2018 TT HealthWatch Archive

TT HealthWatch – Friday, December 28, 2018

This week’s topics include best treatment for atrial fibrillation in people with heart failure , the consequences of penalties for hospital readmission , pain relief for those with knee osteoarthritis , and comprehensive care for dementia patients.

0:50 Penalties for readmissions
1:59 Significant increase in 30-day post-discharge mortality
2:53 Contributed to increased mortality
3:50 Diverts attention from evidence base
4:18 Managing pain in knee osteoarthritis
5:18 Only two medications helped
6:18 Need better studies
6:30 Comprehensive care for dementia patients
7:30 Kept people out of long-term care facilities
8:30 Prefer to be in community
9:02 Treating atrial fibrillation in folks with heart failure
10:02 Ablation superior in many parameters
11:01 Small number of randomized trials
12:01 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, December 21, 2018

This week’s topics include causes of death among U.S. children , lifetime risk of stroke , sleeping more in Seattle , and a new treatment for pancreatic cancer.

0:35 Sleeping more in Seattle
1:35 Looked pre and post study
2:35 Change in infrastructure needed
3:25 Do better once they get there
3:40 Causes of death for kids in the US
4:40 Guns second most common cause
5:42 Thirty-six times more common in US
6:02 Adjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer
7:02 Overall survival better
8:02 Median survival of 54 months
9:01 Risk of stroke globally
10:01 Hypertension major factor
11:25 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, December 14, 2018

This week’s topics include prostatectomy versus watchful waiting , flu vaccines and heart failure , preventing alarm fatigue in the hospital , and a dramatic rise in heart surgery and the opioid crisis.

0:44 Valve surgery and the opioid crisis
1:44 Don’t undergo detoxification
2:45 High index of suspicion in IV drug users
3:09 Flu vaccines and heart failure death
4:09 Adjusted risk reduced by 18%
5:09 Important for increasing survival
5:42 Telemetry cessation
6:44 Reduced unnecessary monitoring over 60%
7:43 Radical prostatectomy versus watchful waiting
8:46 Having a procedure done
9:45 Can be just as successful without the side effects
10:30 Helps personalize treatment
11:11 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, December 07, 2018

This week’s topics include United States mortality data , acute flaccid myelitis , treating sickle cell in Africa , and measles worldwide.

1:15 Measles recrudescence worldwide
2:15 Increased from 72 to 85%
3:15 Everybody benefits from vaccination
3:40 US mortality
4:40 Drug overdoses plateaued?
5:40 More access to firearms more suicide
6:00 Treating sickle cell disease in sub-Saharan Africa
7:01 Reduced faso-occlusive episodes
8:01 Kids often have other chronic issues
8:12 Acute flaccid myelitis
9:15 Only 3/4 had AFM
10:15 Neurologic sequelae in 75%
11:58 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, November 30, 2018

This week’s topics include younger children and ADHD , a team-based approach to care , intervening in child maltreatment , and obesity and asthma.

0:59 Pediatrics focus
1:10 Younger children entering school and ADHD
2:10 More likely to get a diagnosis
3:10 More formalized preschool?
4:10 Awareness of age
4:24 Preventing child maltreatment
5:18 Identify children at risk
6:20 Sending people into the home
7:20 Need to invest to study
7:30 Team based care and hospitalization
8:30 Reduced inpatient care
9:30 Two or more chronic conditions
10:02 Obesity and asthma
11:01 Obesity increased 26%
12:05 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, November 23, 2018

This week’s topics include probiotics for gastroenteritis in kids, personality characteristics in adolescence and mortality risk , peanut allergy treatment and outcomes relative to chronic disease management based on providers.

