Testing for C difficile Infection
Laboratory testing for C difficile remains controversial because many different types of diagnostic tests are available, with detection of different targets and different performance characteristics. Factors that enter into the choice of test include rapid turnaround, specificity, sensitivity, and cost.
On the basis of correlation with mortality, the best reference method for the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the cytotoxin assay and a multistep algorithm combining a highly sensitive first test (such as glutamate dehydrogenase or nucleic acid amplification) followed by a more specific test (such as enzyme immunoassay) to confirm positive results. This appears to be the… Continue reading
Old and Poor: America’s Forgotten
While the Census Bureau’s official poverty measure shows 9 percent of seniors nationally live in poverty, the share climbs to about one in seven seniors (15 percent) under the Bureau’s alternative Supplemental Poverty Measure, which takes into account out-of-pocket health expenses and geographic differences in the cost of living. Produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Old and Poor: America’s Forgotten provides a portrait of seniors who are living in poverty, in both urban and rural areas across the United States.
This video shows the difficult challenges that low-income seniors face in making ends meet; every day, they juggle… Continue reading
Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign
LabFlorida recommends more info on Colorectal Cancer
Many at Risk for Diabetes and Don’t Know It
New research shows that many Americans who are at risk for type 2 diabetes don’t believe they are, and their doctors may not be giving them a clear message about their risk.
American Diabetes Association researchers surveyed more than 1,400 people aged 40 and older and more than 600 health care providers to come to this conclusion. The investigators found that 40 percent of at-risk people thought they had no risk for diabetes or prediabetes, and only 30 percent of patients with modifiable risk factors for diabetes believed they had some increased risk for diabetes.
Less than half of at-risk… Continue reading
Few Patients Treated for C. Diff Actually Have the Infection
A new study reported on by MedPage Today reveals that most patients treated with antibiotics for Clostridium Difficile (C. diff) did not actually have the infection, according to research presented at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
The study shows that lab results confirmed only 292 patients of the 1,971 patients treated for C. diff infection at a 240-bed hospital from February 2012 through November 2013 actually had the infection.
All the patients were inpatients for three days and treated with vancomycin or metronidazole in IV or oral form.
Fewer than one in six patients treated with powerful antibiotics for… Continue reading
FALA Mini-Conference
Cardiac Risk Assessment
What is a cardiac risk assessment?
This is a group of tests and health factors that have been proven to indicate your chance of having a cardiovascular event such as heart attack or stroke. They have been refined to indicate the degree of risk: slight, moderate, or high.
What is included in a cardiac risk assessment?
The most important indicators for cardiac risk are those of your personal health history. Age, hereditary factors, weight, cigarette smoking, blood pressure, exercise history, and diabetes are all important in determining your risk. The lipid profile is… Continue reading
Vitamin D: Is It the Best Thing Under the Sun?
Here is a great slideshow summarizing Vitamin D’s function and role in multiple conditions: from respiratory, to diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer, stroke, pain, gastro, kidney and many more.
Sugar Loaded Soda Harms Kidneys
If you have a penchant for drinking sugary sodas, you might be raising your risk for kidney disease, new research suggests.
Employees at a university in Japan who consumed more than two sodas a day were more likely to have protein in their urine when compared to those who had fewer or no sodas on a daily basis. Protein in the urine is considered an early, but reversible, marker of kidney damage.
The new study showed an association between drinking soda and an increased risk of kidney damage, but it didn’t necessarily prove that soda is the culprit.
The study… Continue reading
Clebs That Influenced Healthcare in 2013
She really got us thinking, didn’t she? Jolie offered a glimpse into her private life and drastic personal health decision to get a preventative double mastectomy. It went viral, circulating mass media around the world.
Celebrity influence can be good but can also be bad, or at least controversial.
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