After Cervical Artery Dissection, Early Anticoagulant Might Be Better
PHOENIX — Anticoagulation worked at least as well as antiplatelet medication for stroke prevention after cervical artery dissection, an observational study suggested. Subsequent ischemic stroke was numerically but not significantly less common with anticoagulation than with antiplatelet use in this population both at 30 days (adjusted HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.45-1.12) and 180 days (adjusted […]
Opinion | Challenges (and Rewards) of Being a Rural Doctor
I worked in rural Kentucky for 20 years — all of it in poverty clinics. I suspect I got to know my patients better than someone working in a specialty clinic in a big city. The challenges and rewards of doctoring are unique to each specialty, but these are the challenges and rewards I experienced […]
Remote Behavioral Therapy Works for Kids With Tic Disorder
For reducing tic severity in children with Tourette syndrome, an online behavioral therapy worked as well as internet-based education alone and had better participant response, a small randomized trial found. The intervention — 10 weeks of a therapist-supported, internet-delivered exposure and response prevention (ERP) program — was associated with a mean reduction of 6.08 points […]
Mini-Sling Matches Midurethral Sling for Urinary Incontinence in Women
A single-incision mini-sling worked just as well as the standard midurethral sling in women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI), a randomized study found. At 15 months, 79.1% of women who received the mini-sling reported success compared with 75.6% of those who received the midurethral sling (P<0.001 for noninferiority), said Mohamed Abdel-Fattah, MD, of Aberdeen Maternity […]
Two Doses of mRNA COVID Vax Not Enough for the Immunosuppressed
COVID-19 vaccines worked fairly well in keeping immunocompromised patients out of the hospital from the infection, but still less than for those with a competent immune system, a study showed. After two vaccine doses, immunocompromised patients saw 77% vaccine effectiveness (95% CI 74%-80%) against hospitalization for confirmed COVID-19, with a 3.9% rate of SARS-CoV-2 test […]
Masks Limited COVID Transmission in Unvaxxed College Kids
Masking worked, along with fewer exposure encounters, to help limit the incidence of COVID-19 infection among largely unvaccinated university students in Missouri, researchers found. Among nearly 400 close contacts of students who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the likelihood of a positive test result was more than five times higher in situations where at least one […]