Short Term Use of Painkillers Could Be Dangerous to Heart Patients

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: May 10,2011

Even short-term use of some painkillers could be dangerous for people who’ve had a heart attack, according to research published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers analyzed the duration of prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) treatment and cardiovascular risk in a nationwide Danish cohort of patients with prior heart attack.  They found the use of NSAIDs was associated with a 45 percent increased risk of death or recurrent heart attack within as little as one week of treatment, and a 55 percent increased risk if treatment extended to three months.

The study was limited by its observational nature and the lack of clinical parameters, researchers said.

NSAIDs are commonly used by the general population and are associated with increased cardiovascular risk in people with heart disease or those at high risk.

In a 2007 statement, the American Heart Association advised physicians about the risks of NSAID use among heart patients and provided a stepped care approach. In addition, the statement advised extra caution for when NSAIDs might be used, noting that they should “be limited to patients for whom there are not appropriate alternatives, and then, only in the lowest dose and for the shortest duration necessary.” Read the rest of this entry »


Period of observation can avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation

Overall, roughly half of U.S. children taken to hospital emergency departments (EDs) for a head injury receive a head CT scan, often to ease worried parents’ concerns. Yet true traumatic brain injury is uncommon. A multi-center study of more than 40,000 children with minor blunt head trauma, led by Children’s Hospital Boston and UC Davis, shows that allowing a period of observation can reduce the use of head CT by as much as half without compromising care – and without exposing children to ionizing radiation. Results appear in the June 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online May 9).

“Only a small percentage of children with blunt head trauma really have something serious going on,” says Lise Nigrovic, MD, MPH, of Children’s Hospital Boston, who co-led the study with Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at UC Davis. “If you can be watched in the ED for a few hours, you may not need a CT.”

This change in practice would not only be cost-saving, but is better medicine, the researchers say.

Nigrovic, Kuppermann and colleagues analyzed the outcomes of children presenting at 25 different emergency departments, as part of a large prospective study conducted by the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN). Of 40,113 children whose records could be analyzed, 5,433 (14 percent) were observed before making a decision about CT use.  Observation times varied, as did the severity of head trauma.

Overall, the children who were observed had a lower rate of CT than those not observed (31 vs. 35 percent). When the researchers matched the observed and non-observed groups for severity of head injury and the practice style of different hospitals, this difference was more pronounced: The likelihood of a CT scan in the observed group was about half that of similar non-observed patients (odds ratio, 0.53). In particular, children whose symptoms improved during observation were less likely to eventually have a CT. Read the rest of this entry »


Goal to Reduce Heart’s Workload and Increase Blood Flow for High-Risk PCI Patients

A new device designed to assist blood circulation and support blood pressure in high-risk patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has shown improved outcomes compared to the standard treatment with an intraaortic balloon pump. Results of the PROTECT II study were presented as a Late-Breaking Clinical Trial today at the SCAI 2011 Scientific Sessions in Baltimore.

These devices decrease the heart’s workload and increase blood pressure by assisting the heart to pump blood, and are generally used in critical situations, such as after a heart attack. For many years physicians have used intraaortic balloon pumps to support the heart pumping blood. A new device called Impella 2.5 is small enough to be inserted like a catheter, through the groin, to the heart’s main pumping chamber to assist the heart in pumping blood.

“As PCI advances, we’re increasingly able to treat sicker patients, but often those patients have great strains on their hearts and need extra blood pressure support. The Impella device is small enough to be inserted directly into the heart to assist the heart in pumping blood to the rest of the body,” said William O’Neill, M.D., FSCAI, executive dean of clinical affairs at the University of Miami and the study’s principal investigator. “Our study compares this new device to standard pumping devices used for high-risk patients.” Read the rest of this entry »


Bladder Cancer: Ignorance Compromises Care

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: May 6,2011

Bladder Cancer Awareness Day – Despite being the 4th most common cancer in men and the 11th most common in women[1], over half the people surveyed across Great Britain have no idea what the risk factors for developing bladder cancer are[2].

Only 5% think smoking and 1% think using chemicals at work cause it, whereas these are the two main risk factors for bladder cancer. The most common symptom of, or warning sign for, bladder cancer is blood in the urine, but only half of those surveyed mentioned this[2].

In the United States, May 7th is Bladder Cancer Awareness Day. The survey findings from Action on Bladder Cancer (ABC) mark this date with a long term commitment to increase UK understanding of the causes of bladder cancer, allowing people to seek help and treatment earlier for improved outcomes in care. With over 10,000 people being diagnosed every year in the UK, ABC is calling for greater public support to move bladder cancer higher up the public health agenda to receive greater attention alongside prostate, breast and lung cancer.

“The profile of bladder cancer and, as a result, the care of patients can be significantly improved by asking the public and healthcare professionals and providers to become involved in our dedicated advocacy group, ABC – we want to work together to make a difference,” commented Mr Colin Bunce, Chair of ABC and Consultant Urologist, Middlesex. Read the rest of this entry »


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