February 7th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Health Tips, News
Tags: Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ, Dr. Toni Brayer, Everything Health, Family Medicine, Fetal Health, Healthy Pregnancy, High Risk Pregnancy, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, OB/GYN, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Pregnancy and Intercourse, Pregnancy and Sex, Pregnant Women, Primary Care, Reproductive Health, Safe Sex, Sexual Health
No Comments »
The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) has published a new primer designed to help physicians when they counsel pregnant women. They note that sex during pregnancy is normal and is generally considered safe. The authors point out that there are very few proven contraindications and risks regarding intercourse in normal pregnancy.
Pregnant women and their partners are often afraid to have sex. Men may think they are “invading” the home of the fetus and could actually harm the baby. In fact, the fetus is quite safe, ensconced in the uterus (womb) and the cervix (opening of the uterus) is closed in normal pregnancy. The penis has no contact with the fetus or the uterus during normal intercourse, no matter what the position.
When is intercourse considered risky? Only for women who are at high risk for preterm labor and for those with placenta previa because there is increased risk for hemorrhage. Even women who have had preterm labor may safely have sex unless they have cervical incompetence or a lower genital tract infection.
Women who are under the care of an obstetrician should know if they have any of these risks. The vast majority of women should be reassured that sex during pregnancy is safe for mom and baby.
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
February 3rd, 2011 by Medgadget in Health Policy, News
Tags: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Hospital Association, Birth Videos, Camera in the Delivery Room, Filming Healthcare Providers, Healthcare Lawsuits, Healthcare Privacy, Healthcare Providers and Videography, Hospital Restrictions, Labor And Delivery, Medgadget, Medical Liability, Medical Staff Privacy, Medicine and Legal Issues, OB/GYN, Patient Rights, Patients and Photography, Posting Medical Video Online, Recordings of Live Births, The New York Times
1 Comment »
Most of our posts here deal with gadgets physicians or other medical professionals would use, but the New York Times has published an article about issues stemming from the patient or the family bringing cameras into the delivery room.
Now, as anyone who’s been made to watch a video of a friend’s delivery during a party can attest, this isn’t a new phenomenon. However, since almost any device can record video now and it’s easiest to share the video online, medical-legal considerations are leading some hospitals to restrict any and all recordings of live births.
We’d be interested to know what our readers think. Do you let patients film you while you work?
New York Times article: Rules on Cameras in Delivery Rooms Stir Passions…
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
February 1st, 2011 by RyanDuBosar in News, Research
Tags: ACP Internist, American College Of Physicians, American Heart Association, Cardiology, Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiovascular Risk, Coronary Heart Disease, CVD, Diminished Care, Heart Failure, High Blood Pressure, Hypertension, Life Expectancy, Medical Cost Projections, Obesity Epidemic, Preventive Health, Preventive Medicine, Primary Care Shortage, Public Awareness, Public Health, Ryan DuBosar, Stroke, U.S. Healthcare Costs
No Comments »
Real total direct medical costs of cardiovascular disease (CVD) could triple, from $273 billion to $818 billion (in 2008 dollars) by 2030. Real indirect costs, such as lost productivity among the employed and unpaid household work, could increase 61 percent, from $172 billion in 2010 to $276 billion.
Results appeared in a policy statement of the American Heart Association.
CVD is the leading cause of mortality and accounts for 17 percent of national health expenditures, according to the statement. How much so? U.S. medical expenditures rose from 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in 1985 to 15 percent in 2008. In the past decade, the medical costs of CVD have grown at an average annual rate of 6 percent and have accounted for about 15 percent of the increase in medical spending.
The spending is associated with greater life expectancy, “suggesting that this spending was of value,” the authors wrote. But as the population ages, direct treatment costs are expected to increase substantially, even though lost productivity won’t, since seniors are employed at lower rates.
If current prevention and treatment rates remain steady, CVD prevalence will increase by about 10 percent over the next 20 years. The estimate reflects an aging population, and one that is increasingly Hispanic. To prepare for future cardiovascular care needs, the American Heart Association projected future costs. By 2030, 40.5 percent (116 million) of the population is projected to have some form of CVD. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
January 30th, 2011 by Glenn Laffel, M.D., Ph.D. in News, Research
Tags: Addiction Medicine, Addiction Therapy, Baylor, Blood-Brain Barrier, Cocaine Vaccine, Cornell, Dr. Glenn Laffel, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Fighting Addiction, Immunization, Immunology, Molecular Therapy, Pizaazz, Public Health
No Comments »
Although cocaine use has declined steadily since its peak in the early 1980s, public health officials estimate that about 7 million Americans used the drug at least once last year. Many of these folks are addicted to the drug, and its intense, short-lived euphoric effects mean the addiction is terribly difficult to overcome.
Addiction specialists believe existing treatment paradigms for cocaine addiction can be enhanced by a vaccine that prevents the drug from crossing the blood-brain barrier, thus blunting its euphoric effects. Scientists have worked hard to develop such a vaccine, but have had limited success so far.
About a year ago for example, Thomas Kosten and colleagues at Baylor reported partial success in a human trial of a cocaine vaccine. In that trial, 38 percent of subjects who received all five shots in the vaccine series achieved sufficient antibody levels to blunt the effects of the drug. In that subset, 53 percent of the subjects stopped using cocaine, meaning that overall, the vaccine worked about 20 percent of the time. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Pizaazz*
January 29th, 2011 by Medgadget in News, Research
Tags: American Academy of Neurology, BDS, Blood Pressure Control, Bristol, Deep Brain Stimulation, Frenchay Hospital, Hard-To-Control High Blood Pressure, Lowering Blood Pressure, Medgadget, Refractory Hypertension, United Kingdom
No Comments »
An unexpected discovery out of Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, UK showed that deep brain stimulation (DBS) can lower blood pressure, even in cases in which drugs are unsuccessful.
The discovery reportedly occurred when a 55-year-old patient received a deep brain stimulator to treat his pain from central pain syndrome that developed after a stroke. At the time of the stroke, the patient was diagnosed with high blood pressure, which could not be controlled despite taking four different drugs. The deep brain stimulator was largely unsuccessful at controlling the patient’s pain, but amazingly it decreased his blood pressure enough that he could stop taking all four medications.
Researchers confirmed the effects of the deep brain stimulator by turning it on and off over a three-year period, which showed an average of a 32/12 mmHg decrease in blood pressure when the stimulator was turned on and an 18/5 mmHg increase when the device was turned off.
This breakthrough could lead to a new form of treatment for those whose hypertension cannot be controlled by drugs.
Press release from the American Academy of Neurology: Deep Brain Stimulation May Help Hard-to-Control High Blood Pressure…
Abstract in Neurology: Deep brain stimulation relieves refractory hypertension
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
