The American journal of medicine
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Prediabetes may be improved or reversed with lifestyle interventions. A worksite wellness program offering financial incentives for participation may be effective in improving the health of employees with prediabetes. We studied the effect of employee health plan financial incentives on health outcomes for employees with prediabetes. ⋯ A worksite wellness program offering health plan financial incentives for participation and outcomes was associated with improvements in weight and HbA1c.
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The magnitude of the risk of severe hypoglycemia associated with sulfonylureas as the initial treatment for type 2 diabetes in the real-world setting is unknown. We assessed the risk of severe hypoglycemia associated with initiating monotherapy with sulfonylurea compared with metformin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. ⋯ Sulfonylureas, when prescribed as the initiating monotherapy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is associated with a 4.5-fold increase in the risk of severe hypoglycemia. Given the negative consequences of this outcome, clinicians should consider alternative hypoglycemic agents when metformin is not tolerated or contraindicated.
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Observational Study
Outcomes in Severe Hyponatremia Treated With and Without Desmopressin.
Overcorrection of plasma sodium in severe hyponatremia is associated with osmotic demyelination syndrome. Desmopressin (DDAVP) can prevent overcorrection of plasma sodium in hyponatremia. The objective of this study was to compare outcomes in hyponatremia according to DDAVP usage. ⋯ Although observational, these data support a reactive strategy for using DDAVP in patients at average risk of osmotic demyelination syndrome, as well as a more stringent plasma sodium correction limit of 8 mEq/L in any 24-hour period for high-risk patients. Further studies are urgently needed on DDAVP use in treating hyponatremia.
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Patients with cryptogenic strokes are more likely to have a patent foremen ovale than in the general population. It is speculated that these strokes are due to paradoxical embolism, that is, passage of a venous thrombus across the patent foremen ovale to enter the arterial circulation, resulting in an embolic stroke. Venous thromboembolism is rarely present in these cases of cryptogenic stroke. ⋯ Aneurysms of the atrial septum are easily recognized by echocardiography and are present in approximately one-third of patients with patent foremen ovales. These data suggest that closure of patent foremen ovales in patients with an atrial septal aneurysm is indicated. In patients with a patent foremen ovale without an aneurysm of the atrial septum, patent foremen ovale closure is not indicated.
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Comparative Study
Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and Physicians Are Comparable in Managing the First Five Years of Diabetes.
Increasing use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants is a possible solution to the shortage of primary care providers in the United States, but the quality of care they provide is not well understood. ⋯ At diagnosis and during 4 years of follow-up, diabetes management by nurse practitioners and physician assistants was comparable to management by physicians. The Veterans Health Administration model for roles of nurse practitioners and physician assistants may be broadly useful to help meet the demand for primary care providers in the United States.