Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Gastroenterology for April 2014. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Alcohol + Tobacco Combo Markedly Ups Esophageal CA Risk
WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The combined use of alcohol and tobacco has a synergistic effect on the risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), according to research published in online April 22 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
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Aspirin Use Cuts CRC Risk With High 15-PGDH Expression
TUESDAY, April 29, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Regular aspirin use is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer in association with high hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase 15-(nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) (15-PGDH) expression, according to a study published in the April 23 issue of Science Translational Medicine.
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Physician Groups Find Fault With Medicare Payment Data Release
THURSDAY, April 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Physician groups cite major problems associated with the release of Medicare payment data, according to an article published April 16 in Medical Economics.
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Educational Changes Suggested for Patient-Centered Medicine
THURSDAY, April 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Changes in medical education and training are suggested to help new physicians address the needs of patients and their families, according to an ideas and opinions piece published in the April 22 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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FDA Proposes Accelerated Medical Device Approval Plan
WEDNESDAY, April 23, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed a new program that would provide expedited access to high-risk medical devices intended for patients with serious conditions whose medical needs are not met by current technology.
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Irritable Bowel Ups Likelihood of Celiac Disease in Children
WEDNESDAY, April 23, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of celiac disease is four times higher in children with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), compared to the general pediatric population, according to a study published online April 21 in JAMA Pediatrics.
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FDA Approves Cyramza for Gastric Cancer
TUESDAY, April 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Cyramza (ramucirumab) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat cancer of the stomach or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.
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Type of Attending Doc Affects Feeding Tube Rates in Elderly
TUESDAY, April 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The rate of feeding tube insertions in hospitalized patients with severe dementia varies by type of attending physician, according to a study published in the April issue of Health Affairs.
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Task Force Recommends Ways to Improve Price Transparency
MONDAY, April 21, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Price transparency frameworks, which provide price information presented in the context of other relevant information, should be developed to meet patients' needs, according to recommendations presented in a report from the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).
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AMA Examines Economic Impact of Physicians
FRIDAY, April 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians who mainly engage in patient care contribute a total of $1.6 trillion in economic output, according to the American Medical Association (AMA)'s Economic Impact Study.
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Int'l Medical Education Standards Not Equivalent to U.K. Standards
FRIDAY, April 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- International medical graduates passing the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) of the General Medical Council (GMC) have lower performance on MRCP(UK) (Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians) and MRCGP (Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners) and on annual review of competence progression (ARCP) examinations, according to two studies published online April 17 in BMJ.
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White House: 8 Million People Signed Up for Health Insurance
FRIDAY, April 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Eight million Americans signed up for private health insurance during the just-concluded first enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act, the White House announced Thursday afternoon.
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Salmonella Cases Dip but Food Poisoning Rates Remain High
FRIDAY, April 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- While the United States has seen a decline in the number of Salmonella illnesses in recent years, there's been little progress overall in reducing food poisoning outbreaks, according to a report published in the April 18 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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One in 20 U.S. Adults a Victim of Diagnostic Errors
THURSDAY, April 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Diagnostic errors affect at least one in 20 U.S. adults, according to research published online April 17 in BMJ Quality & Safety.
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Educator Discusses Key Issues for Future Doctors to Consider
THURSDAY, April 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The key issues for future physicians are discussed in an article published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
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Patient-Clinician Relationship Impacts Health Care Outcomes
THURSDAY, April 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The patient-clinician relationship has a small but significant effect on health care outcomes, according to a study published online April 9 in PLOS ONE.
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Six Percent of Colorectal Cancer Found to Be Interval Tumors
WEDNESDAY, April 16, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Six percent of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) have interval cancers, which develop within six to 60 months of colonoscopy, according to a study published in the April issue of Gastroenterology.
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Continued Reliance on Windows XP May Threaten Data Security
WEDNESDAY, April 16, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians who use Windows XP in their practices may be affected by Microsoft's recent discontinuation of support for the program, according to an article published April 8 in Medical Economics.
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Patients Paying Much More for Specialty Drugs
TUESDAY, April 15, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Many Americans are paying less for prescription drugs, but some are having to deal with sharp rises in the cost of specialty medicines for rare or serious diseases, according to a new report.
Health Highlights: April 15, 2014
CRC Resection Morbidity, Mortality Still Higher for Elderly
MONDAY, April 14, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Despite an overall improved mortality seen during the past 10 years, advancing age is associated with higher morbidity and mortality in colorectal cancer resection, according to a study published online April 9 in JAMA Surgery.
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New Health Secretary to Confront Health Care Reform Hurdles
MONDAY, April 14, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- With the resignation of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Friday, the Affordable Care Act will get a fresh face. But turning around public perception of the controversial health care reform law in a politically charged mid-term election year poses an enormous challenge for the department's next leader, policy experts said.
