Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Gastroenterology for September 2011. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
High Risk of Salvage Transplant Failure Post Liver Resection
FRIDAY, Sept. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Initial liver resection (LR) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within Milan criteria (MC) is a valid treatment for patients with good liver function who develop recurrence within MC, but salvage transplantation (ST) has a high rate of failure for those with recurrence beyond MC, according to a study published online Sept. 19 in Hepatology.
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Doctors, Patients Identify Tacit Clues in Their Interactions
FRIDAY, Sept. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Both doctors and patients identify tacit clues as well as judgments based on these clues during video elicitation interviews of health maintenance examinations, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice.
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Advanced Adenomas, CRCs More Prevalent in Men
TUESDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- For individuals older than 50 years, men have a significantly increased prevalence of adenomas, advanced adenomas (AAs), and carcinomas compared to women, according to a study published in the Sept. 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Lower Cancer Fatalism Tied to Increased Cancer Screening
TUESDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Better self-rated health and lower cancer fatalism are associated with greater participation in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in England, and mediate the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on fecal occult blood test (FOBt) uptake, according to a study published online Sept. 27 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
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U.S. Docs Feel They Give More Patient Care Than Required
TUESDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Many primary care physicians in the United States believe that their patients are receiving too much medical care, and that the pressure to do more than is necessary could be reduced by malpractice reform, adjusting financial incentives, and spending more time with patients, according to a study published in the Sept. 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Colorectal Cancer Subsite Risk Tied to Fruit/Vegetable Intake
TUESDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) associated with different fruit and vegetable (F/V) consumption varies depending on the tumor location within the large bowel, according to a study published online Sept. 26 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
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Reasons for Referral to Specific Docs Differ Among Physicians
TUESDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Primary care physicians (PCPs) and medical and surgical specialists differ in their reasons for selecting specific colleagues for referrals, with PCPs more concerned about physician communication and medical record sharing than specialists, according to a study published online Sept. 16 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
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Remicade Approved for Ulcerative Colitis in Children
MONDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Remicade (infliximab) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat moderate-to-severe active episodes of ulcerative colitis in children aged six and older who haven't responded to other therapies.
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Updated Guides Compare Treatments for GERD
MONDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Updated, evidence-based, reader-friendly reports comparing treatments for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have been released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to help guide patient and physician decision-making in treating this condition that affects up to 4 percent of Americans.
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Generic Tacrolimus Safe for Liver, Kidney Recipients
MONDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who have undergone liver or kidney transplants may safely switch from brand-name to generic tacrolimus with no change in the indices of liver or kidney function or rejection, according to a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Transplantation.
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Evidence for Nondrug Childhood Constipation Therapies Limited
MONDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Although there is a lack of high-quality evidence for nonpharmacologic treatments for childhood constipation, there is some evidence of effectiveness of fiber supplements, but not for effectiveness of fluid supplements, prebiotics, probiotics, or behavioral interventions, according to a review published online Sept. 26 in Pediatrics.
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Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Therapy Ups Pancreatitis Risk
FRIDAY, Sept. 23 (HealthDay News) -- The use of exenatide and sitagliptin for type 2 diabetes is associated with a higher odds ratio of pancreatitis and increased reports of pancreatic cancer, according to a study published in the July issue of Gastroenterology.
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Rotavirus Vaccine Introduction Cut Health Care Use, Costs
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Since the introduction of rotavirus vaccine (RV5) in 2006, diarrhea-related health care utilization and medical expenditures for U.S. children younger than 5 years old decreased considerably in the rotavirus seasons, according to a study published in the Sept. 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Mortality Up in Hospitals With More Minority Trauma Patients
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- The odds of in-hospital mortality for trauma patients are associated with the proportion of minority patients in the hospital, according to a study published online Sept. 19 in the Archives of Surgery.
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Work Intensity Similar Across Physician Specialties
MONDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The level of physician work intensity appears to be similar among specialties, with variations in the specific dimensions of stress, physical demands, performance, and temporal demand, according to a study published online Sept. 3 in Medical Care.
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Optimal CRC Screening Varies With Age, Family History
FRIDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) -- The optimal colonoscopy screening strategy for individuals with colorectal cancer (CRC) varies considerably with the number of affected first-degree relatives and their age at diagnosis, according to a study published in the Sept. 15 issue of Cancer.
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Pre-Liver Transplant Serum Ferritin Level Predicts Mortality
FRIDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Elevated serum ferritin (SF) concentration in combination with low transferrin saturation (TFS) prior to liver transplantation (LT) is an independent predictor of mortality following transplantation, according to a study published online Sept. 2 in Hepatology.
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Anti-Nausea Drug May Lead to Dangerous Heart Rhythms
THURSDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Zofran (ondansetron), used to prevent nausea in patients receiving cancer treatment, is undergoing an ongoing safety review and labeling change by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because it may cause potentially fatal changes in heart rhythm, according to a Sept. 15 FDA safety alert.
