Annals of internal medicine
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A public health emergency, such as an influenza pandemic, will lead to shortages of mechanical ventilators, critical care beds, and other potentially life-saving treatments. Difficult decisions about who will and will not receive these scarce resources will have to be made. Existing recommendations reflect a narrow utilitarian perspective, in which allocation decisions are based primarily on patients' chances of survival to hospital discharge. ⋯ We analyze the ethical principles that could guide allocation and propose an allocation strategy that incorporates and balances multiple morally relevant considerations, including saving the most lives, maximizing the number of "life-years" saved, and prioritizing patients who have had the least chance to live through life's stages. We also argue that these principles are relevant to all patients and therefore should be applied to all patients, rather than selectively to the elderly, those with functional impairment, and those with certain chronic conditions. We discuss strategies to engage the public in setting the priorities that will guide allocation of scarce life-sustaining treatments during a public health emergency.
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Although genetic variation at chromosome 9p21.3 is associated with incident cardiovascular disease, it is unclear whether screening for this polymorphism improves risk prediction. ⋯ In this large prospective cohort of white women, genetic variation in chromosome 9p21.3 was associated with incident cardiovascular disease but did not improve on the discrimination or classification of predicted risk achieved with traditional risk factors, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and family history of premature myocardial infarction.
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Variants in genes involved in warfarin metabolism and sensitivity affect individual warfarin requirements and the risk for bleeding. Testing for these variant alleles might allow more personalized dosing of warfarin during the induction phase. In 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration changed the labeling for warfarin (Coumadin, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, New Jersey), suggesting that clinicians consider genetic testing before initiating therapy. ⋯ Warfarin-related genotyping is unlikely to be cost-effective for typical patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, but may be cost-effective in patients at high risk for hemorrhage who are starting warfarin therapy.
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Bariatric surgery leads to substantial and durable weight reduction. Nearly 30% of patients who undergo bariatric surgery have type 2 diabetes, and for many of them, diabetes resolves after surgery (84% to 98% for bypass procedures and 48% to 68% for restrictive procedures). Glycemic control improves in part because of caloric restriction but also because gut peptide secretion changes. ⋯ Bariatric surgery (particularly bypass procedures) alters secretion of these gut hormones, which results in enhanced insulin secretion and sensitivity. This review discusses the various bariatric procedures and how they alter the enteroinsular axis. Familiarity with these effects can help physicians decide among the different surgical procedures and avoid postoperative hypoglycemia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Association between statin use and risk for keratinocyte carcinoma in the veterans affairs topical tretinoin chemoprevention trial.
Recent evidence suggests that statins may prevent cancer. ⋯ These data show no conclusive or consistent relationship between long-term statin use and risk for keratinocyte carcinoma.