Medicine
EXAM: TESTICULAR ULTRASOUND
CLINICAL INDICATION/HISTORY: Scrotal hematoma, follow-up examination, status post urethral reconstruction 8/27/2024
COMPARISON: Testicular ultrasound 9/1/2024
TECHNIQUE: Real-time two-dimensional gray scale, limited spectral/color Doppler interrogation of the scrotal contents was performed.
FINDINGS:
Right testicle- Morphology: Normal size and homogeneous echotexture Size: 4.5 x 2.5 x 3.9 m Vascular evaluation: Spectral and color Doppler analysis confirms unremarkable arteriovenous waveform morphology and preserved vascularity. Epididymis: Unremarkable Hydrocele: Small right-sided hydrocele with thin internal septation and small amount of echogenic debris. Varicocele: None
Left testicle- Morphology: Normal size and homogeneous echotexture Size: 4.1 x 2.1 x 3.5 cm Vascular evaluation: Spectral and color Doppler analysis confirms unremarkable arteriovenous waveform morphology and preserved vascularity. Epididymis: The left epididymal body displays increased vascular flow. Hydrocele: Small hydrocele. Varicocele: None
- • 100%www.nature.com How a trove of cancer genomes could improve kids’ leukaemia treatment
Analysis shows that a type of fast-growing paediatric cancer has 15 distinct subtypes, each linked to responsiveness to particular therapies.
cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/11189
- • 100%theconversation.com All for one, not one for all: The promise and challenges of personalized medicine
Personalized medicine is a promising treatment for recurrent cancer and superbugs, but it is labour-intensive and expensive, and pathways for its regulatory approval and reimbursement are complicated.
> For most of the medicines currently in use, a single drug is prescribed to many people. But sometimes, an individual patient needs a customized drug. Personalized medicine tailors treatments for a specific patient or a handful of patients. It holds great promise for treating certain life-threatening conditions. However, such treatments can be expensive, difficult to develop and labour-intensive. > > Today in The Conversation Canada, Lori Burrows and Elizabeth Li of McMaster University write about the promise and challenges of personalized medicine. Treatments like CAR T-cell therapy for relapsed cancers and phage therapy for antibiotic resistant superbugs can save lives, but the high costs that come with such individualized therapies are a major barrier. There are other hurdles, too, including drug approvals and regulations.
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Study identifies biological pathways through which the weakness of organs may lead to poor brain health, and in turn mental health problems
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Training paramedics to provide home-based palliative care lets severely ill patients remain at home and takes pressure off emergency departments and the health system.
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- globalnews.ca Vancouver doctor first in Canada to use new suturing device | Globalnews.ca
Dr. Roberto Trasolini said doctors can place the Overstitch device at the end of a scope and sutures can then be performed internally.
cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/1945
- • 100%www.sciencedaily.com Scientists identify possible new transmission factor in hospital-acquired Klebsiella infections
Scientists have identified a critical factor that may contribute to the spread of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), shedding light on why these infections are so difficult to combat. Their study reveals that the dangerous multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogen, Klebsiella, thrives under nutrient-depr...
- www.theglobeandmail.com Two people dead in listeria outbreak linked to recalled plant-based milk
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has traced the outbreak to several alternative milks from Silk and Great Value
article archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20240719142236/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-two-people-dead-in-listeria-outbreak-linked-to-recalled-plant-based/
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A big one for me is coming back and seeing my catatonia patient I was giving IV meals to and changing the sheets out from under a week ago now up in the dayroom participating in a few rounds of spades while munching on cookies and soda. I have to shove down that exact excited squeal from the video sometimes.
What've y'all got?
- • 100%
Sources of specialist physician fee variation: Evidence from Australian health insurance claims data
Highlights
> - This study investigates why specialist physician fees vary. > - We consider variation between patients, physicians, specialties, and other factors. > - We find variation between physicians dominates other sources. > - Contrary to common beliefs, patient factors account for little of the variation. > - Our results inform policy to improve price transparency in specialist care market.
More context:
> Although Australia has a publicly funded health system that provides universal health coverage, about 44 % of the population holds private health insurance. Specialist physician fees in the private sector are unregulated; physicians can charge any price they want, subject to market forces.
> We find that patient risk factors account for a small portion of the variance in fees and out-of-pocket payments
> Physician-specific variation, responsible for much of the variation in total fees and OOP payments, could include physician characteristics that patients value, such as bedside manner, experience or reputation, or factors related to physicians’ circumstances or preferences. A key physician-level factor that may drive the variation is the perception of quality or skill differences between physicians. This perception can come from either consumers or physicians themselves about their quality or skill levels in comparison to other physicians in the physician's local market. [...] which can lead to large price variation and non-transparency of fees.
Recommendations
> The government, private health insurers and physicians themselves could all play a more active role than they currently do. The government, for example, could mandate the disclosure of price and quality information for all procedures that receive government subsidies, insurers could provide incentives for the disclosure of such information, and physicians could change their referral practice to give preferences to other physicians who are willing to be transparent about their prices and quality.
