Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Medical Indications (medical + indication)
Selected AbstractsThe Relationship of Indwelling Urinary Catheters to Death, Length of Hospital Stay, Functional Decline, and Nursing Home Admission in Hospitalized Older Medical PatientsJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 2 2007Jayna M. Holroyd-Leduc MD OBJECTIVES: To determine the association between indwelling urinary catheterization without a specific medical indication and adverse outcomes. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: General medical inpatient services at a teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred thirty-five patients aged 70 and older admitted without a specific medical indication for urinary catheterization. INTERVENTION: Indwelling urinary catheterization within 48 hours of admission. MEASUREMENTS: Death, length of hospital stay, decline in ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs), and new admission to a nursing home. RESULTS: Indwelling urinary catheters were placed in 76 of the 535 (14%) patients without a specific medical indication. Catheterized patients were more likely to die in the hospital (6.6% vs 1.5% of those not catheterized, P=.006) and within 90 days of hospital discharge (25% vs 10.5%, P<.001); the greater risk of death with catheterization persisted in a propensity-matched analysis (hazard ratio (HR)=2.42, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.04,5.65). Catheterized patients also had longer lengths of hospital stay (median, 6 days vs 4 days; P=.001); this association persisted in a propensity-matched analysis (HR=1.46, 95% CI=1.03,2.08). Catheterization was not associated (P>.05) with decline in ADL function or with admission to a nursing home. CONCLUSION: In this cohort of older patients, urinary catheterization without a specific medical indication was associated with greater risk of death and longer hospital stay. [source] FINDING AUTONOMY IN BIRTHBIOETHICS, Issue 1 2009THE OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY RISK RESEARCH GROUP: ABSTRACT Over the last several years, as cesarean deliveries have grown increasingly common, there has been a great deal of public and professional interest in the phenomenon of women ,choosing' to deliver by cesarean section in the absence of any specific medical indication. The issue has sparked intense conversation, as it raises questions about the nature of autonomy in birth. Whereas mainstream bioethical discourse is used to associating autonomy with having a large array of choices, this conception of autonomy does not seem adequate to capture concerns and intuitions that have a strong grip outside this discourse. An empirical and conceptual exploration of how delivery decisions ought to be negotiated must be guided by a rich understanding of women's agency and its placement within a complicated set of cultural meanings and pressures surrounding birth. It is too early to be ,for' or ,against' women's access to cesarean delivery in the absence of traditional medical indications , and indeed, a simple pro- or con- position is never going to do justice to the subtlety of the issue. The right question is not whether women ought to be allowed to choose their delivery approach but, rather, taking the value of women's autonomy in decision-making around birth as a given, what sorts of guidelines, practices, and social conditions will best promote and protect women's full inclusion in a safe and positive birth process. [source] Evaluation of imiquimod for the therapy of external genital and anal warts in comparison with destructive therapiesBRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 2007H. Schöfer Summary External genital and anal warts (acuminate condyloma) were the first medical indication the topical immune response modifier imiquimod was approved for in 1997. Since then, many placebo controlled randomized clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of this synthetic imidazoquinoline derivate for the treatment of different human papillomavirus infections and tumours. Treatment modalities for genital warts (5% cream, three times weekly, minimum duration 4 weeks, control of side-effects) have been optimized and assured by further clinical trials and meta-analyses. For a few years clinical studies focussed on the long-term efficacy of the immunomodulatory therapy (sustained clearance from warts) and most recent studies compared the efficacy of ablative, destructive and imiquimod monotherapy as well as combination therapies. [source] Opinions of Swedish citizens, health-care politicians, administrators and doctors on rationing and health-care financingHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 2 2002Per Rosén Objective ,To compare the views of citizens and health-care decision-makers on health-care financing, the limits of public health-care, and resource allocation. Design ,A postal survey based on a randomized sample of adults taken by the national registration and stratified samples of health-care politicians, administrators, and doctors in five Swedish counties. Participants ,A total number of 1194 citizens (response rate 