Blacks less likely to get expensive, newer heart treatments
.../IIIa inhibitors, and cardiac catheterization were underused in both groups, but were used much less commonly in the acute care phase among black patients compared to white patients," Sonel said. Other study findings included: 29.2 percent of black patients received glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors within 24...Older women can benefit from chemotherapy to treat breast cancer
...st that adjuvant chemotherapy may be significantly underused in older patients or that inappropriate dose reductions are made that decrease its effectiveness. Hyman B. Muss, M.D., from the Vermont Cancer Center, Burlington, Vt., and investigators from the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) analyzed data from ...Aspirin underused to reduce heart disease risk in diabetic women and young adults
... said. Persell and Baker said aspirin may also be underused because many people with diabetes do not appreciate their cardiovascular disease risk, and although physicians understand the high cardiovascular disease risk associated with diabetes, they place greater importance on glucose control than on blood pr...Blood clot risk not treated preventively, study finds
...s proven to aid in the prevention of DVT are being underused by physicians in the United States for both medical and surgical patients, despite a very low risk of side effects." The solution, said Tapson, is to educate physicians that all hospitalized patients should be evaluated with regard to their ...Nursing home residents, minorities under-treated for recurrent stroke
... "Not only were important stroke-preventing drugs underused but also most residents who were eligible for anticoagulant therapy in our study did not receive it," she said. "It appears that minority populations in nursing homes are at greater risk for under treatment, which is only partially explained by pati...... pool of organ donors, who at present are probably underused by transplantation services." They hope that increased awareness of the viability of organs from poisoned patients will help save the lives of patients who die each year waiting for an organ transplant. This article is freely accessible online at: h...Brains of elderly can compensate to remain sharp, study indicates
...ain cognitive tests appear to enlist the otherwise underused left half of the prefrontal cortex of their brain in order to maintain performance, Duke University neuroscientists have found. In contrast, elderly people who are not "high performers" on the tests resemble younger adults in showing a preferred usag...Opioids should be considered for relief of chronic lower back pain
...l drug dependence. "Opioids are some of the most underused drugs around because of the possibility of abuse," says Mike Joyner, M.D., Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist. "Opioids are wonderful drugs, but because of the abuse problem and moral overlay, it's hard to get a straight answer. This is because of irrespon...Annals of Internal Medicine, tip sheet, July 16, 2002
...dy (Article, p. 87). The drugs and angioplasty are underused in women and in some types of heart attacks. The prediction decision tool in the study used information from the ECG combined with patient information such as age, sex, health history and when the heart attack symptoms began. Unexpected Hypoglycemia...Can longer consultations really save time and resources?
...of available staff. The largest untapped source of underused skill is community pharmacists, say the authors. The potential exists to redeploy pharmacists into general practices to review patients and supervise drugs, making best use of their knowledge and developing skills. This would free up general practiti......frequently given to the sickest patients, they are underused in other important populations. Frederick A. Masoudi, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Aurora, Colo., 303-724-1178; fred.masoudi@uchsc.edu . P84 Why is beta-blocker use so low? Recent research data show that beta-blockers reduce de...