0:45 Peanut allergy treatment
1:45 Placebo arm also
2:45 Start as early as possible?
3:35 PAs, nurse practitioners and physicians and diabetes management
4:35 Almost 370,000 patients
5:35 Stop calling them midlevel providers
6:10 Probiotics in gastroenteritis in kids
7:10 1800 subjects
8:10 At least these two ineffective
8:20 Personality characteristics in teenage years and mortality
9:20 Impulsivity associated with increased risk
10:27 Most personality assessments done in older folks
11:48 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, November 16, 2018

This week’s topics include benefits of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) , vein harvesting , new exercise guidelines , and omega-3 and vitamin D supplementation.

0:44 Two studies on vitamin D and omega 3 supplements
1:44 Excess risks not seen
2:44 Did not prevent cardiovascular disease or cancer
3:45 Industry sponsored study not released
4:01 Freedom follow on study
5:01 Followed almost eight years and found lower mortality with bypass
5:40 Vein graft harvesting
6:40 Looked at endoscopic or open surgery
7:41 Need for venous grafts
8:17 Physical activity guidelines
9:17 Accrue over the day
10:01 Kids three to five
11:01 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, November 09, 2018

This week’s topics include a new agent for gonorrhea, salt and congestive heart failure, the predictive value of troponin measurement, and high blood pressure in young adults and cardiovascular outcomes.

0:43 High blood pressure in young adults and CVD
1:45 CARDIA study
2:43 Up to 249% increase
3:45 Whether medications help is unproven
4:14 Low salt diets in those with congestive heart failure
5:15 No data suggested reduced salt improved outcomes
6:15 Increased fluid with salt
7:02 Gonorrhea treatment
8:06 Over 550,000 cases reported last year
9:07 Need larger studies
9:20 Troponin and prognostic ability
10:20 In people with known cardiovascular disease it might help
11:28 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, November 02, 2018

This week’s topics include a comparison of bariatric procedures, a look at DOACs versus warfarin, treatment of mild hypertension, and antibiotic and acid suppressor use in early childhood and obesity.

0:48 Treating mild hypertension in those without other risk factors
1:48 Treatment associated with a range of adverse events
2:48 Did not improve outcomes
3:45 The continuum in blood pressure
4:00 Comparison of bariatric surgery types
5:00 Five percent of gastric bypass had serious complications
6:00 Didn’t look at sequelae
6:20 Antibiotic and acid suppressive medications in children and obesity
7:21 Early alteration of gut microbiota may result in obesity
8:21 An association not causality
9:21 A third without indication
9:32 A-fib and DOACs
10:30 Four DOACs and Coumadin
11:30 Lots of interactions with Coumadin
12:20 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, October 26, 2018

This week’s topics include the impact of cardiovascular fitness on mortality, increasing calories in the ICU, denial of coverage for ED visits, and whether eating organically reduces cancer risk.

0:43 More calories for the critically ill
1:43 Age didn’t make a difference
2:29 Denial of ED coverage by Anthem
3:29 Financial toxicity
4:29 Symptoms don’t distinguish emergent conditions
5:03 Cardiorespiratory fitness and mortality
6:05 1.1 million person years of observation
7:02 Do as much exercise as you can
7:39 Organic food consumption and cancer
8:35 The more organic food you consumed the lower your cancer risk
9:33 Organic food expense
10:22 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, October 19, 2018

This week’s topics include PUFAs and healthy aging, reduction in cardiovascular events in people with type 2 diabetes using bariatric surgery, adulterants in supplements, and beta blockers in pregnancy.

0:37 Beta blockers in pregnancy
1:37 Almost 20,000 pregnant women with hypertension
2:42 Bariatric surgery, type 2 diabetes, and macrovascular outcomes
3:46 Only a few events after five years
4:44 An observational study
5:26 Adulterants in supplements
6:27 Centered around three types
7:31 Need to empower the FDA
8:00 PUFAs in the diet and healthy aging
9:16 Higher level of PUFAs associated with higher likelihood of healthy aging
10:45 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, October 12, 2018

This week’s topics include undiagnosed diseases, sexual assault and mental and physical health in women, timing of TDAP in pregnancy, and statins beyond cardiovascular disease.

