For African Americans infected with HIV, the risk of end-stage renal disease is six times higher than for whites with HIV — and similar to the ESRD risk associated with diabetes, reports a study in the November Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common disease of the main artery (the aorta) in the elderly. It is characterized by a dilated aorta and if allowed to develop unchecked it can rupture, an event with a high rate of mortality.
New studies highlight the risks and significant health care costs of GI injury and bleeding from the use of NSAIDs. According to a survey conducted at Eastern Virginia Medical School, 22 percent of respondents did not think NSAIDs were important to mention to their doctor, revealing a common misperception about these over-the-counter remedies.
New research presented at the 72nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology emphasizes the importance of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among racial and ethnic minorities, who have a higher incidence of colorectal cancer compared to Caucasians. Two studies found more African-Americans had advanced polyps on the right side of the colon than Caucasians, while results from colonoscopy screenings of Latin Americans revealed similarly high risk findings to African-Americans.
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth can emerge after gastric bypass surgery, which can impact the absorption of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients, such as calcium and zinc, causing potentially serious complications.
Many people may not realize that symptoms such as chronic cough or chest pain can be caused by acid reflux into the esophagus, because they do not experience classic heartburn symptoms or acid regurgitation.
As people get older, their risk of developing polyps and colorectal cancer increases. Currently, there is no clear evidence or established guideline for the upper age limit for colorectal cancer screening by colonoscopy. Two new studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 72nd Annual Scientific Meeting suggest continued colorectal cancer screening among healthy elderly Americans.
Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who also suffer from depression often find that continued use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) relieves them of symptoms of depression, according to a study published in the October 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM).
Patients have on average a 71 percent lower chance of dying at the nation’s top-rated hospitals compared with the lowest-rated hospitals across 18 procedures and conditions analyzed in the tenth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, issued today by HealthGrades, the healthcare ratings company. The study, which documents a wide variation in the quality of care between the highest-performing hospitals and all others, also found that if all hospitals performed at the level of hospitals rated with five stars by HealthGrades, 266,604 Medicare lives could potentially have been saved over the three years studied.
A new study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University researchers reported that 18 percent of 500 candidates for bariatric surgery did not receive the initial psychiatry clearance for the surgery. The study is the first to examine the reliability of decisions to clear candidates for surgery, and the largest to determine the percentage of candidates who are not cleared, and detail the reasons for exclusion.