Differentiating Between IC/PBS and Bladder Oversensitivity
March 6th 2012With common and overlapping symptoms and subjective patient reporting, interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) and bladder oversensitivity can be difficult to distinguish, making diagnosis and treatment recommendations tricky.
How to Improve Patient Safety with the Patient Handoff
March 6th 2012Poor communication is a leading cause of medical errors in this era of collaborative care. Effective communication strategies can help facilitate the continuity of care, prevent errors, and provide a safe environment for the patient.
Fluorochemical Exposure in Utero May Cause Obesity in Offspring
March 5th 2012Modern society has witnessed great improvements in everyday products, often thanks to advances in chemical compounds that make products better, stronger, and the like. Unfortunately, these advances may come at a cost, as prenatal exposure to some chemical compounds may have deleterious effects on offspring.
SSRIs raise risk of newborn pulmonary hypertension
March 1st 2012Although the risk for persistent pumonary hypertension (PPH) in newborns is low (ie, 2 per 1,000 live-born infants), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)taken by mothers after the 20th week of pregnancy more than double the risk for this life-threatening condition, according to the findings of a Nordic population-based cohort study.
Noninvasive DNA test: highly specific for fetal aneuploidy
March 1st 2012Results from an international multicenter study suggest that a new plasma-based DNA test detects nearly all cases of trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome), in addition to Down syndrome, with low-false positive rates.
Weight loss may prevent diabetic incontinence
March 1st 2012Overweight women with diabetes can cut their risk for developing urinary incontinence (UI) by shedding 5% to 10% of their body weight or as little as 15 pounds (7.7 kg), according to findings from the Look AHEAD trial, a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial of overweight and obese individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Incidence of high-risk oral HPV increasing
March 1st 2012About 7% of Americans are infected with oral human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a recent cross-sectional study. Prevalence is almost 3 times higher in men than in women, about 8 times higher in those who are sexually active than in those who are not, and variably higher among cigarette smokers, former and current marijuana users, and heavy alcohol drinkers.
Privacy and Security Mobile Device Project launched
March 1st 2012Physicians using smartphones and other mobile devices to access patients' electronic health records are increasingly at risk for data breach, but a new initiative from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may allay some fears about possible violations of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules.
Woman claims retained laparotomy pad caused ulcerative colitis
March 1st 2012A 25-year old Illinois woman delivered a baby by cesarean. During the procedure a laparotomy pad was left inside her abdomen. She subsequently experienced abdominal pain, bleeding, and diarrhea, and was readmitted to the hospital 4 months after the cesarean delivery. A CT scan revealed the laparotomy pad. Surgery was performed to remove the pad and an abscess that had formed around it. The patient was hospitalized for a week and also was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. The woman sued those involved with the delivery, claiming that the retained pad caused or contributed to her ulcerative colitis and that she would require colon removal surgery in the future.
Cancer survivors have poorer health behaviors
March 1st 2012Cancer survivors are more likely than their healthy counterparts to be currentsmokers, to rate their overall health as "poor," and to report less participation in moderate to strenuous exercise according to the results of a study from the Mayo Clinic.
How to Screen for Intimate Partner Violence: Tools from ACOG
February 29th 2012More than one third of women in the United States will experience some form of intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime. The consequences of IPV can be lifelong and include emotional trauma, long-term physical impairment, chronic health problems, and even death.
Stress Urinary Incontinence: What Treatment Works Best?
February 24th 2012While tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) is and single-incision mini-sling result in similar subjective cure rates for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence, the mini-sling is still inferior, according to a randomized study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.