2023 TT HealthWatch Archive

TT HealthWatch - Friday, May 26, 2023

This week's topics include utility of polygenic risk score and coronary calcium scans in predicting heart disease risk, PET scanning in assessing cognitive impairment, an intervention to promote goals of care discussions, and integrating data for colon cancer survival prediction.

0:40 Integrated atlas for colon cancer and survival
1:40 Specific immune responses
2:40 Data to integrate in clinical care
3:41 Goals of care discussions
4:41 Wide range of ethnicities included
5:42 Just clinician-facing not as effective
6:43 Figure out from the patient's standpoint
7:01 Coronary artery calcium and polygenic score
8:01 Traditional risk factors plus
9:01 Either lower or higher number
9:35 Clinical utility of PET scan in patients with cognitive symptoms
10:35 7.5% saw changes in diagnosis
12:02 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, May 19, 2023

This week's topics include the economic impact of racial inequities, use of housing vouchers to reduce severity of childhood asthma, metabolically unhealthy obesity and cancer risk, and exercise and infectious disease risk.

0:42 Economic burden of racial inequity
1:42 Impact of education
2:42 Death younger than 78 years
3:18 Housing mobility and childhood asthma
4:18 Baltimore housing partnership
5:15 Impact of antibodies to allergens
6:15 Disproportionate environmental exposures
7:15 Housing reparations
7:30 Leisure time physical activity, flu and pneumonia
8:30 Up to 600 minutes of exercise
9:25 Obesity, healthy obesity and cancer
10:25 Increased relative risk of obesity related cancers
11:25 Interrelated to decrease risk
12:05 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, May 12, 2023

This week's topics include falls and mortality, orphan drug profits, peanut allergy treatment in young children, and does 24-hour blood pressure measurement reveal more than office-based measurement?

0:42 Blood pressure in the office or ambulatory, and mortality
1:42 Almost 60,000 patients
2:42 Even if not 100%, it’s beneficial
3:42 Involve patient in care
4:00 Treating peanut allergy in very young children
5:02 67% of treatment group reached endpoint
6:05 Amount of peanut on skin 1/1000 of a peanut
7:01 Orphan drug profits
8:01 Through 12.16 initially
9:03 Gene therapies are orphan
9:20 Trends in deaths from falls in those 65-plus
10:20 Age-adjusted mortality rate
11:20 More falls recorded recently
12:30 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, May 5, 2023

This week's topics include molnupiravir and long Covid, who is at risk for shortness of breath following Covid infection, beta blockers after heart attack, and community health workers and early childhood outcomes.

0:34 Molnupiravir and long Covid
1:35 Did turn out to reduce eight of 13 post acute sequelae
2:35 Benefited all vaccination groups
3:19 Who is at risk for persistent shortness of breath after Covid
4:19 Compared with a non Covid community cohort
5:18 Weight loss helps
5:50 Community health works and at risk kids
6:50 Insured by Medicaid
7:50 Meet needs proactively
8:50 Thought they would decrease ED visits
9:20 Beta blockers post MI
10:20 Preserved heart function after heart attack
11:54 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, April 28, 2023

This week's topics include diabetes and poor diet, treating sciatica, beverages and diabetes, and cord blood analysis and obesity.

0:43 Beverage consumption, mortality and Type 2 diabetes
1:41 Sugar sweetened beverage consumption
2:40 Contain anti-inflammatories
3:01 Type 2 diabetes and suboptimal diet
4:02 Drilled down to certain factors
5:02 More education related to greater risk
6:02 Prevent diabetes with diet
6:52 Surgical versus nonsurgical treatment of sciatica
7:53 Leg pain result no significant difference
8:51 Waiting for a year may not be helpful
9:31 Methylation of DNA in umbilical cord blood
10:32 Can predict obesity with patterns
11:30 Analysis when child is born?
12:25 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, April 21, 2023

This week's topics include an OTC versus fitted hearing aids, screening for skin cancer, chronic pain in US adults, and a new treatment for Clostridium difficile.

