Need For HIV Guidelines For Health Workers In Developing Countries
...sue of the risk of occupational HIV infection from patient to health worker in the developing world. The authors note that the prevalence of HIV infection among patients that are cared for is very high in some poorer countries and that such regions tend to lack the resources to implement adequate precautions...Clot-Busters As Effective As Surgery To Clear Blockages In Legs
...l, noting that atypical supply of the drug for one patient costs the hospitalabout $3,500. "For many surgeons today, the standard of care for thesepatients is to take them urgently to the operating room," saysOuriel. "Our results show that patients receiving urokinase canexperience success rates equival...Preventing Stroke: The Choice Between Aspirin And Warfarin
...cisionshould be made between the physician and the patient after considering theindividual's risk for stroke, benefits from treatment, and personal preferences. Higher-risk patients, who have one or more specified risk factors, sufferstrokes at a rate of 8 percent a year, and through previous SPAF studies ha...New Stroke Treatment Likely To Decrease Health Care Costs And Increase Quality Of Life
...appears to be a 'win-win' situation, with improved patient outcomes accompaniedby a net cost savings to the health care system," said Dr. Fagan. The NINDS t-PA Stroke Trial, which included more than 600 carefullyselected stroke patients and was completed in December 1995, found that thosetreated wi...Asthma-Airways Clinic Improves Lives, Reduces Medical Costs
...ys. In addition, the cost of health care for each patient declinednearly $3,400 a year. "You can make a significant difference when patients get involved in their owncare," says William Bria, M.D., co-director of the U-M Asthma-Airways Clinic. "There probably is not a chronic disease that wouldn't benefit f...Earliest Warning Sign Indicates Need To Test For Condition Associated With Fetal Deaths
...nionitis, Gugino said. By comparing patient records during the pregnancy with results of the laboratory analysis of placental tissue after the fetal or infant death, Gugino and colleagues found that if only one of these symptoms is present, chorioamnionitis should be suspected and patients s...Communication Between Doctors And Asthma Patients Is Key
...s release. ANN ARBOR---Good communication between patient and doctor is as important tostaying out of the ho...tients to determine the effect communicationhad on patient outcomes. "Asthma patients have to manage their disease day to day. With good instructionand self c...ONYX Pharmaceuticals Reports Phase II Clinical Trial Results At ASCO Meeting
...percent reductions in tumor mass. The oneremaining patient has experienced a 40 percent tumor regression. To date,all of the patients continue on treatment with no evidence of diseaseprogression. The average overall response rate with Cisplatin and 5-FUalone is about 35 percent historically in patients with...UCSF Hospitalists May Be Key To Shorter, Less Costly Hospital Stays
...ntoutcomes and hospital readmissions, as well as a patient survey. The study also may ease concerns of resid...ok for ways to cut costswithout harming quality or patient satisfaction, Wachter said. "Nearly two years after the study, the practice of having attending phys...National Office Of Drug Safety Is Needed, Experts Say In JAMA
...eillance,physician prescribing errors or a lack of patient compliance?" they ask. "The nation needs an office of drug safety with the authority,independence, funds and legal mandate to undertake all four of the major tasksthat define a basic drug safety monitoring program," the three conclude. "Thefu...Metrifonate, A New Alzheimer Drug, Helps Behavior Problems
...nate's convenience, safety and sideeffects through patient reports, physical exams and blood tests. The drug wasconvenient to take just once a day and did not affect liver function. Only 12percent of those who took it left the study because of nausea, diarrhea or otherside effects. "This metrifonate ...New Radiation Procedure Targets Liver Malignancies
...s much healthy liver tissue as possible. For each patient a dose is then selected which should maximize the ...n administered in the previous study, and only one patient has experienced a radiation-related complication. "This is probably the most aggressive non-surgica...New Study Designed To Improve Outcomes In Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer
...m cellswill regenerate bone marrow function in the patient after high-dosechemotherapy. Because high-dose che...are, therefore,collected with the stem cells. The patient receives these with the stem celltransplant after high-dose chemotherapy. Supplemental vacci...Drug Combination Including New "Super Aspirin" Drug Cuts Risk Of Death Or Second Heart Attack
... know specifically how long before each individual patient isstabilized after a heart attack," says Moliterno. "Most deaths and second heartattacks tend to occur in the first few days or weeks, but there's more than a 50percent increase in these events between 30 days and six months, regardless ofcurrent th......tonly reduces the cost of claims but also enhances patient safety. The new report is based on MMI's comprehen...pany's efforts to monitor and enhancethe degree of patient safety within healthcare organizations. MMI, aninternational healthcare services company, maintains ...International Panel Evaluates Testing For Drug Resistance In HIV
...hat measure whether the strains of HIV infecting a patient are resistentto antiviral drugs may be useful in helping plan treatment strategies, but moreinformation is needed to determine the best usage of such tests, says aninternational panel of AIDS experts. In a report appearing in the June 24 issueof the...Only Eight Percent Of San Francisco HIV-Positive Urban Poor Receive Protease Inhibitors
...the drugs. The average adherence was 92 percent by patient report and 80 percent by pillcount. Adherence was highly related to viral load, and small amounts of missed drugshad large effects on the amount of virus in the patient's blood. "While the level of adherence in these patients would be very good fo...New Survey Finds Physicians Seek More Clarity In MS Diagnosis And Management
...onal stage when presented withthe description of a patient whose symptoms and medical history might suggest atransition from RRMS to SPMS. Therefore, regardless of what this "middlecategory" is labeled, neurologists are beginning to recognize this phase of thedisease as being distinct. The Universi...World's First Producer To Repair Brain Damage From Stroke
...sulting in paralysis of herright arm and leg. The patient also lost nearly all her ability to speak. ... to find specific locations within the brain. The patient thenreceives a CT or MRI scan of the brain. The surgical team then makes its finalplans for implant...Anti-Migraine Drugs Might Cause More Pain Than Relief For Those With Heart Disease
...edication without a thorough evaluation showingthe patient is free of heart disease, she says. The researchers studied the coronary arteries' reaction to several anti-migrainemedications after reports of chest pain and heart attack in some patients givendrugs for migraine headaches. Manufacturers of some of...