60%) and 427 decision-makers (response rate 69%). Results ,The general public have high expectations of public health-care, expectations that do not fit with the decision-makers' views on what should be offered. To overcome the discrepancy between demand and resources, physicians prefer increased patient fees and complementary private insurance schemes to a higher degree than do the other respondents. Physicians take a more favourable view of letting politicians on a national level exert a greater influence on resource allocation within public health-care. A majority of physicians want politicians to assume a greater responsibility for the exclusion of certain therapies or diagnoses. Most politicians, on the other hand, prefer physicians to make more rigorous decisions as to which medical indications should entitle a person to public health-care. Conclusions ,The gap between public expectations and health-care resources makes it more important to be clear about who should be accountable for resource-allocation decisions in public health-care. Significant differences between physicians' and politicians' opinions on financing and responsibility for prioritization make the question of accountability even more important. [source] Short Daily Dialysis (SDHD) Efficacy : Pilot Multicentric Study with Nine Patients from MadridHEMODIALYSIS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2003G. Barril Interest in quotidian (daily) hemodialysis (HD) seems to be growing. Clinical data consistently showed improved quality of life, better control of blood pressure, less need for medications including erythropoietin (EPO) and better nutrition. We evaluate the SDHD efficacy in 9 patients in conventional HD (3 weekly sesions/4 hours), mean age 57,78 years range (33,75), 6 males and 3 females who needed increased dialysis efficiency by different medical indications: 5 cases with hypertensive miocardiopathy and severe LVH, 2 of them with EFLV 26% and 27%. 2 cases with ischemic cardiopathy symptoms, one of them with anger and restless dysnea with a non resvascularizable coronary lesion, and other with cardiac insufficiency episodes requiring hospitalization once a month. 1 patient with big body surface area and elevated phosphorus levels although without control, with conventional three times/week HD. 1 patient indication was made by 12 years on HD with multiple vascular accesses failed needing a Tessio cathéter being into infradialysis regimen for his malnutrition status. The schedule in all of them was 6 days per week sessions between 2.15 hrs till 3 hours depending of body surface area to obtain a weekly kt/v nearest to 4. HD session were realized in the Hospital (4 pts) or in satellite unit (5 pts) due to the characteristics of the patients. The time remaining in this schedule was between 5 months to 2 years and 9 months. All the patients showed clinical improvement, subjective and objective, since the first weeks of starting SDHD. Sleep symptoms were the first to improve. All patients showing good coping with this HD alternative. Blood pressure levels were controlled without need for antihypertensive drugs, although the dry weight increased significantly in all cases. Albumin serum levels increased as nutrition parameter, controlling also the osteodystrophy and phosphorus. In a patient the EFLV was normalized from 6 months (26%,50%) improving in other. Two patients could be included in Tx waiting list. Again, anemia improved and decreasing EPO was required. No vascular access (autologous AVF) malfunction was detected in relation to daily procedure. Conclusion: Our pilot experience shows a clinical and biochemical improvement in the patients and quality of life as well. Prospective studies to demonstrate the financial benefits of these modalities are needed. [source] Biosurgery in wound healing , the renaissance of maggot therapyJOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY & VENEREOLOGY, Issue 4 2000Uwe Wollina Abstract Chronic wounds are a challenge for modern health care. A basic principle of treatment is the removal of sloughy, necrotic, devitalized tissue to prevent wound infection and delayed healing. Biosurgery (syn. maggot or larval therapy) is a promising adjunct to the whole spectrum of topical treatment methods, in particular for debridement. The term ,biosurgery' describes the use of living maggots on wounds to remove devitalized tissue, decrease the risk of infection and improve wound healing. The present paper gives a brief review of history, entomology, biochemistry and medical indications of biosurgery and the practical handling of maggots. We also provide some clinical data from the literature and our own experience in a wound care unit. Biosurgery is an effective and safe treatment option for debridement and disinfection. [source] 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Derivatives in Photomedicine: Characteristics, Application and PerspectivesPHOTOCHEMISTRY & PHOTOBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2006Nicolas Fotinos ABSTRACT The introduction of lipophilic derivatives of the naturally occurring heme precursor 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) into