March 25th, 2011 by Iltifat Husain, M.D. in News, Research
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Recently, we reviewed six medical apps for the iPhone and iPad that promised mobile PubMed searches — an essential functionality since the PubMed.gov website is extremely difficult to view on a smart phone. As of last week, this is no longer the case. The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) just launched a mobile friendly version of PubMed.gov last week.
The Web App they have created is currently in beta, and as of this publish date, if you go to PubMed.gov on your smart phone’s browser you will still be directed to the original non-mobile friendly website. However, if you point your phone’s browser to the following URL, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/, you are presented with the mobile version of the site.
The National Library of Medicine states the significant increase in mobile browsing for medical content is one of the key reasons they released this mobile web app. The folks at the NLM already have a plethora of mobile medical web apps available, such as the recently added MedLine Plus.
Continue on to see pictures of the PubMed app in action. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
March 24th, 2011 by Elaine Schattner, M.D. in Research
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A recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine includes an article with the bland title Cytarabine Dose for Acute Myeloid Leukemia. AML is an often-curable form of leukemia characterized by rapidly-growing myeloid white blood cells. Cytarabine — what we’d call “Ara-C” on rounds — has been a mainstay of AML treatment for decades.
The new report* covers a fairly large, multicenter, randomized trial of adult patients with AML. The researchers, based in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Germany, evaluated 860 patients who received either intermediate or high doses of Ara-C in their initial, induction chemotherapy. According to the journal, “this investigator-sponsored study did not involve any pharmaceutical companies.”
The main finding was that at a median follow-up of 5 years there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of complete remission rates, relapses or overall survival. The high-dose Ara-C offered no clear advantage in any prognostic subgroup, including those with genetic changes that bear a poor risk. Not surprisingly, Grade 3 and 4 (severe) toxicities were more common in the patients who received higher doses of Ara-C. Those patients also had lengthier hospitalizations and prolonged reduction in their blood counts.
Why am I mentioning this report, besides that it hasn’t received any press coverage? First, because the findings might matter to people who have AML and are contemplating treatment options. But mainly it’s an example of how carefully dialing down some chemotherapy doses could reduce health care costs and lessen untoward effects of cancer therapy — in terms of early toxicities and, possibly down the line, fewer secondary malignancies – without compromising long-term outcomes.
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*subscription required: N Engl J Med 364: 1027–36 (2011). The free abstract includes some details on the chemo doses.
*This blog post was originally published at Medical Lessons*
March 24th, 2011 by KerriSparling in True Stories
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As a kid, I wasn’t an advocate for type 1 diabetes. I was a kid. I went to diabetes camp (CBC 4 LIFE) but that was the extent of my involvement with any kind of diabetes community. It wasn’t until I was out of college and feeling like I existed on a diabetes island that I began to crave interaction with and understanding from other people with diabetes. So, at Chris’ suggestion, I started a blaaaaaagh and everything just got all sorts of exciting. Namely, I had finally connected with other people living with diabetes. And it felt gooooood.
Now that there is an established online community for people with diabetes (PWDs, caregivers, and loved ones alike), there are a lot of opportunities for engagement and advocacy. The DOC isn’t limited to adults living with diabetes; there are blogs written by parents of CWD, spouses and significant others of PWD, and even doctors who care for PWD. And it’s not even limited to people who are interacting online – the diabetes community is offline, and on. And after meeting with the new CEO of the JDRF, Jeffrey Brewer, last week in DC, I realized once again that we’re all in this together. This guy gets it. His kid has diabetes, making me realize that Jeffrey is just like my mother in that he wants what is best for his child. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
March 24th, 2011 by RyanDuBosar in News
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The U.S. age-adjusted death rate fell for the tenth consecutive year, to an all-time low of 741 deaths per 100,000 people in 2009, 2.3% lower than 2008, according to preliminary 2009 death statistics released by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The findings come from “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2009,” which is based on death certificates from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.
Life expectancy at birth increased to 78.2 years in 2009, up slightly from 78.0 years in 2008. Life expectancy was up two-tenths of a year for men (75.7 years) and up one-tenth of a year for women (80.6 years). Life expectancy for the U.S. white population increased by two-tenths of a year. Life expectancy for black men (70.9 years) and women (77.4 years) was unchanged in 2009. The gap in life expectancy between the white and black populations was 4.3 years in 2009, two-tenths of a year increase from the gap in 2008 of 4.1 years.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
March 24th, 2011 by Happy Hospitalist in Health Tips, Humor, Medblogger Shout Outs
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A new blog has entered the medical world. She’s only a couple months old, but she has an awesome name: happy internist. happy internist shows us all how to die healthy:
my patient saw her gynecologist. he told her to eat right, get lots of exercise, and lose weight. that way, he said, you can die healthy.
What a great quote. It’s called finishing strong. Given what I know about the incredible pain and suffering I witness everyday from self induced disease, dying healthy is a goal worth living for. Death is inevitable. Dying healthy takes hard work and personal sacrifice.
She was discovered at this week’s Grand Rounds, where Dr Val has done an excellent job of organizing the best of this week’s Internet medical offerings.
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
