Current medical research and opinion
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Since 2014, valproate has not been recommended for use in girls and women of childbearing potential unless other treatments are ineffective or not tolerated. Risk minimization measures (RMMs) of valproate were implemented to reduce the potential risks of developmental disorders among pregnant women. A drug utilization study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of RMMs. ⋯ Results from this study indicated some improvement in physician prescribing and a potential reduction in valproate-exposed pregnancies in the UK. Given only modest improvement has been achieved, additional RMMs were implemented in 2018.
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Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common cause of death in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). We aim to estimate the prevalence of CHD and cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese patients with T2DM. ⋯ The prevalence of CHD was rather high in Chinese T2DM inpatients, and the aggregation of CHD risk factors was severe. Thus, hierarchical CHD prevention strategies based on risk factors are necessary.
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In Ethiopia, perinatal mortality rate was 33 per 1000 pregnancies and 64.4% of this death was occurred within the first 7 days of neonatal life. Moreover, more than 2.1% of new born babies were died within their first seven days of life in Ethiopia. Majority of neonatal deaths are preventable by applying an effective and lifesaving interventions. However, little is known about newborn care practice at the community level. ⋯ Less than half of the mothers had good newborn care practice. In this study, head of household, type of birth attendant, and bad obstetrical history were significantly associated with maternal newborn care practice. Therefore, Ministry of Women and Woreda women and Child offices needs to promote the socioeconomic empowerment of women to increase the practice of essential newborn care practices.
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To measure health state preferences and estimate utility values for tardive dyskinesia (TD) from the perspective of the US general population, accounting for factors affecting quality of life (QOL). ⋯ Utility decrements for TD in this study were slightly larger than previously reported values, potentially due to incorporation of QOL and social consequences in TD health state descriptions. An important limitation of this analysis is that participants' willingness to trade future years of healthy life may not indicate actual willingness to accept the life decrement. These findings can be leveraged to improve cost-effectiveness analyses used to assess the value of treatments for TD.
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Anemia is an adverse outcome and common complication in chronic kidney disease patients. This is usually associated with iron deficiency, inflammation and blood loss. However, little is known about the prevalence of anemia and its predictors among chronic kidney disease patients in Southern Ethiopia. This study aimed to determine anemia and its predictors among adult non-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients in Southern Ethiopia. ⋯ Anemia was a severe public health problem and associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and stages of chronic kidney disease. Thus, early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of anemia are recommended.