photomedicine has led to a true revival of this research area. 5-ALA-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) and fluorescence photodetection (FD) of neoplastic disease is probably one of the most selective cancer treatments currently known in oncology. To date, this method has been assessed experimentally for the treatment of various medical indications. However, the limited local bioavailability of 5-ALA has widely prevented its use in daily clinical practice. Although researchers were already aware of this drawback early during the development of 5-ALA-mediated PDT, only recently have well-established concepts in pharmaceutical science been adapted to investigate ways to overcome this drawback. Recently, two derivatives of 5-ALA, methylaminolevulinate (MAL) and hexylaminolevulinate (HAL), gained marketing authorization from the regulatory offices in Europe and Australia. MAL is marketed under the trade name Metvix for the treatment of actinic keratosis and difficult-to-treat basal cell carcinoma. HAL has recently been launched under the trade name Hexvix to improve the detection of superficial bladder cancer in Europe. This review will first present the fundamental concepts underlying the use of 5-ALA derivatives in PDT and FD from a chemical, biochemical and pharmaceutical point of view. Experimental evidences from preclinical data on the improvements and limits observed with 5-ALA derivatives will then be introduced. The state-of-the-art from clinical studies with 5-ALA esters will be discussed, with special emphasis placed on the process that led to the development of MAL in dermatology and to HAL in urology. Finally, we will discuss promising medical fields in which use of 5-ALA derivatives might potentially lead to further use of this methodology in photomedicine. [source] FINDING AUTONOMY IN BIRTHBIOETHICS, Issue 1 2009THE OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY RISK RESEARCH GROUP: ABSTRACT Over the last several years, as cesarean deliveries have grown increasingly common, there has been a great deal of public and professional interest in the phenomenon of women ,choosing' to deliver by cesarean section in the absence of any specific medical indication. The issue has sparked intense conversation, as it raises questions about the nature of autonomy in birth. Whereas mainstream bioethical discourse is used to associating autonomy with having a large array of choices, this conception of autonomy does not seem adequate to capture concerns and intuitions that have a strong grip outside this discourse. An empirical and conceptual exploration of how delivery decisions ought to be negotiated must be guided by a rich understanding of women's agency and its placement within a complicated set of cultural meanings and pressures surrounding birth. It is too early to be ,for' or ,against' women's access to cesarean delivery in the absence of traditional medical indications , and indeed, a simple pro- or con- position is never going to do justice to the subtlety of the issue. The right question is not whether women ought to be allowed to choose their delivery approach but, rather, taking the value of women's autonomy in decision-making around birth as a given, what sorts of guidelines, practices, and social conditions will best promote and protect women's full inclusion in a safe and positive birth process. [source] Stimulating neuroregeneration as a therapeutic drug approach for traumatic brain injuryBRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 5 2009Bernhard K Mueller Traumatic brain injury, a silent epidemic of modern societies, is a largely neglected area in drug development and no drug is currently available for the treatment of patients suffering from brain trauma. Despite this grim situation, much progress has been made over the last two decades in closely related medical indications, such as spinal cord injury, giving rise to a more optimistic approach to drug development in brain trauma. Fundamental insights have been gained with animal models of central nervous system (CNS) trauma and spinal cord injury. Neuroregenerative drug candidates have been identified and two of these have progressed to clinical development for spinal cord injury patients. If successful, these drug candidates may be used to treat brain trauma patients. Significant progress has also been made in understanding the fundamental molecular mechanism underlying irreversible axonal growth arrest in the injured CNS of higher mammals. From these studies, we have learned that the axonal retraction bulb, previously regarded as a marker for failure of regenerative growth, is not static but dynamic and, therefore, amenable to pharmacotherapeutic approaches. With the development of modified magnetic resonance imaging methods, fibre tracts can be visualised in the living human brain and such imaging methods will soon be used to evaluate the neuroregenerative potential of drug candidates. These significant advances are expected to fundamentally change the often hopeless situation of brain trauma patients and will be the first step towards overcoming the silent epidemic of brain injury. [source] | ||||||||||