How Concurrent Services Obscured Detection of Intervention Benefits: Part 2: Secondary Analysis of the PREP Trial for Frail Older Adults and Family Caregivers.

Family caregivers frequently use health and social services to support their caregiving. In evaluating care-giving interventions, however, researchers rarely examine the influences of such concurrent services on intervention effectiveness. In this Part 2 secondary analysis of data from the Oregon Health & Science University/Kaiser Permanente Northwest Region Family Care Study, we examined the moderating influences of concurrent services on intervention effectiveness. The Family Care Study was a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the preparedness, skill, enrichment, and predictability (PREP) intervention with caregivers of frail older adults referred for skilled home health. Compared with control caregivers receiving usual home health care (n = 103), PREP intervention caregivers (n = 104) reported greater improvements in family care (effect size, d = 0.58). We conducted follow-up analyses to determine whether PREP was differentially effective depending on whether dyads received concurrent Social Health Maintenance Organization (SHMO) services, concurrent hospice services, or neither. In the 55% of dyads not receiving SHMO or hospice, we found that PREP's effects were large compared to usual care (d = 1.16, p < 0.001). PREP's effects were not significant for dyads receiving concurrent SHMO or hospice services. Results highlight the strong benefits of hospice for control dyads, but reveal difficulties in evaluating intervention effectiveness when dyads receive concurrent services. [Research in Gerontological Nursing, 16(2), 71-83.].

Dangers of scientific bias against herbal drugs for coronavirus disease 2019.

On May 15, 2020, the Lancet published an article titled Use of Herbal Drugs to Treat COVID-19 Should be with Caution. While this is true of all drugs, herbal and otherwise, the data may be biased and deserve a scientific response. We believe these types of reports will unfairly and negatively impact the field of integrative medicine as a whole, and must be answered with facts and statistics that more accurately represent the current situation.

Use of cardiovascular magnetic resonance in the evaluation of a giant right atrial appendage aneurysm: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Right atrial appendage aneurysms are rare entities that may have significant clinical consequences. When co-existing with atrial fibrillation, patients are at risk of developing pulmonary or paradoxical systemic emboli. CASE PRESENTATION: An elderly patient presented to medical attention with symptoms of acute diverticulitis. On abdominal computed tomography, a massively enlarged right atrial appendage aneurysm was discovered incidentally. The aneurysm caused marked compression of the right ventricle and contained an area of hypoenhancement concerning for an intraluminal thrombus. Gadolinium-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance was performed and first-pass perfusion images demonstrated that the area of hypoenhancement was in fact poorly mixing blood. The patient was therefore managed medically. CONCLUSION: Right atrial appendage aneurysms are infrequently encountered cardiac abnormalities. In the literature, surgery has been offered to patients who are young, symptomatic, or have evidence of thrombotic disease, although whether this practice pattern is associated with superior clinical outcomes is unclear. In the present case, gadolinium-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging was used to exclude the presence of intraluminal thrombus in an elderly patient, which helped orient the patient's treating team towards medical-rather than surgical-therapy.

Use of CT enterography for the diagnosis of lower gastrointestinal bleeding in pediatric patients.

Diagnosis of lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) represents a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for any physician. While CT enterography (CTE) has been applied in adults with occult LGIB, its use in children has been limited to evaluation of Crohn's disease. We reviewed 6 patients ages 4-15 who underwent CTE for LGIB at a tertiary pediatric institution. In sum, CTE appears to be a valuable tool for localizing the source of LGIB prior to surgical or endoscopic intervention. However, rapid lesion identification must be weighed against the increased radiation exposure and patient discomfort due to bowel distention associated with this diagnostic technique.

Outpatient thyroidectomy: is it a safe and reasonable option?

BACKGROUND: Outpatient surgery is cost effective and convenient. The aim of this study was to determine the safety and feasibility of outpatient thyroidectomy. METHODS: Retrospective review was performed of all thyroidectomy patients from a tertiary care center between January 2004 and March 2010. RESULTS: One hundred forty-eight patients met the inclusion criteria. Subtotal and hemithyroidectomies (n = 79) were compared against completion and total thyroidectomies (n = 72). Nine total thyroidectomy patients (12.5%) required unplanned overnight admission, compared with 4 hemithyroidectomy patients (5.1%) (P = .15). The majority were admitted for pain and nausea control. Overnight admissions were highest among men (32% vs 5%, P = .002) and patients with Graves' disease (36% vs 6%, P = .003). Postoperative complications occurred in 6 total thyroidectomy patients (8.3%) and 3 hemithyroidectomy patients (3.8%) (P = .31). Only 4 patients (2.6%) required readmission for complications. There were no deaths. CONCLUSIONS: Outpatient thyroidectomy performed by an experienced surgeon is safe and feasible. Men and patients with Graves' disease have a higher probability of requiring postoperative admission.

Portal venous gas and cardiopulmonary arrest during pneumatic reduction of an ileocolic intussusception.

We present the case of an 8-month-old infant with a small bowel obstruction secondary to an ileocolic intussusception without a pathologic lead point. During pneumatic reduction, the patient went into cardiopulmonary arrest, at which point portal venous gas (PVG) was visualized on radiography. Here we present-to our knowledge-the first reported case of PVG secondary to pneumatic reduction of an intussusception along with a review of the literature regarding known complications of pneumatic reduction and the etiologies of PVG.

Acknowledging unexplained fatigue of tired women.

PURPOSE: To investigate indicators of fatigue, including depression, sense of powerlessness, and body aches, and to examine differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic women. DESIGN: Descriptive, comparative analysis. METHODS: Investigators evaluated fatigue, depression, sense of powerlessness, and body aches for two groups of women in a small, rural community. Participants in one group (n = 20) reported subjective experiences of fatigue and the other group (n = 20) did not. No participant had a recognizable disease or physiologic alteration that would account for her fatigue. Symptoms in groups were compared using t tests with Bonferroni adjustment. RESULTS: Although the asymptomatic group members were younger, the groups did not differ in ethnicity, mean weight, number of medications taken, or normality of laboratory values. Women who reported feeling fatigued also had significantly higher scores on the depression and fatigue subscales of the fatigue instrument and significantly lower scores on the power instrument. For participants reporting fatigue, fatigue correlated with depression and depression negatively correlated with sense of power. Data did not indicate how fatigue and depression, or depression and sense of power, are interrelated. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide support for the importance of acknowledging fatigued women's often readily dismissed complaints not only of fatigue, but of depression and sense of powerlessness, and for conducting further research regarding these complaints in women with no objective indicators of fatigue.