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News, opinions and meeting coverage in hospital-based medicine.

Doctor's Memoir Exposes Dark Side of Medicine

Sandeep Jauhar puts his life on stark display to illustrate harmful financial intrusions into medicine in his newest book.

Glucometer Control Test Underused in Diabetes

ORLANDO -- Control solution for ensuring the proper function of glucose meters didn't appear to be a priority among physicians, pharmacists, or patients, researchers reported here.

CardioBuzz: Toward the $500 an Hour Physician

In this guest blog, Mark Jay Zucker, MD, JD, an attorney and transplant cardiologist at Rutgers University New Jersey Medical School in Newark, explains why he thinks it's time to talk money.

Dementia Tied to More ICD Placements

Dementia patients get more implantable cardioverter-defibrillators than expected, and even cognitively normal individuals may not understand their options about cardiac device replacement.

Morning Break: The B.O. Talk, No Love for Niacin

Health news and commentary from around the Web, gathered by the 番茄社区 staff.

Missed Doses Cripple Postop DVT Prevention

Missed doses of prophylactic anticoagulation account for much of the deep vein thrombosis that occurs in surgery and trauma patients, a study showed.

ACC: Metformin No Help in MI Recovery

WASHINGTON -- Metformin started soon after reperfusion in the acute setting didn't help cardiac function recover in nondiabetic heart attack patients, a trial showed.

ACC: Gout Drug Tames the Heart

WASHINGTON -- Colchicine may be as effective at reducing multiple recurrences of pericarditis as it is in treating acute episodes and first recurrences.

ACC: Still No Clear CHOICE for TAVI

WASHINGTON -- Head-to-head comparison of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) devices favored the second-generation Sapien XT over CoreValve, although the trial was criticized on several fronts.

ACC: CoreValve Bests Surgery

WASHINGTON -- Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with the CoreValve device improved survival compared with surgery in the high-risk pivotal trial cohort.

In AKI, Dialysis Works Better With Higher Creatinine

For patients with acute kidney injury, dialysis is associated with better survival among those with higher creatinine levels, but higher mortality for those with lower levels, researchers found.

10 Questions: E. Wesley Ely, MD, MPH

What's the biggest barrier to practicing medicine today? That's just the first of the 10 Questions the 番茄社区 staff is asking leading clinicians and researchers to get their personal views on their chosen profession. In this series we share their uncensored responses. Here, answers from pulmonary and critical care expert E. Wesley Ely, MD, MPH.

FDA Rules Differ for OTC vs. POC Glucose Monitors

The FDA has released two draft guidances that establish a line between over-the-counter and point-of-care blood glucose monitors.

Yoga May Be Good for COPD

CHICAGO -- With its focus on breathing exercises, yoga may improve some of the symptoms of chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD) along with boosting quality of life, researchers said here.

Daytime Snoozing May Tell Risk of Hypoglycemia

Older patients with diabetes who are overly tired during the day may be at a higher risk for hypoglycemia, researchers reported.

New Nerve Tracer Not Ready for Routine Use?

CHICAGO -- The radiotracer iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine may be a new tool for cardiac imaging, but whether it's ready for routine use in most practices was debated by nuclear cardiologists here.

Low BP May Be Fatal in CKD

Chronic kidney disease patients, including those with diabetes, who were not on dialysis were more likely to die when blood pressure was too low, even if only on the diastolic measure, a veterans cohort showed.

Lab Notes: Meth May Worsen Fungal Infection

Mice injected with methamphetamine and exposed to Cryptococcus fungi showed more extensive and hard-to-eradicate infections. Also this week: an organic pesticide fights parasitic worms.

Sun Damage: Darker Not Better for Sunglasses

Seeking some new shades? There is whole lot more than style at stake, experts say.

FDA Adds GI Warning to Benicar Label

WASHINGTON -- The FDA ordered the maker of the blood pressure drug olmesartan (Benicar) to add a warning about risk of the intestinal condition known as sprue-like enteropathy to the drug's label.