0:43 The impact of sexual harassment and assault in women
1:45 About 20% reported an incident
2:45 Clearly more studies needed
3:34 Undiagnosed Diseases Network
4:32 What is criteria for acceptance?
5:33 A complete evaluation including genetic information
6:23 TDAP during pregnancy timing
7:27 Weeks 27-30 highest antibody level
8:31 Statin use in conditions other than cardiovascular
9:31 Looked at 278 non cardiovascular diseases
10:46 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, October 05, 2018

This week’s topics include preventing fractures in those with osteopenia, the obesity trajectory from childhood, risk factors for hypertension in blacks, and water and recurrent bladder infection.

0:45 Water consumption and recurrent bladder infection
1:41 Fifty percent reduction in recurrence
2:51 Factors related to hypertension in blacks
3:50 Fried foods, sugar-sweetened beverages
4:50 Modifiable risk factors
5:43 Obesity in childhood and risk
6:44 Age five obesity predicts adolescent obesity
7:43 Women with osteopenia and zoledronate
8:43 Both vertebral and non-vertebral fractures lower
9:47 Did recommend vitamin D
10:43 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, September 28, 2018

Repairing the mitral valve without surgery, walking after complete spinal cord injury, medical information from digital assistants, and antibiotic treatment of appendicitis in long term follow up.

0:43 Walking after complete spinal cord injury
1:43 Two with independent trunk stability
2:44 Intensity of training, spinal cord stimulation
3:42 Mitral valve clip
4:41 Reduced their risk of hospitalization by 50%
5:41 Increasing in incidence
6:10 Medical information from digital assistants
7:10 16% could have resulted in death
8:10 Doesn’t know your medical history
8:30 Long term outcomes with antibiotic treatment for appendicitis
9:30 25% had surgery in the first year
10:38 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, September 21, 2018

This week’s topics include aspirin in the healthy elderly, marijuana in vaping devices among U.S. youth, obesity management in primary care, and pollution and dementia.

1:00 Obesity interventions in primary care
2:04 Gave a B recommendation for behavioral intervention
3:02 Waiting for a BMI over 30?
3:36 Aspirin in healthy elderly people
4:35 Did not prevent cardiovascular events
5:35 In older people isn’t the case
6:35 Air pollution and dementia
7:35 Looked at known confounders
8:35 Vaping marijuana
9:33 Adversely affects learning and memory
10:35 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, September 14, 2018

Pharmacist intervention for long-term blood pressure control, HPV and cancer, teenagers with reduced cognitive ability at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and chronic pain and suicide.

1:05 Pharmacist telemonitoring to control blood pressure
1:40 Slightly reduced, but benefits not significant long-term
2:38 App to self-monitor may be beneficial
3:10 More medications involved with pharmacist intervention
3:44 HVP-associated cancers
4:19 Survival rates for single HPV-associated cancer improving
4:41 Persistent HPV infection leading to second cancer down the line
4:44 May be at the same site, but sometimes not
5:00 Importance of HPV vaccine
5:23 Continuous screening important
5:48 70-year Project Talent Medicare data set
6:25 Teenage boys with lowered mechanical reasoning, girls with lowered word recall, higher risk for Alzheimer’s
7:12 Unclear whether association or causation
8:12 People with chronic pain at higher risk for suicide
8:30 Most studies on survivors and not decedents
9:00 9% had evidence of chronic pain: back pain, cancer pain, arthritis
10:05 Most suicides from firearms and not opioid overdose
11:32 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, September 07, 2018

The burden of firearm death worldwide, does aspirin or fish oil help people with diabetes, and anticoagulation following hospitalization.

