Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is associated with a high mortality and a high incidence of neurological complications including stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and brain death.
Medication poisonings in children; rosuvastatin vs atorvastatin for atherosclerosis; saw palmetto for prostate symptoms; using atypical antipsychotics for off-label indications in adults; and FDA actions.
Two recent clinical trials, rocket af and aristotle, have added two new direct thrombin inhibitors, in addition to dabigatran (RE-LY), to our armamentarium to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.
Cases of autopsy-proven corticobasal degeneration examined in a U.S. academic center presented with frontal-predominant behavioral or cognitive deficits, with a movement disorder following later in the majority.
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy is a rare complication of immunosupression in patients who undergo organ transplantation, with a high death rate.
Fibroblast growth factor 21, an important regulator of glucose and lipid metabolism in muscle, is strikingly elevated in the serum of patients with mitochondrial respiratory chain deficiencies.
Palliative care isn't just for hospice patients it is also used to manage the symptoms of those with chronic or advanced illnesses.
Language and cultural beliefs can affect the accuracy of pain assessment tools regularly used by hospice staff members, says Hank Willner, MD, medical consultant for Hospice Foundation of America and hospice medical director and palliative care consultant for Capital Caring in Falls Church, VA. Interpretation of visual and numeric scales may differ according to culture, he explains.
Although implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) improve survival in patients at risk for recurrent, sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, the device can add to a patient's discomfort at the end of life.