Honey, Cola May Disrupt Heart

A detailed history of patients with arrhythmia or syncope might need to include their cola intake or the origin of the honey they consume, two case studies suggest.

ASCO: Targeted Agent Has Slim NSCLC Benefit

CHICAGO -- The novel kinase inhibitor nintedanib may slightly delay relapse of non-small cell lung cancer when added to chemotherapy, with perhaps greater benefit in adenocarcinomas, the LUME-Lung 1 trial showed.

Diabetes Experts Divided About 'Lone Wolf' Butler

Top experts in diabetes and endocrinology have offered mixed reactions to a profile of Peter Butler, MD, chair of endocrinology at the University of California Los Angeles, in the New York Times.

Shots Best Way to Give B12 After Bariatric Surgery

Vitamin B12 injections are the preferred treatment for patients who develop a deficiency following bariatric surgery, researchers found.

Low Potassium Linked with Liver Disease

Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease also had low potassium levels, researchers in China found.

FDA Allows Opana Generics

The original formulation of extended-release oxymorphone (Opana ER) that lacked abuse-resistant mechanisms was not pulled from the market for safety reasons, and therefore generics based on that recipe are permissible, the FDA said.

Is Protein the Key to Fountain of Youth?

The cardiac clocks of aging mice were turned back to a more youthful time when they received a protein taken from the blood of younger mice, researchers found.

On-Call Pay Varies Widely by Specialty

Surgeons commanded more than $1,000 a day for being on-call at the hospital, while primary care physicians reported compensation rates of around $150 a day, according to annually compiled data.

Full Thyroid Removal May be Best in Graves' Disease

Removing the whole thyroid lessens the chance of hyperthyroidism recurrence in Graves' disease compared with partial thyroidectomy, but it also leads to increased temporary hypoparathyroidism, researchers found.

Ricin Deadly, but Not an Effective WMD

It may have been a preferred tool of Soviet hit men, but ricin generally flops as a weapon of mass destruction, several bioterrorism experts told 番茄社区.

'Latex-Free' Claims Not Valid, FDA Says

The claim "latex-free鈥� is impossible to guarantee and should not be used on labeling of medical products, according to a new FDA guidance.

ACC: Is Chelation Plus Vitamins a Winning Combo?

SAN FRANCISCO -- Vitamins alone won't improve outcomes for patients who've had a heart attack, but they do appear to have additive benefits when given in conjunction with controversial chelation therapy, researchers reported here.

Skin, Vessel Damage Seen with Tainted Cocaine

MIAMI BEACH -- People who use cocaine contaminated with the veterinary drug levamisole may experience more than just dermatological effects, including end-organ damage and stroke, researchers reported here.

Small Brain Bleeds Not So Bad for Preemies

Low-grade hemorrhage in very premature infants doesn't appear to hurt their early neurodevelopment, a longitudinal study suggested.

ECG for Eyes Sorts Strokes from Vertigo

A device described as an ECG for the eye accurately distinguishes stroke from other causes of dizziness in the emergency department, a small proof-of-concept study showed.

Is Pot Smoking a Stroke Trigger?

HONOLULU -- Middle age stroke patients were twice as likely to be pot smokers than healthy middle age controls, researchers found.

ACE Inhibitors Linked to Hallucinations in Elderly

Elderly patients with memory problems who suddenly have visual hallucinations may need to stop taking ACE inhibitors, researchers suggested.

Cardio Notes: Stress Test Finds Heart Disease in Seniors

Researchers are taking a second look at the accuracy of treadmill exercise testing for women over 65. Also this week, the birth of a subspecialty for adults with congenital heart disease and leg artery stenting.

Cardio Notes: Sex Improves with Stenting

Opening the arteries of those with stable coronary disease also opens the door to an improved sex life. Also this week, bariatric surgery helps remodel the heart.

Working with Weights May Help Stroke Rehab

Resistance training -- which is often overlooked in stroke rehab -- may help improve thinking and memory in stroke survivors, researchers found.

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