0:51 Global burden of firearm death
1:52 Very sobering data with certain countries prominent
2:52 Homicide death 19% of the time
3:10 Fish oil and aspirin in people with diabetes
4:10 Aspirin reduced risk
5:11 Didn’t increase serious bleeding
5:34 Second agent for diabetes management
6:35 Largely the same
7:33 A moving target
8:00 Rivaroxiban for VTE post-hospitalization
9:00 Treated for 45 days
10:22 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, August 31, 2018

This week’s topics include Parkinson’s disease and metabolic syndrome, lorcaserin and heart problems, the global burden of alcohol related disease, and robotic surgery costs.

0:40 Metabolic syndrome and Parkinson’s disease
1:40 Corrected for many confounders
2:40 Some biological reasons
3:30 Robotic surgery costs
4:31 Substantial costs for almost any procedure
5:26 Lorcaserin and heart problems
6:26 Downward trend with diabetes
7:30 Primary care doc intervention
7:48 Alcohol use and burden
8:47 Tuberculosis, road injuries and self harm
9:41 Cancer increase
10:34 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, August 24, 2018

Living a healthy life and dementia risk, how much combination medicines cost Medicare, cervical cancer screening, and LDL cholesterol in those at low risk for a cardiovascular event.

0:40 Cardiovascular health in those older than 65 and dementia
1:40 Fasting glucose less than 100
2:42 Modifying in those 65+
3:11 Cervical cancer screening update
4:11 Big group 29-65
5:11 Women need to choose
6:04 Combination pill cost
7:04 Way more expensive to use combinations
8:04 LDL cholesterol in those at low 10 year risk
9:05 Increased risk by 50-60%
10:14 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, August 17, 2018

This week’s topics include vaccination in pregnant women and ASD, treating stroke outside the window, smoking, mortality and weight gain, and five risk factors for death in type 2 diabetes.

0:53 TDAP in pregnancy and ASD
1:52 Somehow affects neurodevelopment
2:52 Lots of miscommunication
3:21 Risk factors, mortality in type 2 diabetes
4:30 Little or no excess mortality risk with control
5:31 Control especially in younger people
6:19 Stroke intervention outside the window
7:18 Give thrombolytic therapy
8:18 Expanding window for stroke treatment
8:31 Smoking cessation, weight change, type 2 diabetes, mortality
9:35 Attenuated over time
10:44 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, August 10, 2018

This week’s topics include secondhand smoke and adolescents, labor induction, screening young athletes for cardiac problems and ADHD medicines.

0:36 Screening young athletes for cardiac problems
1:36 Spent over $8million to screen
2:36 Labor induction in low risk women
3:34 Sweet spot of delivery
4:32 Okay to induce at 39 weeks
5:12 Adolescent exposure to cigarette smoke
6:13 Much higher incidence of respiratory problems
7:18 Best ADHD medicines
8:18 Methylphenidate for adolescents and children
9:18 Tolerated better than placebo
10:21 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, August 03, 2018

This week’s topics include caliber of bullets and handgun deaths, a novel agent for dilated cardiomyopathy, getting genomic screening into clinical practice, and new diabetes subtypes based on continuous glucose monitoring.

0:52 Genomic screening in healthcare
1:54 Integration with consumer data
2:54 Far from routine clinical care right now
3:58 Deaths from firearms and caliber
4:57 Large caliber increased risk 4 or 5 times
5:50 Continuous glucose monitoring and diabetes subtypes
6:50 No previous diagnosis of diabetes
7:50 Able to categorize both pre diabetes and diabetes
8:53 Use of an anti-inflammatory for dilated cardiomyopathy
9:51 Inhibit interleukin-1
10:45 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, July 27, 2018

This week’s topics include head injury and CT, Medicare versus Walmart, use of osteoporosis meds after hip fracture, and persistent Ebola infection.

