JAMA internal medicine
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JAMA internal medicine · Feb 2015
Comparative StudyFibrinolysis use among patients requiring interhospital transfer for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction care: a report from the US National Cardiovascular Data Registry.
Guidelines for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) recommend timely reperfusion with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) or fibrinolysis. Among patients with STEMI who require interhospital transfer, it is unclear how reperfusion strategy selection and outcomes vary with interhospital drive times. ⋯ In the United States, neither fibrinolysis nor pPCI is being optimally used to achieve guideline-recommended reperfusion targets. For patients who are unlikely to receive timely pPCI, pretransfer fibrinolysis, followed by early transfer for angiography, may be a reperfusion option when potential benefits of timely reperfusion outweigh bleeding risk.
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JAMA internal medicine · Feb 2015
Comparative StudyTramadol use and the risk of hospitalization for hypoglycemia in patients with noncancer pain.
Tramadol is a weak opioid analgesic whose use has increased rapidly, and it has been associated with adverse events of hypoglycemia. ⋯ The initiation of tramadol therapy is associated with an increased risk of hypoglycemia requiring hospitalization. Additional studies are needed to confirm this rare but potentially fatal adverse event.
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JAMA internal medicine · Feb 2015
Material need insecurities, control of diabetes mellitus, and use of health care resources: results of the Measuring Economic Insecurity in Diabetes study.
Increasing access to care may be insufficient to improve the health of patients with diabetes mellitus and unmet basic needs (hereinafter referred to as material need insecurities). How specific material need insecurities relate to clinical outcomes and the use of health care resources in a setting of near-universal access to health care is unclear. ⋯ Material need insecurities were common among patients with diabetes mellitus and had varying but generally adverse associations with diabetes control and the use of health care resources. Material need insecurities may be important targets for improving care of diabetes mellitus.