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In this issue: Calcium supplements and MI; birth control pills and VTE; ACE inhibitors and breast cancer risk; spending on pharmaceuticals; and FDA actions.
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Rodríguez and colleagues report on a prospectively enrolled cohort of 235 consecutive patients admitted to two ICUs in Spain who required mechanical ventilation for at least 48 hours and had indications for ventilatory support other than respiratory infection or acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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Bedside ultrasound is increasingly being performed in the intensive care unit (ICU) for a variety of purposes including guiding volume resuscitation, central line placement, and marking pleural fluid collections for drainage.
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When patients sustain a sudden cardiac arrest, they require immediate life-saving therapies to restart cardiac function and prevent secondary anoxic brain injury.
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The use of any medication during pregnancy is a concern for both the patient and physician because of the potential that the agent may have unanticipated effects on the fetus.
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Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolus (PE) occur more frequently in patients with cancer, and the risk appears to vary by tumor type.
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In a Phase 3 trial comparing the recently introduced monoclonal antibody denosumab with zoledronic acid for the treatment of patients with prostate cancer metastatic to bone, the incidence of skeletal events including pathological fracture, radiation, skeletal surgery, or cord compression was delayed on average by more than 3 months for those treated with denosumab. Adverse events were comparable. Denosumab is administered subcutaneously and can be given to patients with renal insufficiency. Clinicians have become familiar with zoledronic acid in this setting, and it remains unclear whether its role as the standard approach will be supplanted.
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Investigators prospectively assessed quality of life in newly diagnosed AML patients 60 years and older using the EORTC QLC-C30 and QOL-E surveys. Among the 113 patients enrolled, 42.4% underwent intensive induction chemotherapy and 57.6% received palliative treatment. Self-rated quality of life did not correlate with physician-rated performance status or induction chemotherapy. Lower self-report functional status predicted higher mortality, even after adjusting for age, treatment, and comorbidity. Patient-reported quality of life may be an independent prognostic factor for AML outcomes.