Category: Medicine

Posted on

COVID-19 : Elders May Have Different Symptoms

Older adults with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, have several “atypical” symptoms, complicating efforts to ensure they get timely and appropriate treatment, according to physicians.

COVID-19 is typically signaled by three symptoms: a fever, an insistent cough and shortness of breath. But older adults — the age group most at risk of severe complications or death from this condition ― may have none of these characteristics.

Instead, seniors may seem “off” — not acting like themselves ― early on after being infected by the coronavirus. They may sleep more than usual or stop eating. They may seem unusually apathetic or confused, losing orientation to their surroundings. They may become dizzy and fall. Sometimes, seniors stop speaking or simply collapse.

Continue reading
Posted on

COVID-19 : Guidance on ‘Vulnerable Subgroup’ With Diabetes

An international panel of diabetes experts has published practical recommendations for managing diabetes in patients with COVID-19 both in and out of the hospital setting.

The aim, they say, is to emphasize “the multiple challenges” healthcare professionals “from practitioners to intensive care staff might face in the management of…this vulnerable subgroup…of patients with diabetes…at risk of, or with, COVID-19.”

The recommendations were published online April 23 as a “personal view” in Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology by a 19-member panel led by Stefan R. Bornstein, MD, of the Helmholtz Center Munich and Technical University of Dresden, Germany.

Continue reading
Posted on

COVID-19 : Multinational Consensus From The Fleischner Society on The Role of Chest Imaging in The Management

An multinational consensus statement from the Fleischner Society on the role of chest imaging in the management of patients with COVID-19 was published in April 2020 (FDA).

Patients with mild features of COVID-19

Imaging is advised for patients with risk factors for COVID-19 progression and either positive COVID-19 testing or moderate-to-high pre-test probability in the absence of COVID-19 testing.

Imaging is not indicated in asymptomatic patients or those with suspected COVID-19 and mild clinical features unless they are at risk for disease progression. Imaging is indicated in COVID-19 patients with worsening respiratory status.

Patients with moderate-to-severe features of COVID-19

Imaging is advised regardless of the results or availability of COVID-19 testing for patients who present with moderate-to-severe features consistent with COVID-19 infection and a pre-test probability of infection.

Continue reading
Posted on

Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Effective for Postop Abdominal Wound Healing Problems

Negative pressure-wound therapy (NPWT) is an effective option for subcutaneous abdominal wound healing impairment (SAWHI) after surgery, although it’s tied to more complications than conventional therapy, researchers say.

The multinational study showed that with NPWT, “wound healing was achieved faster and more often than with conventional wound treatment (CWT), but NPWT caused more device- and wound-related adverse events,” Dorthe Seidel of the University of Witten/Herdecke in Koln, Germany, told Reuters Health on behalf of the SAWHI study group.

“The most frequently documented wound-related adverse events were periwound macerations and local infections with signs of inflammation,” she said. “Macerated wound margins are mainly avoidable with adequate protection.”

As reported in JAMA Surgery, the study included 507 patients with SAWHI randomized to NPWT or CWT. The median age was 66 and about 56% were men.

Continue reading