JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Worldwide, 47 million people live with dementia and, by 2050, the number is expected to increase to 131 million. ⋯ Alzheimer disease currently affects 5.8 million persons in the United States and is a common cause of dementia, which is usually accompanied by other neuropathology, often cerebrovascular disease such as brain infarcts. Causes of dementia can be diagnosed by medical history, cognitive and physical examination, laboratory testing, and brain imaging. Management should include both nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic approaches, although efficacy of available treatments remains limited.
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The United States spends more on health care than any other country, with costs approaching 18% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Prior studies estimated that approximately 30% of health care spending may be considered waste. Despite efforts to reduce overtreatment, improve care, and address overpayment, it is likely that substantial waste in US health care spending remains. ⋯ In this review based on 6 previously identified domains of health care waste, the estimated cost of waste in the US health care system ranged from $760 billion to $935 billion, accounting for approximately 25% of total health care spending, and the projected potential savings from interventions that reduce waste, excluding savings from administrative complexity, ranged from $191 billion to $286 billion, representing a potential 25% reduction in the total cost of waste. Implementation of effective measures to eliminate waste represents an opportunity reduce the continued increases in US health care expenditures.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Association of Surgical Hematoma Evacuation vs Conservative Treatment With Functional Outcome in Patients With Cerebellar Intracerebral Hemorrhage.
The association of surgical hematoma evacuation with clinical outcomes in patients with cerebellar intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has not been established. ⋯ Among patients with cerebellar ICH, surgical hematoma evacuation, compared with conservative treatment, was not associated with improved functional outcome. Given the null primary outcome, investigation is necessary to establish whether there are differing associations based on hematoma volume.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Association of General Anesthesia vs Procedural Sedation With Functional Outcome Among Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke Undergoing Thrombectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
General anesthesia during thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke has been associated with poor neurological outcome in nonrandomized studies. Three single-center randomized trials reported no significantly different or improved outcomes for patients who received general anesthesia compared with procedural sedation. ⋯ Among patients with acute ischemic stroke involving the anterior circulation undergoing thrombectomy, the use of protocol-based general anesthesia, compared with procedural sedation, was significantly associated with less disability at 3 months. These findings should be interpreted tentatively, given that the individual trials examined were single-center trials and disability was the primary outcome in only 1 trial.
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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the 16th leading cause of years of life lost worldwide. Appropriate screening, diagnosis, and management by primary care clinicians are necessary to prevent adverse CKD-associated outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, end-stage kidney disease, and death. ⋯ Diagnosis, staging, and appropriate referral of CKD by primary care clinicians are important in reducing the burden of CKD worldwide.