COLUMBIA, SC – Noting that chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients are at increased risk for major hemorrhage (MH), a new study reported incidence of MH in veterans with CLL, as well as risk factors. The study, published in Cancer Medicine, was conducted before...
Initial Use of Ibrutinib Lengthens Next Treatment Time for Veterans with CLL
HORSHAM, PA – Veterans with chronic lymphocytic lymphoma who received ibrutinib as their first line treatment had a longer time to next treatment, according to recently-published research. Authors of the industry study, which was conducted in a real-world veteran...
Assay Used to Investigate Familial Risk of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
ROCHESTER, MN – About 10% of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients report a first-degree relative with the cancer or a related lymphoproliferative disorder, according to a new study, which emphasized that CLL and its precursor, monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis...
Negative Direct-to-Consumer Ads About DOAC Bleeding Kept Veterans Off the Drugs
Direct acting oral anticoagulants have a lower risk of major bleeding than warfarin and clinicians have had options for controlling major bleeds for several years. That’s not the message patients have heard, though.
DOAC Uses Rapidly Expand
Dabigatran, apixaban, edoxaban and rivaroxaban all have FDA approval for use to reduce the risk of stroke and blood clots in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and treatment of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Dabigatran, apixaban and rivaroxaban are also indicated for the prevention of blood clots after hip or knee replacement surgery.
Safer, Simpler, Reversible: DOACs Reshape Anticoagulation Therapy in VA
PALO ALTO, CA — Ten years ago choosing an anticoagulation therapy boiled down to Warfarin or—Warfarin. Today, physicians and patients in the VA and elsewhere have more anticoagulant choices than ever. and those newer options have largely displaced Warfarin for many indications.
DOACs Often Best for Complex Patients Because of Fewer Drug Interactions
IOWA CITY, IA — About one-third of VA patients have three or more chronic conditions.1 Ironically, for many of them, that complexity makes choosing between warfarin and a direct acting oral anticoagulant easier.
VAMCs Continue to Lag in HCP Flu Vaccine Mandates
ANN ARBOR, MI—The VA continues to lag behind community hospitals in mandating annual influenza vaccine for all healthcare personal, a new study suggested. The report in JAMA Network Open said requiring HCP vaccination against the flu helps limit disease spread to...
Executive Order Enlists DoD Help in Modernizing Flu Vaccine
WASHINGTON—A new executive order is aimed at increasing the manufacturing efficiency and effectiveness of flu vaccines. The DoD and Department of Health and Human Services are co-chairing a task force in the process of implementing the order signed in September by...
Respirators No More Effective Than Masks in Flu Prevention
PITTSBURGH—How effective are N95 respirators and medical masks in preventing healthcare personnel from acquiring workplace viral respiratory infections? A study in JAMA sought to answer that question. Researchers from the National Personal Protective Technology...
New Delay in VA’s On-Again, Off-Again Plans for Medical Scheduling System
WASHINGTON—The rollout of VA’s new medical scheduling system has been delayed an additional two years, with the end date being pushed from 2023 to 2025, VA officials announced last month. VA had separated implementation of the new system from its larger...
For Custodian-Turned-PR Professional, Promoting Good at VA Is a Passion
WASHINGTON—It’s a constant refrain from VA leaders and staff that despite the continual spotlight that VA finds itself in, the public, legislators and even veterans themselves are unaware of just how much good work happens at VA facilities on a daily basis. As...
Intensifying Diabetes Treatment Increases Short-Term Mortality for Veterans
NASHVILLE, TN—Adding insulin or sulphonylurea to metformin increased the risk of death among veterans with diabetes in the initial six- and 12-month period, according to a recent study. Insulin increased the risk of death 66% more than sulfonylurea at six months, but...
Metformin Linked to Reduced Cardiovascular Events in Certain Veterans
Compared to Sulfonylureas in Patients with Impaired Kidney Function NASHVILLE, TN—It wasn’t that many years ago that prescribing metformin for Type 2 diabetes patients with impaired kidney function was discouraged for safety reasons. Now, in an about-face, a new VA...
Successful PTSD Treatment Halves Diabetes Risk for Veterans
LOUIS—Improving post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, a laudable goal itself, has the added benefit of lowering patients’ risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a new report. A cohort study by Jeffrey Scherrer, PhD, professor of family and community...
Testosterone Therapy Increases PSA in 5% of Older Users
HOUSTON – How does testosterone treatment of older hypogonadal men affect prostate specific antigen (PSA) changes? That is the question raised by a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Baylor College of Medicine researchers and...
PSA Bounce Affects Races Differently in Prostate Cancer
RICHMOND, VA -- African American men have historically had poorer prostate cancer biochemical and survival outcomes than Caucasians. The question is why? So asked a new study suggesting that emerging data point to nononcologic factors for much of this disparity. The...
Current, But Not Past, Smoking Increases Prostate Cancer Death Risk
SAN DIEGO – While cigarette smoking is a risk factor for mortality in other genitourinary cancers, which appears to be linked to the accumulation of carcinogens in urine, the link has been less clear with prostate cancer, according to a new study. Researchers from the...
U.S. Medicine Supplements
CE Credits