0:35 USPSTF and skin cancer screening
1:36 Data are inconclusive
2:35 Patient can suggest screening
3:22 OTC versus audiologist fitted hearing aids
4:22 68 adults with mild to moderate hearing loss
5:21 FDA approved hearing aids
6:23 Different styles available
6:40 New treatment for C. difficile
7:40 Infusion from normal people
8:40 Different bacterial populations bodywide
9:15 Chronic pain in US adults
10:16 Chronic pain associated with dementia
11:15 Poor general health and disability
12:05 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, April 14, 2023

This week's topics include an RSV vaccine in older adults, gun deaths at the scene, training to prevent falls in elderly, and COVID-19 and flu deaths among hospitalized.

0:38 Flu and COVID-19 deaths in hospitalized
1:38 COVID-19 mortality about 6%
2:33 Outpatient therapy helps
3:08 RSV vaccination in older adults
4:08 Single IM vaccination
5:08 Vaccine is efficacious
6:08 Severity of illness acute
6:40 Cognitive training for reducing falls in older adults
7:40 Speed of processing, and other types
8:40 Physical activity and processing
9:15 Gun deaths at the scene
10:15 Removed self-inflicted
11:15 Guns being used more lethal
12:28 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, April 7, 2023

This week's topics include Covid vaccine resistance, antibiotic prophylaxis for sexually transmitted infections, colonoscopy in older people, and what is the best diet to reduce mortality?

1:15 Why don't people get Covid vaccines?
2:15 Vaccine acceptance in future scenarios
3:15 Covid vaccine like the flu vaccine
4:15 Triple vaxers
4:50 Diet and mortality
5:53 Mediterranean diet decreased most
6:50 Olive oil instead of saturated far
7:04 Post exposure doxycycline for STIs
8:02 Reduced from 32% to 11%
9:03 Interrupt the transmission in general
9:25 Colonoscopy in those older than 75
10:25 Percentage with less than 10 year life expectancy
11:25 Fecal tests instead
12:01 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, March 31, 2023

This week's topics include UTIs and meat consumption; mental health hospitalizations among youth; genes, a bacterium, and gastric cancer; and reducing air pollution and health.

0:40 Air pollution and the effect of reducing it
1:40 Medicaid recipients
2:40 Different countries around the world
3:21 Genes, Helicobacter pylori, and gastric cancer
4:27 A variant plus infection equals increased risk
5:27 Confluence of factors giving rise to cancer
6:25 Pediatric mental health hospitalizations domestically
7:25 Two-thirds suicidal attempt or self-harm
8:27 COVID-19 has exacerbated
9:00 Mobile genetic elements and E.coli
10:00 From meat consumption
11:02 Genetic analysis modeling
12:00 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, March 24, 2023

This week's topics include cardiovascular impact of low- and moderate-dose radiation, coffee consumption and heart function, testing in long-term care facilities and COVID-19, and delirium after surgery in older adults and subsequent dementia.

0:42 Testing in long-term care facilities for COVID-19
1:42 Pre-vaccine phase decreased rate by 30%
2:30 Coffee consumption in ambulatory adults and heart beats
3:30 Mean age 39 years
4:30 No change in serum glucose
5:30 Previous caffeine consumption
6:31 Ionizing radiation and CVD
7:30 Use lowest dose possible
8:19 Delirium, dementia and surgery in older adults
9:19 Up to six years of follow up
10:20 Is delirium a marker?
11:20 A little bit older at baseline
12:18 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, March 17, 2023

This week's topics include a new agent for cholesterol, acetaminophen, opioids and acute liver failure, optimizing medicines to reduce CVD risk for people with T2D, and heart disease risk factors in adults 20-44 years of age.