1:00 Persistent Ebola virus infection
2:00 Became viremic again
3:00 Even without known exposure
3:11 Use of osteoporosis meds in people who’ve had a hip fracture
4:11 Continuous decline in use
5:11 These medicines associated with a femur fracture
6:00 Medicare versus Walmart for some medicines
7:01 Other tier programs are more expensive
7:30 TBI, blood markers, and CT
8:32 2.5 million ED visits for TBI
9:31 Might be used to look at concussion recovery
10:41 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, July 20, 2018

This week’s topics include tick borne illness, late life blood pressure and stroke, a simple ED intervention to reduce suicidality, and fecal occult blood and mortality.

1:05 Tick borne illness and citizen science
2:05 Limited broadcast of tick testing
3:05 Pathogens outside of where they were known
4:17 Late life blood pressure
5:17 Only some of the Alzheimer pathology
6:15 Intervention in ED to reduce suicidality
7:15 Strategies to reduce simple and followed up by telephone
8:15 Fecal occult blood and mortality
9:18 More data as these tests are used for screening
10:40 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, July 13, 2018

This week’s topics include USPSTF recommendations on nontraditional risk factors for heart disease, the role of genetics in congestive heart failure, a patch to diagnose atrial fibrillation, and multivitamins and heart disease.

0:57 Patch for diagnosing atrial fibrillation
2:00 More likely to receive care
3:01 These were all people at risk
3:14 USPSTF and nontraditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease
4:14 No evidence that therapy is altered
5:15 In individuals with no risk factors
5:50 Multivitamins and heart disease
6:50 Adjusted for physical activity no benefit
7:31 The genetics of heart failure
8:31 Does increase one’s risk if biological parent has it
9:31 A complex trait
10:18 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, July 06, 2018

This week’s topics include DOACs and warfarin, use of defibrillators after Department of Justice involvement, HPV testing versus Pap smears, and interfering with RNA in a genetic disease.

0:51 Department of Justice and use of cardiac devices
1:50 Ultimately fined $280 million
2:51 Aren’t paying attention to guidelines
3:35 Direct oral anticoagulants or DOACs compared to warfarin
4:35 Reduced risk of intracranial bleeding
5:35 Don’t know about compliance
6:35 Warfarin much less expensive
7:00 Oligonucleotides and amyloidosis
8:00 Novel use of interfering with RNA
9:00 Replacement of Pap smears with HPV testing?
10:01 HPV testing had lower risk of cervical cancer at 48 months
10:47 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, June 29, 2018

This week’s topics include hospital at home, using a virus to treat brain cancer, updated osteoporosis guidelines, and an artificial pancreas in hospitalized pat45

0:45 Screening for osteoporosis
1:45 DEXA for women over 65
2:45 Don’t make a firm determination in men
3:50 Artificial pancreas use in hospitalized patients
4:50 Controlled 66% of the time
5:46 Hospital at home
6:45 Rated better by patients
7:45 Patients older and with impairment
8:25 Use of polio virus to treat glioblastoma
9:25 Way to predict who will respond?
10:29 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, June 22, 2018

This week’s topics include the emotional consequences of gun violence, a single test to diagnose diabetes, use of medicines to help addiction after opioid overdose, and screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm.

1:00 Kudos to listeners
1:45 Opioid overdose and use of medications to assist afterward
2:45 Methadone better
3:45 Almost a third received another opioid prescription
4:45 Transition from ED to treatment
5:00 A single blood test to diagnose diabetes
6:00 Postitive predictive value about 90% over 15 years
7:10 Survivors of gun crimes
8:10 All individuals victimized
9:00 Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm
10:30 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, June 15, 2018

This week’s topics include utility of EKGs, autism and allergy, Mediterranean diet and heart risk, and trends in suicide rates in the US.

0:34 Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular risk
1:35 Randomized to three groups
2:36 Supposed to be randomized
3:43 Suicide data in US
4:42 Need to extend treatment
5:28 Allergy and autism
6:28 No information on why
7:28 Historical data may help
7:50 Screening EKG
8:50 Does not add additional info
9:30 False positives
10:17 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, June 08, 2018

This week’s topics include fecal transplant for primary treatment of C.diff, new colorectal cancer screening guidelines, giving chemo a miss in breast cancer, and attendings and rates of medical errors.

