January 2013 Briefing - Nephrology

Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Nephrology for January 2013. 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.

Physicians Commonly Report Unsafe Hospital Workloads

TUESDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians say they often face unsafe hospital workloads, according to a study published online Jan. 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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Brain Scans Show Doctors Empathize With Patients

TUESDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians who empathize with a patient in pain and feel relief when the patient receives effective treatment show activity in brain regions associated with pain relief and reward, according to a study published online Jan. 29 in Molecular Psychiatry.

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Even Correctly-Administered NSAIDS Can Cause AKI in Kids

TUESDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) accounts for almost 3 percent of pediatric AKI, according to a study published online Jan. 28 in The Journal of Pediatrics.

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FDA: Samsca May Cause Irreversible Liver Damage

FRIDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who take Samsca (tolvaptan) may be at elevated risk for significant liver injury, according to a Jan. 25 safety alert issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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ACPE Survey Finds Skepticism Relating to Online Doc Ratings

THURSDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians are skeptical of online ratings, and believe that few patients use them, according to a survey published by the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE).

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Peginesatide Safe for Anemia in Patients Undergoing Dialysis

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Peginesatide, a peptide-based erythropoiesis-stimulating agent, is safe and effective in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and anemia as long as they are undergoing dialysis, according to two studies published in the Jan. 24 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

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Large Teaching Hospitals Face More Readmission Penalties

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Large hospitals, teaching hospitals, and safety-net hospitals (SNHs) are more likely than other hospitals to be penalized under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), according to a research letter published in the Jan. 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Care Transition Initiative Decreases Rehospitalizations

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Communities instituting quality improvement initiatives for care transitions see significant declines in the rate of 30-day rehospitalizations and hospitalizations, according to a study published in the Jan. 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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FDA Approves Botox for Overactive Bladder

TUESDAY, Jan. 22 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) has been expanded to include adults with overactive bladder who don't respond to anticholinergics.

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Efforts Failed to Up Primary Care, Rural Resident Training

FRIDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) -- The 2005 redistribution of graduate medical education (GME) funds did little to train more residents in primary care and in rural areas, according to a study published in the January issue of Health Affairs.

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Family Docs Are Early Adopters of Electronic Health Records

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Family practice physicians are adopting electronic health record (EHR) systems at a fast pace, with 68 percent using an EHR system by 2011, and 80 percent expected to be users by 2013, according to research published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

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Even Brief Interruptions Dramatically Increase Errors

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Even momentary interruptions of two to four seconds can significantly affect a person's ability to accurately complete a task requiring considerable thought, according to research published online Jan. 7 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

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Older Individuals Have Atypical Stone Presentation

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Older individuals are more likely to have atypical presentation with urolithiasis, according to a study published in the January issue of The Journal of Urology.

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Certain Online Behaviors of Docs Warrant Investigation

MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- There is high consensus among state medical boards regarding the likelihood of probable investigations for certain online behaviors, according to a study published in the Jan. 15 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

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Top Five Issues for Docs and Patients Identified for 2013

MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- The top five issues that will impact physicians and patients in 2013 have been identified, according to a report published Dec. 10 by The Physicians Foundation.

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New Hematuria Risk Index IDs Patients at Low Cancer Risk

MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A Hematuria Risk Index could identify cancer risk among patients with asymptomatic microscopic hematuria, according to a study published online Jan. 11 in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

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Novel Racial/Ethnic Differences Found in Diabetic Kidney Disease

MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Rates of proteinuric and nonproteinuric diabetic kidney disease (DKD) vary significantly across racial/ethnic groups, according to a study published online Dec. 13 in Diabetes Care.

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Everolimus Reduces Angiomyolipoma Volume

FRIDAY, Jan. 11 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with tuberous sclerosis or sporadic lymphangioleiomyomatosis-associated angiomyolipomata, the angiomyolipoma response rate is significantly higher with everolimus than placebo, with an acceptable safety profile, according to a study published online Jan. 11 in The Lancet.

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National U.S. Health Care Spending Relatively Stable

FRIDAY, Jan. 11 (HealthDay News) -- The growth in national U.S. health care spending was relatively stable in 2011, but growth in personal health care spending accelerated, according to a study published in the January issue of Health Affairs.

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SPIRIT 2013 Clinical Trial Protocol Guidelines Issued

THURSDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDay News) -- A panel of experts, including trial investigators, trial coordinators, and representatives from ethics and regulatory agencies, has developed the Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) 2013 guidelines for the minimum content of a clinical trial, according to a statement published online Jan. 8 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

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Multiple Stressors Contribute to Readmission Within 30 Days

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly one-fifth of Medicare patients discharged from the hospital are readmitted within 30 days, which seems to arise from a combination of factors contributing to patient vulnerability, according to research published in the Jan. 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Two HTN Meds Plus NSAIDs Ups Acute Kidney Injury Risk

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Use of triple therapy comprising diuretics and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, or angiotensin receptor blockers, together with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury, particularly in the first 30 days of treatment, according to a study published online Jan. 8 in BMJ.

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Health Care Use Dropped Among All During Recession

TUESDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Health care use declined significantly among all races and ethnicities during the recession from 2007 to 2009, with the only ethnic disparity being fewer physician visits by Hispanics compared with whites, according to a study published online Jan. 7 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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Shared Savings May Promote Care Coordination Entity Use

MONDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Use of shared savings could encourage individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid to enroll in state-designed care coordination entities (CCEs), according to a perspective piece published online Jan. 2 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Association Between Health Care Cost, Quality Inconsistent

THURSDAY, Jan. 3 (HealthDay News) -- The direction of the association between health care cost and quality is unclear, with inconsistent evidence indicating positive, negative, mixed, and indeterminate associations, according to a review published in the Jan. 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

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House Joins Senate to Avert Medicare Cuts

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The House of Representatives settled on an 11th-hour agreement late Tuesday night that has averted the widespread tax increases and spending cuts that would have gone into effect January 1. This agreement occurred 21 hours after the U.S. Senate did its part to steer the country clear of the "fiscal cliff."

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