0:49 New agent for cholesterol lowering
1:54 Lowered 21%
2:50 Increased uric acid levels
3:40 Acetaminophen, opioids and acute liver failure
4:38 Median age 42 years
5:40 A modest impact on rate
6:40 'Therapeutic misadventure'
7:40 Optimizing medicines to reduce CVD in people with diabetes
8:36 Extensive coordinated care for clinicians and patients
9:26 Cardiovascular risk in adults 20-44 years of age
10:30 Need to start early to prevent cardiovascular disease
11:25 Population wide policy change
12:15 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, March 10, 2023

This week's topics include tap water burn impact, inflammation in heart disease in people on statins, the worldwide cost of obesity, and active surveillance in prostate cancer.

0:33 World Obesity Atlas
1:35 $4-trillion-dollar cost
2:33 Contributes to work absenteeism
3:33 Not a failure of will
3:50 Role of inflammation in cardiac events
4:50 Use anti-inflammatory agent
5:50 CRP may indicate
6:05 Tap water scalds
7:05 Multiple body surfaces involved
8:05 Water at 120 degrees
9:00 Active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer
10:00 Minimizes side effects
11:00 Call to individuals
12:05 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, March 3, 2023

This week's topics include ablation for hypertension, paid sick leave and cancer screening, physical activity, mortality and other outcomes.

0:40 Renal artery denervation to treat hypertension
1:40 One hundred fifty randomized
2:40 Durable over months
3:40 Daytime, nighttime and during sleep
4:40 May have an important place
4:55 Physical activity and health outcomes
5:55 Reduce all cause mortality by 30%
6:45 Paid sick leave and cancer screening
7:45 Cancer screening rates modestly higher
8:45 We need to improve cancer screening across the board
9:49 Alcohol related screening and primary care
10:49 Number screened went up substantially
11:49 Doesn't show where we fall down
12:15 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, February 24, 2023

This week's topics include protection from COVID-19 infection, a new treatment for Parkinson's disease, consumption of fruits, vegetables and sugar-sweetened beverages, among young children, and claims of infant formula manufacturers.

0:35 Reinfection protection from COVID-19 infection
1:35 Infection just as infection as current vaccine
2:35 Durable immunity to other viruses
3:00 New treatment for Parkinson's disease
4:00 Enrolled 90+ patients
5:00 Heat a part of the brain
6:00 Don't address how patients feel
6:12 Health and nutrition claims for infant formula
7:12 Scientific evidence?
8:18 Where people can least afford it
9:12 Fruit, vegetable and sugar-sweetened beverage intake
10:14 States that have other health issues
11:14 Increases risk of obesity and diabetes
12:15 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, February 17, 2023

This week's topics include giving radiation a miss after breast cancer treatment, RSV vaccines in adults, FDA approvals of drugs, benefits and costs, and screening for genital herpes.

0:38 RSV vaccines in adults
1:38 Pre-fusion F protein
2:38 Big problem in adults
3:15 Screening for genital herpes
4:15 Neonatal outcomes
4:45 FDA approved drugs not recommended for use in other countries
5:44 Five approved drugs refused
6:45 Domestic approval process different
7:45 210 new drugs approved with null findings
8:45 Hard clinical endpoints
9:17 Radiation or not in early breast cancer
10:17 Followed for ten years
11:30 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, February 10, 2023

This week's topics include interferon for COVID-19 infection, adverse pregnancy outcomes and heart disease, low-value drugs and pharma advertising to consumers, and minimizing surgery for lung cancer.

0:40 Interferon lambda for acute COVID-19 infection
1:40 Return to ED or hospitalization
2:40 Works on different variants of COVID-19
3:40 Would look for its use
4:00 Lung resection in non-small cell lung cancer
5:00 Lobar versus sublobar surgery
6:01 Direct to consumer ads and drug impact
7:02 134 top selling drugs in U.S.
8:03 When a patient sees an ad
9:02 Other purveyors are hospitals and insurance companies
9:40 Adverse pregnancy outcomes and premature heart disease
10:40 Coronary calcium scan
11:40 Take a careful history
12:45 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, February 3, 2023

This week's topics include physical activity and diabetes risk, overall levels of exercise in the US, cooling down kidney donors, a vaccine for meningitis in kids, and a healthy lifestyle and mental decline.

