Rapid Viral Tests Best When They Inform Treatment Decisions

Rapid Viral Tests Best When They Inform Treatment Decisions

A recent review suggests that the routine application of rapid respiratory viral tests in emergency departments (EDs) offers limited benefits for antimicrobial stewardship. Presented in JAMA Internal Medicine, the review examined 11 randomized clinical trials involving patients with acute respiratory infections (ARIs) seeking care in EDs. It revealed that while rapid viral testing led to increased usage of influenza antivirals among positive cases (absolute risk difference 1%), it did not significantly impact overall antibiotic use, …

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Patients, Clinicians Have Similar Accuracy With Interpreting At-Home COVID Tests

Patients, Clinicians Have Similar Accuracy With Interpreting At-Home COVID Tests

When patients use at-home tests to check for COVID-19, their results are similar to results from clinicians using the same tests, according to a study in Microbiology Spectrum. Researchers compared the sensitivity and specificity of Abbott’s BinaxNOW patient-administered rapid antigen test (RAT) against RATs administered by a healthcare provider and against reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Of the 953 patients, 34.1% had at least 1 COVID-19 symptom. Hospital staff administered a RAT and an RT-PCR …

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Smartwatches Show Promise in Detecting Arrhythmia in Kids

Smartwatches Show Promise in Detecting Arrhythmia in Kids

According to a retrospective study, smartwatches can detect arrhythmia events in children, including events that are not generally captured with ambulatory monitors. The study presented in Communications Medicine examined medical records for 145 patients under 18 years old and documented potential arrhythmias that were identified by an Apple Watch. Recordings were captured when the patients believed that their heart rhythm was abnormal. Scott Ceresnak, MD, director, of the Pediatric Electrophysiology Program, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, …

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Video Consultation May Not Have Advantages For Pediatric Prescribing

Video Consultation May Not Have Advantages For Pediatric Prescribing

Researchers found the use of video telemedicine to conduct consultations for acutely ill children in rural and community emergency departments (EDs) does not reduce medication errors when compared to consultations done by telephone, as presented in JAMA Network Open. A randomized trial across 15 community and rural EDs that examined 696 cases of acutely ill children found no statistically significant differences in physician-related medication errors between cases leveraging telephone consultations when compared to cases leveraging …

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Buprenorphine, Liraglutide Could Be A Promising Combination

Buprenorphine, Liraglutide Could Be A Promising Combination

An analysis in Stat shared recent findings from the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference that indicate liraglutide–the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medication used for weight loss—significantly reduced opioid cravings for patients in a small randomized controlled trial. The 20 patients used anti-obesity drugs for opioid use disorder for 3 weeks, and those using liraglutide experienced a 40% reduction in opioid cravings, even when the lowest dose was used.  Ramp up recovery: Buprenorphine is the …

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Flu Can Increase Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke in Older Patients

Flu Can Increase Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke in Older Patients

The risk of atherothrombotic events in patients aged 50 and older care more than double in the 14 days following an influenza diagnosis, according to research presented in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. For those with severe cases, the risk of acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke increased more than 4-fold and remained high for 2 months following the flu event. Authors examined the link between influenza illness diagnosed in the primary care and hospital settings …

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Active People Had Lower Odds of COVID-19 Infection

Active People Had Lower Odds of COVID-19 Infection

A study in JAMA Network Open found people who engaged in higher levels of physical activity before the pandemic experienced lower odds of developing COVID-19 and related hospitalizations from May 2020 through May 2022. In studying patients 45 years or older with 5,890 cases of COVID-19 and 626 hospitalizations, researchers found those who achieved at least 7.5 hours per week of physical activity pre pandemic had significantly reduced odds of COVID-19 diagnosis and hospitalization compared …

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CDC Offers Detailed Recommendations on Syphilis Lab Testing

CDC Offers Detailed Recommendations on Syphilis Lab Testing

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released what the agency says are the first comprehensive recommendations on laboratory testing for syphilis. The extensive guidance covers laboratory-based tests, point-of-care tests (POC), processing of samples, and reporting of test results. In general, for symptomatic patients, nontreponemal tests are recommended for laboratory screening. Treponemal tests are used to validate nontreponemal results and to diagnose early syphilis infections not detectable by nontreponemal tests. Additionally, CDC notes that treponemal …

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Measles Cases Reported in 8 States And Counting

Measles Cases Reported in 8 States And Counting

Cases of measles have been cropping up in Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington with additional cases reported in the past week in Ohio and Maryland. In the Maryland case, the department of health warned the public about possible exposure at Dulles International Airport. Officials in Philadelphia at the end of January confirmed at least 9 known cases in that city alone. It’s concerning because measles was declared eliminated in 2000 by the Centers for …

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Poor Vision Associated With Falls and Fractures

Poor Vision Associated With Falls and Fractures

A study published in JAMA Ophthalmology showed an increased risk of falls and fractures in older patients with 3 common eye diseases. Researchers found those with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, and cataracts—when compared to individuals who do not have those conditions—experienced an increased risk of falling as well as high-impact and low-impact fractures in the hip, spine, forearm, skull, facial bones, pelvis, ribs, sternum, and lower leg. When studying incidents of falling against a cohort …

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