Curated News: Medical Meetings

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Two separate studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 78th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego analyze inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) health outcomes in the United States and Canada. IBD, which includes both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is a chronic inflammatory condition of the intestinal tract and is estimated to affect over 1.4 million people in the U.S.

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Severe liver damage, and even failure, has been associated with the consumption of weight loss supplements, an herbal supplement and an energy drink, according to four separate case reports presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 78th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego, CA. Use of herbal and dietary supplements is widespread for a variety of health problems. Because many patients do not disclose supplement use to their physicians, important drug side effects can be missed.

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A marker in bile known as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in the growth of cancerous tumors according to new research presented at the 78th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology. Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic found that VEGF levels from bile aspirated from the pancreas can accurately distinguish pancreatic cancer from other causes of common problems in the bile duct. The results of this pilot study indicated that using this marker in bile can correctly identify pancreas cancer with high sensitivity, detecting pancreas cancer accurately in 93 percent of cases.

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Childhood and infancy factors have been linked to a predisposition to developing Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection, the leading cause of health-care associated diarrhea, according to new research being presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 78th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego, CA.

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Data on new treatment options and combinations of therapies to treat chronic viral hepatitis C infection were presented at the 78th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in San Diego in a scientific session dedicated to liver disease. Three research teams reported on trials of several experimental treatments, including interferon-free drug combinations and direct acting antiviral agents effective against genotypes 2 and 3 of the Hepatitis C virus, as well as new agents which have the potential to shorten the duration of therapy.

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A blood-test could easily determine whether a patient is suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), eliminating the need for extensive and expensive dialogistic testing in order to rule out more serious conditions like Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), suggests Mark Pimentel, M.D., lead author of a multicenter study unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 78th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego, CA.

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Patients with inflammatory bowel disease are at an increased risk of stroke and heart attack according to a new study presented by Mayo Clinic researchers at the American College of Gastroenterology’s Annual Scientific Meeting, Oct. 11–16, in San Diego.

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Physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of esophageal cancer, according to a new study presented by Mayo Clinic researchers at the American College of Gastroenterology’s Annual Scientific Meeting, Oct. 11–16, in San Diego.

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Ninety-seven percent of bariatric surgery patients avoided post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) with the addition of a second drug to the standard treatment given during surgery, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting.

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Simple remedies – from keeping the antibacterial gel dispenser clean to giving health care workers their own hand sanitizer – can help keep patients safe by decreasing contamination in operating and recovery rooms, suggest two studies presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting.

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Before and after spinal surgery, patients on a polyamine-deficient diets experienced significant relief of both chronic and acute pain, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting.

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Patients with fibromyalgia resistant to more routine therapies have a new pain relief treatment available, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting. Intravenous (IV) lidocaine infusion provided significant pain relief to fibromyalgia patients, although the pain relief was much less for African-Americans and smokers.

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Researchers have discovered how to determine which bipolar patients will benefit from Ketamine, a treatment commonly used for depression and pain relief, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting.

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The incidence of chronic pain following cardiac surgery can be reduced in patients when the drug pregabalin is used before surgery and for 14 days post-surgery, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting. The study also found that patients at risk of developing long-term post-operative persistent pain can be predicted by conducting pain sensitivity tests at the time of surgery.

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For the more than 45 million Americans who suffer from chronic headaches, relief may be on the way in the form of an electric pulse, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting. Electric stimulation of the peripheral nerve reduced average headache intensity by more than 70 percent.

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Long-term memory loss, difficulty understanding verbal or written communication or impaired ability to pay attention may still occur five years after heart surgery if a patient has a certain gene variation, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting. This gene was found to be related to a decline in cognitive capabilities compared to those who do not have the variation.

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With the entry of “Millenials” into medical residency programs across the country, institutions have started to examine ways to improve programs to correspond with that generation’s learning behaviors and preferences. A study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting found that Millennial residents use their iPad® to enhance their educational experience. Surprisingly, as residents increased use of their iPad® for educational purposes, their personal iPad® use decreased significantly.

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Using intravenous (IV) acetaminophen with narcotics provides more effective pain relief to children having tonsillectomies, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting. Additionally, the combination therapy saves costs due to reduced use of narcotics after surgery, reduced side effects and slightly quicker hospital discharge than in patients who receive narcotics alone.

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Menopausal women suffer from half as many hot flashes after receiving a non-hormonal chronic pain treatment, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2013 annual meeting. The nerve block treatment interrupts the area of the brain that regulates body temperature, reducing moderate-to-severe hot flashes and alleviating depression in menopausal women, breast cancer patients and women in surgical menopause.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists commends Missouri Governor Jay Nixon on his decision not to use propofol in a manner that may have significantly affected the availability of this medication for the anesthetic care of patients in America. Propofol’s wide-spread patient acceptance and tolerance in procedures requiring anesthesia make this medicine critically important to providing the most optimal outcomes for patients.