0:50 Fecal transplant for primary treatment of Clostridium difficile infection
1:50 Only tried after failure of antibiotics
2:50 45% response with metronidazole
3:50 Needs to be confirmed into a larger trial
4:20 Intermediate risk breast cancer treatment
5:20 94% were alive after 10 years
5:52 increased attending presence and medical errors
6:52 Interns felt less efficient
7:52 Can it be translated to other institutions?
8:11 New colorectal cancer screening guidelines
9:13 Didn’t pick a particular test
10:35 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, June 01, 2018

This week’s topics include the state of bacterial and fungal resistance worldwide, a nurse-led intervention in the ICU and outcomes for surrogates, cardiovascular outcomes and walking or biking to work, and procalcitonin and antibiotic use.

0:58 Alternatives to the car and cardiovascular health
1:58 Confounders corrected
2:30 Nurse led interventions to help surrogate decision makers
3:30 Enrolled all patients in five ICUs
4:31 Did not change six month mortality
5:15 Procalcitonin and antibiotic prescribing
6:15 Didn’t decrease antibiotic use
7:15 Moving in the right direction?
7:38 Bacterial and fungal resistance to drugs
8:38 Can extend lifetime of antibiotic use
9:33 Resistance increasing to antifungals
10:38 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, May 25, 2018

This week’s topics include occluding the atrial appendage and stroke, a pragmatic smoking trial, a relative rise in lung cancer among women, and the benefits of egg consumption.

0:37 Disturbing rise in lung cancer among women
1:37 Over the decades has decreased more in men
2:35 A pragmatic trial of smoking cessation interventions
3:28 Only 20% even wanted to try
4:28 Still remains the greatest preventable cause of death
5:10 Surgical occlusion of left atrial appendage
6:10 Seems to be clear to do it
7:10 They were more likely to develop ongoing a-fib
7:46 Egg consumption and cardiovascular outcomes
8:49 One egg per day had lower risk
9:35 Americans have more ischemic heart disease
10:35 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, May 18, 2018

This week’s topics include the Ebola vaccine, stroke risk and resolved a-fib, an antibody for migraine prevention, and cannabis and tobacco smoking by parents.

0:36 Ebola vaccine
1:36 Persistent neutralizing antibodies
2:36 May not return for boosters
3:36 These are worldwide concerns
4:10 Cannabis and tobacco use in parents
5:10 More prevalent in men
6:06 Resolved a-fib and stroke
7:08 Give blood thinners and decrease risk
8:09 Migraine prevention
9:09 Decreased by 1.5 headaches per month
10:08 Clinical entity is tip of the iceberg
10:45 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, May 11, 2018

This week’s topics include crowdfunding for stem cell therapies, USPSTF recommendations for prostate cancer screening, MRI guided biopsy of the prostate, and testing blood for Zika virus.

0:31 Zika virus screening of blood donations
1:31 Cost of about $1 million to prevent one case
2:31 Traveled into the US and gave blood
3:15 PSA screening recommendations
4:15 Screening 1000 men
5:14 Appropriate strategy to follow
5:26 Utility of MRI for targeted biopsy of prostate
6:27 Have a sonogram
7:15 Crowdfunding for stem cell therapy
8:15 How many soliciting?
9:15 FDA now looking
10:20 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, May 04, 2018

This week’s topics include the best blood vessel for cardiac bypass grafts, rates of autism, five healthy lifestyle factors and their impact on mortality, and managing COPD.