0:45 Healthy lifestyle and memory decline
1:45 Regardless you still experience memory decline
2:45 Very quantitative tests
3:00 People with obesity, exercise and diabetes
4:00 Two years and even up to ten years
4:35 MMWR look at physical activity in adults
5:35 Combined aerobic and strength
6:30 Cooling organ donors
7:30 Machine perfusion best
8:30 Organs go to multiple locations
8:45 Vaccine for meningococcal group B
9:45 Nationwide case matched study
10:30 Had vaccine against group C
11:30 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, January 27, 2023

This week's topics include an update on long COVID-19, viral infections and neurodegenerative diseases, eating and sleeping intervals and weight change, and life stresses and immune response in older people.

0:33 An update on long COVID-19
1:32 Almost a third had acute respiratory syndrome
2:30 A lot of viral infections have sequelae
3:30 Most resolve in a year
3:42 Viral illnesses and neurodegenerative diseases
4:42 Viral encephalitis and Alzheimer's disease
5:43 Decreases Parkinson's and dementia
6:46 Social stresses, T lymphocytes and older age
7:45 Naive or terminal T lymphocytes
8:45 Can do anything?
9:28 Eating, sleeping and weight change over time
10:28 Restricted timing did not help
11:30 App helped with research
12:18 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, January 20, 2023

This week's topics include the impact of hormone therapy on transgender youth, aspirin versus heparin for clot prevention after lower extremity surgery, update on Covid vaccines in those 55+, and remote management of cholesterol and blood pressure.

0:42 Covid vaccines in those 55+
1:43 Seroresponse and titre
2:43 They're effective and safe
3:46 Lower extremity fracture, surgery and clot prevention
4:47 No difference in pulmonary embolism
5:44 Hormone therapy, transgender youth and psychosocial measures
6:43 Assessed four times for two years
7:43 Decreases in depression and anxiety
8:43 Depression decrease largely modest
9:44 Have a lot of work to do now
10:00 Can we effectively remotely monitor and treat blood pressure, cholesterol
11:00 40% stayed with the program
12:01 Putting more onus on the patient
12:38 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, January 13, 2023

This week's topics include the safety of inpatient care, using recalled devices to get new ones approved, hearing and dementia, and antibiotic use and inflammatory bowel disease.

0:30 Using recalled devices to approve new ones
1:30 Using class recalls, usually voluntary
2:30 Can't tie to patient safety
3:12 Inpatient patient safety
4:13 Sample of 2800+ admissions
5:14 Higher levels of adverse events
6:16 Mechanisms now to decrease events
6:52 Early use of antibiotics and inflammatory bowel disease
7:53 Clear association found
8:53 Understanding the mechanism
9:03 Hearing loss and dementia prevalence
10:03 Used Medicare beneficiaries
11:03 Hearing aid use
12:32 End

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TT HealthWatch - Friday, January 6, 2023

This week's topics include sodium levels and health outcomes, profits from inhalers, HIV meds and ethnicity, and conspiracy theorists and cancer beliefs.

0:52 Race and ethnicity and initial antiretroviral therapy
1:50 Who ended up with INSTIs
2:52 Uninsured had lower rates
3:52 Effective therapy for treatment and prevention
4:30 Cancer beliefs among anti vaxxers and others
5:33 Only got the right answer about 60%
6:33 Covid vaccination rates relationship
7:04 Middle-aged high normal serum sodium and health issues
8:02 Serum sodium and proxy for hydration
9:08 Will hydration help?
10:04 No dose response evident
11:03 At best is ask about water
11:15 Inhalers and profits for manufacturers
12:15 Most profits with secondary patents
13:14 End

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