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A medical team in the U.S. has performed a rare kidney transplant during which the patient was awake throughout the procedure and was discharged the next day.
- • 100%
Quadriplegic man’s MAID death from bedsore results in public inquiry being ordered | Globalnews.ca
globalnews.ca Quadriplegic man’s MAID death from bedsore results in public inquiry being ordered | Globalnews.caDuring his hospital stay, the Quebec man developed a major pressure sore on his buttocks. In late March, he received medical assistance in dying to put an end to his suffering.
- • 100%www.cnbc.com Gilead’s twice-yearly shot to prevent HIV succeeds in late-stage trial
Gilead's experimental twice-yearly medicine to prevent HIV was 100% effective in a late-stage trial, the company said Thursday.
- • 100%www.theglobeandmail.com Policy that forced patients to switch to cheaper medications saved B.C. $730-million, report says
The B.C. government said Friday that the money freed up through its biosimilar switching plan allowed the province to expand public coverage of other drugs and devices
> A British Columbia provincial policy that forced people with chronic illnesses such as Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis to switch to cheaper medications saved the province more than $730-million over five years, according to a new government report. > > The B.C. government said Friday that the money freed up through its biosimilar switching plan allowed the province to expand public coverage of other drugs and devices, including Trikafta, a life-changing treatment for cystic fibrosis and continuous glucose monitors for people with diabetes.
- https:// www.reuters.com /investigates/special-report/usa-covid-propaganda/• 98%
Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic | Reuters Investigation
> At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus.
> Reuters identified at least 300 accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that matched descriptions shared by former U.S. military officials familiar with the Philippines operation. Almost all were created in the summer of 2020 and centered on the slogan #Chinaangvirus – Tagalog for China is the virus.
> The military program started under former President Donald Trump and continued months into Joe Biden’s presidency, Reuters found – even after alarmed social media executives warned the new administration that the Pentagon had been trafficking in COVID misinformation. The Biden White House issued an edict in spring 2021 banning the anti-vax effort, which also disparaged vaccines produced by other rivals, and the Pentagon initiated an internal review, Reuters found.
- • 100%www.theguardian.com Scientists develop glowing dye that sticks to cancer cells in breakthrough study
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30 April 1961 Leonid Rogozov does appendectomy on himself during his Antarctica expidition with help of driver and meteorologist.
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Before the pandemic, Lucy Keighley ran a gym, worked as a personal trainer and went on gruelling, exhilarating runs. But after three and a half years of illness, she isn’t sure she will ever recover
> I was incredibly strong and fit,” says Lucy Keighley. And she looks it, in the photo she is showing me, taken a few years ago. She is with her best friend, Lorna; they have just completed a 15-mile race on the North York Moors. “It was a brutal race,” she says. “But it was great. I was happy.” Today, although it’s quite dark in the room (she doesn’t get on well with bright light), I can see a tear rolling down her cheek. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to get back there.”
> In the most recent findings by the Office for National Statistics, released in April, an estimated 2 million people in England and Scotland (3.3% of the population) self-reported experiencing long Covid, meaning symptoms that continued for more than four weeks after infection, although many reported their symptoms had lasted two years or longer. Of those, about 1.5 million felt their day-to-day activities were affected, while 381,000 said their day-to‑day activities were “limited a lot”. Worldwide, at least 65 million people are estimated to have long Covid.
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- • 100%www.cuh.nhs.uk Baby born deaf can hear after breakthrough gene therapy
Baby born deaf can hear after breakthrough gene therapy
Opal Sandy from Oxfordshire in the UK is the first patient treated in a global gene therapy trial, which shows “mind-blowing” results. She is the first British patient in the world and the youngest child to receive this type of treatment.
Opal was born completely deaf because of a rare genetic condition, auditory neuropathy, caused by the disruption of nerve impulses travelling from the inner ear to the brain.
Within four weeks of having the gene therapy infusion to her right ear, Opal responded to sound, even with the cochlear implant in her left ear switched off.
Clinicians noticed continuous improvement in Opal’s hearing in the weeks afterwards and at 24 weeks confirmed close to normal hearing levels for soft sounds, such as whispering, in her treated ear.
Now 18 months old, Opal can respond to her parents’ voices and can communicate words such as “Dada” and “bye-bye.”
"These results are spectacular and better than I expected. Gene therapy has been the future in otology and audiology for many years and I’m so excited that it is now finally here," says Professor Manohar Bance, an ear surgeon at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and chief investigator of the trial.
Professor Bance hopes that this is the start of a new era for gene therapies for the inner ear and many types of hearing loss.
- • 100%edition.cnn.com More than 200 people with diabetes injured after software issue drained insulin pump batteries | CNN
More than 200 people with diabetes have been injured when their insulin pumps shut down unexpectedly due to a problem with a connected mobile app, the US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.
cross-posted from: https://kbin.run/m/world@lemmy.world/t/410267
> More than 200 people with diabetes have been injured when their insulin pumps shut down unexpectedly due to a problem with a connected mobile app, the US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.