0:37 Autism rates nationally
1:38 Are there differences in sites?
2:36 Overall increased from 13 per 1000 to 29 per 1000
3:15 Five lifestyle factors and lifespan
4:15 For men and women longer life
5:15 Smoking makes the most difference
6:01 Managing COPD
7:01 Randomized to triple or dual therapy
8:01 Radial artery versus the saphenous vein for CABG
9:01 Internal mammary on the LAD
10:37 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, April 27, 2018

This week’s topics include best treatment of venous leg ulcers, cannabis and cognition, anticlotting agents after bypass grafting, and caffeine and childhood obesity.

0:38 Cannabis and cognition in young people
1:38 Didn’t see an impact after 72 hours
2:38 Neurodevelopment ongoing in this age group
3:35 Aspirin and ticagrelor after bypass
4:32 End of a year 89% were open
5:31 Keep people on two agents?
5:49 Caffeine consumption during pregnancy and childhood obesity
6:47 Excess childhood weight persisted to eight years
7:45 Tell mothers to use the lowest caffeine
7:57 Leg ulcer treatment
8:57 Ablation in first two weeks
9:50 Different types of ablation
10:28 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, April 20, 2018

This week’s topics include preventing falls in the elderly, ambulatory versus clinic blood pressures, benefits of statin use, and how much alcohol is okay to consume.

0:36 How much alcohol consumption is safe
1:36 Standard drink amount
2:36 Variations worldwide
3:33 Different types of death, linear increase
4:00 Who benefits from statins?
5:04 Newer trials with lower LDL at baseline
6:03 Ambulatory blood pressure versus clinical measurement
7:03 Different categories of high blood pressure
8:03 Masked hypertension had three times mortality
8:44 Falls in the elderly
9:44 Exercise most beneficial
10:38 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, April 13, 2018

This week’s topics include safety of smoking cessation medicines, a nationwide look at health, predictors of COPD in childhood, and neuron growth and health in one part of the brain.

0:41 A state by state look at health
1:41 Huge geographic difference in life expectancy
2:41 Have control over many factors
3:40 Can intervene with policy
4:01 New neurons in the hippocampus
5:02 Fairly small autopsy study
5:35 Safety of smoking cessation medicines
6:35 Extended study for full year
7:35 Effective in at least a third of individuals
7:52 Antecedents of COPD in childhood
8:50 Factors can be modified
9:52 Parental history of asthma
10:52 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, April 6, 2018

This week’s topics include diagnosing cellulitis, managing pleural effusion, antibiotics and antacids in children and allergy, and loss of wealth and mortality.

0:38 Managing pleural effusion in people with cancer
1:39 Worked well on outpatient basis
2:33 Could be done in US?
3:08 Antibiotics and acid suppression in infants and allergy
4:08 Twice as likely to develop allergic reactions
5:08 Biologically plausible
5:44 Health and wealth
6:43 Increased mortality to same level as poverty
7:33 Cellulitis diagnosis
8:33 Don’t recommend routine imaging
9:32 Avoid these tests
10:18 End

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TT HealthWatch – Friday, March 30, 2018

This week’s topics include sinusitis treatment, low back pain management, waning mumps immunity, and e-cigarettes and quitting attempts.

0:37 Mumps immunity waning
1:32 A booster should be assessed
2:33 Sequelae of mumps in adults
3:10 Use of e-cigarettes to assist in quitting smoking
4:12 Those using e-cigs were 50% or more less likely to quit
5:12 Damning evidence on e-cigs
5:46 Low back pain management
6:46 Call out to global health community
7:45 First line of therapy is nonpharmacologic
8:28 Sinusitis and antibiotic use
9:28 How should a patient approach this?
10:24 End

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TT HealthWatch – Week of March 26, 2018

This week’s topics include treating infants with bronchiolitis, orthotics for heel pain, medications for behavioral issues in people with dementia, and treating Helicobacter pylori infection in people with early gastric cancer.