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CDC: Risk Factors ID'd in Most C. difficile Diarrhea Cases
THURSDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- The majority of patients with diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection (CDI) have recognized risk factors or a co-infection with another pathogen, according to a study published online Sept. 14 in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emerging Infectious Diseases.
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New Tiered Sharing Policy Suggested for Liver Transplants
THURSDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- An algorithm incorporating a national sharing policy with a tiered policy, such as the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD), may reduce the number of wait-list deaths and organ travel distances, according to a study published in the September issue of Liver Transplantation.
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Reduced Treatment Time Noninferior for Some With Hep C
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Sustained virologic response for some patients who have chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) was found to be noninferior when treating for 24 weeks versus 48 weeks, according to a study published in the Sept. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Malaria Vaccine Does Not Protect Against Clinical Malaria
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- The malaria vaccine, FMP 2.1/AS02A, based on apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) from the 3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum does not provide significant protection against clinical malaria, but may have strain-specific efficacy against parasites with AMA1 corresponding to that of the vaccine strain, according to a study published in the Sept. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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IBS, Chronic Fatigue Risk Up Three Years Post Giardiasis
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Three years after acute illness with Giardia lamblia, the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic fatigue is significantly higher than in a control population, according to a study published online Sept. 12 in Gut.
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Many Mistakenly Believe FDA OKs Only Safe, Effective Drugs
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A considerable proportion of the U.S. public mistakenly believes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves only effective and safe drugs, but providing consumer explanations can lead to better drug choices, according to a study published in the Sept. 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Number of Lymph Nodes Tested for Colon CA Up 1988 to 2008
TUESDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- For patients treated surgically for colon cancer, the number of lymph nodes evaluated increased from 1988 to 2008; however, there was no significant increase in lymph node positivity during the same period, according to a study published in the Sept. 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Febrile Seizures Tied to Systemic Respiratory Alkalosis
TUESDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Febrile seizures (FS) in children are associated with systemic respiratory alkalosis, and the lack of FS in children with gastroenteritis (GE) may be attributable to the low pH in GE, according to a study published online Sept. 13 in Epilepsia.
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Hospitalizations for Eating Disorders Up Over Last Decade
MONDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Although hospitalizations with a principal or secondary eating-disorder diagnosis increased by 24 percent from 1999-2000 to 2008-2009, there has been a decrease in hospitalizations with a principal diagnosis of eating disorder from 2007-2008 to 2008-2009, according to a statistical brief based on data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) published online Sept. 8 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
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Long-Term Diet Tied to Gut Microbe Enterotype Clustering
MONDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Long-term diet is strongly associated with specific enterotypes of gut microbiome, in particular protein and animal fat with Bacteroids, and carbohydrates with Prevotella, according to a study published online Sept. 1 in Science.
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HPPH-Photodynamic Therapy Safe in Precancerous Barrett's
THURSDAY, Sept. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with 2-[1-hexyloxyethyl]-2-devinyl pyropheophorbide-a (HPPH) is safe with promising efficacy in precancerous lesions associated with Barrett's esophagus, according to a study published in the September issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.
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Gastroesophageal Reflux Symptoms Tied to 9/11 Exposure
THURSDAY, Sept. 8 (HealthDay News) -- For individuals who were exposed to the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC), the incidence of gastroesophageal reflux symptoms (GERS) is higher in those with asthma or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and highest in those in whom both comorbidities are present, according to a study published online Sept. 6 in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.
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FDA Announces Label Change to Warnings for TNFα Blockers
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Labels for all tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) blockers have been revised to include the risk of infection from Legionella and Listeria, according to a safety alert issued Sept. 7 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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Comparative Efficacy Proposed for European Drug Approval
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- New drugs should be compared with existing treatments instead of placebo before their approval in Europe, according to a report published online Sept. 6 in the BMJ.
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Many Hospital Staff Uniforms Contaminated With Bacteria
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- More than 60 percent of hospital staff uniforms are contaminated with potentially pathogenic bacteria, including drug-resistant species, according to a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.
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Odds of Board Certification Vary in New Doctors
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Certification of recent U.S. medical school graduates by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) varies across specialties by educational and demographic factors, according to a study published in the Sept. 7 medical education-themed issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Medical Students Show Racial, Cultural Patient Preference
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Medical students may have a preferential bias toward whites and wealthier patients, but this does not appear to influence their clinical decision making or physician-patient interactions, according to a study published in the Sept. 7 medical education-themed issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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More Weight Loss for Duodenal Switch Than Gastric Bypass
TUESDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Duodenal switch results in greater reduction in body mass index (BMI) and total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol than gastric bypass, but has a higher rate of adverse events than gastric bypass, according to a study published in the Sept. 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Researchers Ponder 9/11 Health Impact a Decade Later
FRIDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) -- It may be too early to tell how much of an impact the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster and its immediate aftermath had on those exposed, but cancer, death, mental and physical disorders, and spirometric abnormalities appear higher in people who received greater levels of exposure, according to three studies published in the 9/11-themed Sept. 3 issue of The Lancet.
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