- www.sci.news Researchers Discover First Effective Treatment for Spitting Cobra Snakebite | Sci.News
Researchers from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and elsewhere used cellular and mouse experiments to determine which toxins in certain African spitting cobra venom are responsible for causing tissue damage.
> Hospital leaders say the health system won’t be ready if the avian flu that’s infected American dairy cattle becomes widespread among humans. > > In discussing a hypothetical scenario, the hospitals have struck a different tone than the Biden administration. It says the risk is currently low to most people and that agencies are closely monitoring for any sign of danger to Americans. > > Still, hospital officials told POLITICO they’re dismayed that they don’t feel better prepared, just four years after Covid-19 caught them unawares. They’re not confident that the health care system — including the government agencies that have wound down Covid responses — can avoid the missteps around tests, bed space and communication that plagued the last public health emergency, should this strain of flu, H5N1, become more of a threat.
- • 100%www.theguardian.com Does the American Diabetes Association work for patients or companies? A lawsuit dared to ask | Neil Barsky
The ADA just settled an explosive legal case accusing the organization of betraying people with diabetes
- https:// www.cbc.ca /news/canada/british-columbia/family-doctors-sick-notes-1.7190754
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/20510991
> > Sick notes place an unnecessary burden on doctors and patients, physicians' organizations say > > > Family doctors frustrated with writing sick notes have created a template letter for patients to give to their employers, explaining that the notes place an unnecessary burden on physicians during an ongoing primary-care crisis. > > > > They are also calling on the province to restrict when and how employers can ask for sick notes. > > > Many family doctors spend between 20 and 30 per cent of their day doing paperwork, Ali says, and filling out sick notes only adds to that. > > > > Also, having to leave the house to get a note does not allow the sick person to rest, Ali said, and the task is made even more difficult for those who don't have a family doctor and have to wait in walk-in clinics. "A person who feels under the weather — the last thing they want to do is possibly get on a bus, or into their vehicle, or ask someone for a ride to go to their doctors office," said Ali. > > > As of 2023, employers in Nova Scotia are only allowed to request a sick note if the absence is more than five consecutive work days. > > > > New legislation in Ontario, meanwhile, will force employers to scrap sick notes for the three days of provincially mandated annual sick leave. The Ontario government is moving to ban sick notes for short-term illness, in an effort to cut down on paperwork for family doctors. > > > In a statement sent to CBC News, B.C.'s Ministry of Labour said employers are able to request "reasonably sufficient proof" of illness, but are encouraged to be thoughtful about when they request sick notes. > > > > It did not respond to questions about whether it is considering legislation to ban or restrict asking for sick notes.
- • 98%www.techdirt.com Nurses Say Hospital Adoption Of Half-Cooked ‘AI’ Is Reckless
We’ve noted repeatedly that while “AI” (language learning models) hold a lot of potential, the rushed implementation of half-assed early variants are causing no shortage of headac…
Sorry that's being referenced in this one: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/health/nurses-kaiser-sf-protest-ai/3516888
- • 98%www.cnn.com Walmart will close all of its health care clinics | CNN Business
Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, will close all 51 of its health care clinics in six states and end virtual health care services, the company said Tuesday.
> Walmart had made a big push into health care in recent years, opening clinics next to its superstores that offered primary and urgent care, labs, X-rays, behavioral health and dental work — Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri and Texas. Walmart believed it could use its massive financial scale and store base to offer convenient, low-cost services to patients in rural and underserved areas that lacked primary care options. > > But the announcement is an abrupt reversal in Walmart’s strategy and may leave a gap in health care access, particularly for lower-income patients without insurance who relied on the centers. Walmart also said it will end virtual health care services. 99 Cents Only Stores, founded in 1982, announced Thursday that they will close all 371 of its stores. Nearby stores include Visalia (pictured), Tulare, Hanford, and Porterville. > > Related article Dollar stores are shutting down across America. They did this to themselves > > “One of unique things was they were focused on stores located in underserved communities. It’s disappointing that Walmart wasn’t able to make it work because these patients need care and don’t have as many options,” said Ateev Mehrotra, a professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School who researches retail health clinics. > > Walmart said it was a “difficult decision,” but its health care push was not profitable for the company because of the “challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs.” > > “We determined there is not a sustainable business model for us to continue,” the company said.
- • 100%newatlas.com Bacterial enzyme strips away blood types to create universal donor blood
Using enzymes produced by a bacteria that almost everyone has in their gut, researchers have removed the antigens from red blood cells that determine blood type, putting us within reach of producing universal donor blood.
"Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Lund University, Sweden, have used enzymes produced by a common gut bacteria to remove the A and B antigens from red blood cells, bringing them one step closer to creating universal donor blood."