0:40 Orthotics for plantar heel pain
1:40 Not really helpful
2:41 Risk factors include low arch
3:01 CMS and use of medicines in people with dementia
4:01 Increased use of mood-altering drugs
5:01 Increases risk of death
5:45 Infection with H.pylori and gastric cancers
6:45 Chronic inflammation and cell change
7:45 Don’t know if screening helps in low and intermediate risk
8:23 High flow oxygen in infant bronchiolitis
9:23 Stabilized condition
10:51 End

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TT HealthWatch – Week of March 19, 2018

This week’s topics include mortality statistics since 1980 across the US, domestic healthcare costs, an iPad intervention for colorectal cancer screening, and real world experience with clot retrieval in stroke.

0:40 An iPad intervention for colorectal ca screening
1:40 I need colorectal cancer screening
2:42 Hopefully hooked into having screening
3:02 Real world experience with clot retrieval after stroke
4:03 Lower complication rate
5:05 Patterns of mortality relative to substance abuse and self harm
6:08 This data helpful, county by county
7:03 Rural area more problematic
7:15 Medical costs in the US
8:15 Why costs so high?
9:15 Just prolong a few months
10:11 End

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TT HealthWatch – Week of March 12, 2018

This week’s topics include the dangers of e-cigarettes, steroids and asthma, five types of diabetes, and a single PSA measurement and outcomes.

0:41 Looking at metabolites of e-cigarettes
1:41 Increased organic compounds in blood
2:43 Targeting to this population
3:00 One time screening for prostate cancer
4:00 Did not decrease prostate cancer mortality at all
5:00 New tests will become available
5:17 Five subtypes of diabetes
6:17 Severe insulin deficient
7:16 Previously only classified by HbA1c
8:19 Metabolic measures
8:39 300 million people worldwide with asthma
9:45 Make sure they are optimally managed
10:33 End

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TT HealthWatch – Week of March 05, 2018

This week’s topics include fluids best for resuscitation, a blood test for 8 cancers, managing chronic pain for disadvantaged folks, and varicose veins and other circulatory problems.

0:43 CancerSEEK, a blood test for cancer
1:44 For some of the cancers no screening test exists
2:44 Compared to a normal population
3:45 Specificity in a healthy population may not apply
4:33 Managing chronic pain in a disadvantaged population
5:33 Tough population with tailored CBT
6:33 Varicose veins and DVT
7:33 An association perhaps with common risk factors
8:22 Critically ill patients and fluid use
9:23 Helps kidneys but no difference in mortality
10:48 End

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TT HealthWatch – Week of February 26, 2018

This week’s topics include anticoagulation after knee or hip surgery, proper treatment of ARDS, dermatology consults for cellulitis in the hospital, and avoiding delirium in the ICU.

0:39 Management of ARDS
1:37 Mechanical ventilation is important
2:34 Volume of air with each breath
3:21 Anticoagulation after hip or knee replacement
4:22 Aspirin versus NOAC
5:23 No studies of only aspirin
5:35 Benefits of in hospital dermatologists
6:35 Got correct diagnosis in cellulitis
7:31 Prevention of delirium in the ICU
8:31 Treatment with haloperidol did not improve outcomes
10:14 End

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TT HealthWatch – Week of February 19, 2018

This week’s topics include ruling out lung clots in the ED, breast biopsy following screening types, infectious disease and opioid use, and a new type of RNA therapy.

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TT HealthWatch – Week of February 12, 2018

This week’s topics include surgical blood clot retrieval for stroke, herb-drug interactions and atrial fibrillation with heart failure

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TT HealthWatch – Week of February 05, 2018

This week’s topics include risks of just one cigarette per day, birth defects and thyroid medicines, overtreatment of diabetes in the elderly, and heart attack after the flu.

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TT HealthWatch – Week of January 29, 2018

This week’s topics include marijuana and cardiovascular risk, methods of permanent sterilization in women, new hypertension guidelines, and influenza virus in breath.

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TT HealthWatch – Week of January 22, 2018

This week’s topics include the benefits of breast feeding, the JAMA obesity issue, hope for ovarian cancer, and non-traditional risk factors for heart disease.

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