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Chronic Pancreatitis Ups Risk of Cancer Death
FRIDAY, April 11, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals with chronic pancreatitis (CP) are at higher risk for cancer death and other comorbidities than those without CP, according to a study published in the April issue of Gastroenterology.
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Sebelius Stepping Down As HHS Secretary
FRIDAY, April 11, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is stepping down from her position, after overseeing the troubled rollout of the Affordable Care Act that remains unpopular with some Americans and virtually all Republican lawmakers.
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Fewer Americans Overwhelmed by Medical Bills
WEDNESDAY, April 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- While millions of Americans still feel hamstrung by medical expenses, a new government report shows that some people are getting relief.
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More Justification Needed for Choosing Wisely Selections
WEDNESDAY, April 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Most services included in specialty medical societies' Top 5 lists for the Choosing Wisely campaign are based on evidence demonstrating equivalent but not superior benefit, with higher risk or higher costs compared to other options, according to a research letter published in the April 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Obstructive Sleep Apnea Ups Risk of Barrett's Esophagus
WEDNESDAY, April 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is independently associated with increased risk of Barrett's esophagus (BE), according to a study published in the April issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
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Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Linked to CKD in T1DM
WEDNESDAY, April 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with type 1 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is independently associated with the risk of incident chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study published online April 2 in Diabetes Care.
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Some Doctors Paid at Least $3 Million Each by Medicare
WEDNESDAY, April 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A small number of doctors received at least $3 million each in Medicare payments in 2012, for a total of nearly $1.5 billion, according to an analysis of Medicare claims data released Wednesday by the White House. In total, Medicare paid individual physicians nearly $64 billion in 2012. The median payment was just over $30,000, the Associated Press reported.
Health Highlights: April 9, 2014
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Hypernatremia Linked to Post-Liver Transplant Mortality
TUESDAY, April 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Pre-liver transplant (LTx) hyponatremia does not affect post-LTx survival, but hypernatremia is a significant risk factor for post-LTx mortality, according to a study published online Feb. 25 in Liver Transplantation.
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Drinking Coffee Cuts Risk of Liver Cirrhosis Mortality
TUESDAY, April 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Coffee consumption is associated with reduced risk of mortality from cirrhosis related to non-viral hepatitis, according to research published online in Hepatology.
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Newly Eligible for Expanded Medicaid Are Healthier
MONDAY, April 7, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Persons newly eligible for expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are not sicker than pre-ACA enrollees, according to research published online March 26 in Health Affairs.
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Higher Risk of Adverse Perinatal Outcomes With Maternal IBD
MONDAY, April 7, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be at increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes, with association between IBD and adverse perinatal outcome varying by IBD subtype, according to research published online March 20 in the Journal of Perinatology.
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Patients Select Fewer New Docs at Bottom of Tiered Ranking
MONDAY, April 7, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Patients are less likely to select a new physician ranked in the bottom of a tiered network, but often don't switch if their current physician is ranked at the bottom, according to research published online March 11 in Health Services Research.
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AMA Provides Resources to Aid Physicians' Collections
FRIDAY, April 4, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The American Medical Association (AMA) has released resources to help doctors confront policy jumpers who may pose a financial risk to physicians during the Affordable Care Act's 90-day premium grace period, according to an article published March 25 in Medical Economics.
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Adenoma Detection Rate Linked to Interval Cancer Risk
FRIDAY, April 4, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The adenoma detection rate for screening colonoscopy performed by a physician is inversely associated with patient risk of subsequent colorectal cancer (interval cancer) and death, according to research published in the April 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Probiotic Not Found Beneficial for Infants With Colic
THURSDAY, April 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Use of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 does not provide benefit for breastfed or formula fed infants with colic, according to a study published online April 1 in BMJ.
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Half of Uninsured Don't Intend to Sign Up for Health Coverage
WEDNESDAY, April 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- About 50 percent of uninsured adults do not intend to sign up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act's health care exchanges, according to an article published March 26 in Medical Economics.
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Excellent Long-Term Outcomes Seen Following Esophagectomy
WEDNESDAY, April 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Patients undergoing esophagectomy with gastric pull-up report excellent long-term nutritional status, quality of life, and satisfaction with eating, according to research published in the March issue of The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.
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CMS: Medicare Beneficiaries Saved $3.9B on Meds in 2013
TUESDAY, April 1, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- In 2013, 4.3 million seniors and people with disabilities saved an estimated $3.9 billion on prescription drugs, an increase from the 2012 savings, according to a report published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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Nearly One-Third of Initial Prescriptions Remain Unfilled
TUESDAY, April 1, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A sizable number of patients fail to fill their initial drug prescriptions, according to research published in the April 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Aspirin Benefit in Colon Cancer Varies With HLA I Antigen
TUESDAY, April 1, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Aspirin use after colon cancer diagnosis improves survival if tumors express human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I antigen, according to a study published online March 31 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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