United States, it’s common to experience… Continue reading Bug Bites and Stings: When to See a Dermatologist
New Guidelines for Making Critical-Care Decisions
Experts have developed guidelines aimed at avoiding conflicts between physicians caring for patients with advanced illness, and the families of those patients. “Neither individual clinicians nor families should be given unchecked authority to determine what treatments will be given to a patient,” explained Douglas White, M.D., M.A.S., UPMC Chair for Ethics in Critical Care Medicine,… Continue reading New Guidelines for Making Critical-Care Decisions
Music Helps Ease Anxiety During Extubation
Patient-selected music during weaning from prolonged mechanical ventilation could benefit patients by decreasing their heart rate and anxiety, according to a study presented in May 2015 at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in Denver. A release from the society explains that patients on prolonged mechanical ventilation may feel stress or insecurity during daily weaning… Continue reading Music Helps Ease Anxiety During Extubation
New Guidelines for Using Urinary Catheters
Researchers have developed guidelines to tell doctors and nurses how to better decide which patients may benefit from a urinary catheter. The guidelines are aimed at avoiding side effects such as urinary tract infections. The guidelines, known as the Ann Arbor Criteria for Urinary Catheter Appropriateness, were developed by researchers from the University of Michigan… Continue reading New Guidelines for Using Urinary Catheters
Generic Transplant Drugs as Good as Brand Name
A University of Cincinnati (UC)-led research team has found that generic formulations of tacrolimus, a drug used post-transplant to lower the risk of organ rejection, are just as good as the name-brand version. The findings were presented Sunday, May 3rd 2105 at the American Transplant Congress annual meeting in Philadelphia by lead investigator Rita Alloway,… Continue reading Generic Transplant Drugs as Good as Brand Name
Choosing Wisely Campaign: Revised List of Topics to Talk About with Older Adults
On April 23rd 2015, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) released updates to several of its recommendations for the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation’s Choosing Wisely® campaign, which raises professional and public awareness about treatments and tests to question and discuss because they may lack efficacy or cause potential harm. The AGS’s updates reflect… Continue reading Choosing Wisely Campaign: Revised List of Topics to Talk About with Older Adults
Palliative Care in the ER for Seniors Could Reduce Admissions to the ICU
Applying palliative care principles to emergency departments may reduce the number of geriatric patients admitted to intensive care units, possibly extending lives and reducing Medicare costs, according to a three-year analysis by Mount Sinai researchers published online in the May edition of Health Affairs. A release from Mt. Sinai quotes Corita Grudzen, MD, the lead… Continue reading Palliative Care in the ER for Seniors Could Reduce Admissions to the ICU
Off-label Use of Device to Prevent Stroke in A-fib Patients Can Be Fatal
The Lariat device, which has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for soft tissue approximation (placement of a suture) during surgical procedures, is associated with a significant incidence of death and urgent cardiac surgery during its frequent off-label use to prevent stroke in patients with the irregular heartbeat known as atrial… Continue reading Off-label Use of Device to Prevent Stroke in A-fib Patients Can Be Fatal
Some Hospitals Not Doing Enough to Protect Patients From Infection
Almost half the hospitals who took part in a study aren’t doing what they should to prevent Clostridium difficile bacteria, which sickens hundreds of thousands of people each year. While nearly all of the 398 hospitals in the study use a variety of measures to protect their patients from C. diff infections, a team of… Continue reading Some Hospitals Not Doing Enough to Protect Patients From Infection
Effectiveness of New Stroke Treatment Confirmed
Research done at the University of Calgary in the UK and published in April 2015 the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) confirms earlier findings that a procedure called endovascular therapy (ET) for ischemic stroke is the best treatment option for many patients because it reduces the incidents of disability. This is the fourth research… Continue reading Effectiveness of New Stroke Treatment Confirmed
Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancers: Moving Toward More Precise Prevention
By NIH Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D. Inherited mutations in the BRCA1 gene and closely related BRCA2 gene account for about 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancers and 15 percent of ovarian cancers [1]. For any given individual, the likelihood that one of these mutations is responsible goes up significantly in the presence… Continue reading Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancers: Moving Toward More Precise Prevention
ER Patients Need to Know More about Pain Management
Patients in the emergency room want to know more about the possibilities for pain management than their doctors are telling them. They also want to know about the risk of opioid dependency. The study, by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, used semi-structured open-ended telephone interviews with 23 patients… Continue reading ER Patients Need to Know More about Pain Management
Dying Patients Don’t Always Want a Longer Life
When it comes to end-of-life choices, patients with advanced cancer valued avoiding severe pain or dying at home over extending their life by one year or receiving high-quality health care, research has shown. Investigators from the Lien Centre for Palliative Care (LCPC) and collaborators from the National Cancer Centre Singapore, published their finding in the… Continue reading Dying Patients Don’t Always Want a Longer Life
Risky Procedure May Not Benefit Nursing-Home Patients
Revascularization procedures, designed to preserve limbs, benefit only a few U.S. nursing home residents, according to new research. Investigators from the University of California San Francisco published the finding in JAMA Internal Medicine. They said that even those patients who survived gained little, if any, function. “Our findings can inform conversations among physicians, patients and… Continue reading Risky Procedure May Not Benefit Nursing-Home Patients