Health Highlights: March 28, 2022
Stakes are high ahead of FDA panel vote on ALS drug. Advocacy groups are pressing the agency to fast-track approval of an experimental drug treatment for the deadly neurological disease. But are regulators moving too fast? Read moreSecond COVID-19 vac…
Learn MoreHad COVID or Gotten Vaccine? Hospitalization Is ‘Extremely Uncommon’
MONDAY, March 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Been vaccinated? Already had COVID? New research shows that your chances of winding up in the hospital if you get a breakthrough infection are practically nil.In the study, scientists looked at more than 106,…
Learn MoreHIV Meds May Also Shield Against COVID Infection
MONDAY, March 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Certain antiviral drugs used to treat HIV may also guard against COVID-19 infection, a new study suggests. The researchers found that people with HIV who are on antiretroviral treatment (ART) with protease …
Learn MoreDeer Can Shed Coronavirus for 5 Days After Infection
MONDAY, March 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) — White-tailed deer can shed and transmit the COVID-19 virus for up to five days after they’re infected, according to a study that also identified where the virus develops and replicates in deer.Five days is “a…
Learn MoreOut-of-Network Costs Raise Medical Bills for Special Needs Kids
MONDAY, March 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Special needs children often require out-of-network care from specialists, which means more out-of-pocket costs and extra stress for families, a new study finds.”In the U.S., the reality is that the more heal…
Learn MoreMore Evidence COVID Raises Odds for Pregnancy Complications
MONDAY, March 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) — If you’re pregnant and questioning whether you need to be vaccinated against COVID-19, new research might sway your decision.For mothers-to-be, the coronavirus appears to double the risk of serious pregnancy…
Learn MoreHead Bump? Here’s Signs You Need ER Care
SUNDAY, March 27, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Knowing the signs of brain injury and when to seek emergency care could save a life, an expert says.”The brain is the body’s command center,” said Dr. Gillian Schmitz, president of the American College of Eme…
Learn MoreAs Climate Change Worsens Allergy Season, Tips on How to Cope
SATURDAY, March 26, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Climate change is prompting longer pollen seasons and higher pollen counts, which spells trouble for people with seasonal allergies, allergists warn. “Allergy seasons have been changing in North America and…
Learn MorePhysician’s Briefing Weekly Coronavirus Roundup
Here is what the editors at Physician’s Briefing chose as the most important COVID-19 developments for you and your practice for the week of March 21 to 25, 2022. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal studies and other trusted so…
Learn MoreOvertreatment of T2DM Common Among VA Nursing Home Residents
FRIDAY, March 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Nursing home residents are often overtreated for type 2 diabetes, and a minority have their medication regimens deintensified, according to a study published online March 23 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Lauren I. Lederle, M.D., from San Francisco Virginia Medical Center, and colleagues conducted a cohort study from Jan. 1, 2013, to Dec. 31, 2019, among 7,422 Veterans Affairs nursing home residents age ≥65 with type 2 diabetes. Overtreatment was defined as hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)
The researchers found that 17 and 23 percent of the residents met the criteria for overtreatment and potential overtreatment, respectively. Of those who were overtreated and potentially overtreated at baseline, medication regimens were deintensified among 27 and 19 percent, respectively. The odds of continued overtreatment were increased in association with long-acting insulin use and hyperglycemia ≥300 mg/dL before index HbA1c (odds ratios, 1.37 and 1.35, respectively). The odds of continued overtreatment were reduced with severe functional impairment (odds ratio, 0.72). There was no association seen for hypoglycemia with reduced odds of overtreatment.
“Based on our study results, it will be important to develop deprescribing initiatives in nursing homes at time of admission that use behavior change principles to overcome prescribing inertia in overtreated residents,” the authors write.
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