Current medical research and opinion
-
Observational Study
Assessing Risk of Future Cardiovascular Events, Healthcare Resource Utilization and Costs in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes, Prior Cardiovascular Disease and Both.
Description of risk of cardiovascular (CV) events associated with diabetes is evolving. This US-based real-world study estimated risk of future CV events and heart failure (HF) from type 2 diabetes (T2DM) only, prior CV events only or T2DM plus prior CV events, versus controls, and evaluated healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs. ⋯ In this large and geographically broad US based cohort, CV risk for T2DM patients was elevated, as was the risk for patients with prior CV events, while patients with T2DM plus prior CV events had the highest risk of future CV events. The substantial clinical and economic burden of CV events and HF in patients with both T2DM and prior CV events suggest a need for an integrated treatment and targeted intervention across both conditions.
-
This study aimed to establish the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the Fugl-Meyer Motor Scale (FMMS) and the Disability Rating Scale (DRS) to evaluate interventions in patients with motor deficits in the chronic phase after traumatic brain injury (TBI). ⋯ This study is the first to establish MCIDs for the FMMS and the DRS in the chronic phase after TBI. The results may be helpful for the design and interpretation of clinical trials of interventions.
-
The term "mixed pain" is increasingly applied for specific clinical scenarios, such as low back pain, cancer pain and postsurgical pain, in which there "is a complex overlap of the different known pain types (nociceptive, neuropathic, nociplastic) in any combination, acting simultaneously and/or concurrently to cause pain in the same body area." Whether mixed pain is the manifestation of neuropathic and nociceptive mechanisms operating simultaneously or concurrently, or the result of an entirely independent pathophysiological mechanism - distinct from nociceptive, nociplastic and neuropathic pain - is currently unknown. At present, the diagnosis of mixed pain is made based on clinical judgement following detailed history-taking and thorough physical examination, rather than by formal confirmation following explicit screening or diagnostic criteria; this lack of formalized screening or diagnostic tools for mixed pain is problematic for physicians in primary care, who encounter patients with probable mixed pain states in their daily practice. ⋯ The authors propose the use of nine simple key questions, which will provide the practicing clinician a framework for identifying the predominant pain mechanisms operating within the patient. A methodical, fairly rapid, and comprehensive assessment of a patient in chronic pain - particularly one suffering from pain with both nociceptive and neuropathic components - allows validation of their experience of chronic pain as a specific disease and, importantly, allows the institution of targeted treatment.
-
We argue that increased risk for a variety of diseases in ART children has been consistently reaffirmed by different methods and in diverse populations, providing a methodological critique of recent sibling studies, which hold great potential for studying the risks of ART. A recent within-family analysis using a national population register holds a distinct size advantage over previous studies, and suggested that apparent risks to offspring may be attributable to birth order. ⋯ While uncertainty remains, the evidence points to elevated risk for ART offspring. It may therefore be prudent to call for an extension of preventive and precautionary decisions to the entire population, and to change informed consent to incorporate the long-term health consequences of fertility treatments.