Massive education effort is needed to assure patients with potentially lethal conditions that hospitals are safe, says the Editor-in-Chief of The American Journal of Medicine   Philadelphia, March 23, 2021 – During the COVID-19 pandemic, Joseph S. Alpert, MD, Editor-inChief of The American Journal of Medicine, published by Elsevier, has observed that although nonCOVID inpatients suffered from the usual mix of conditions such as heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, the Internal Medicine inpatient population was distinctly different from what he had seen ..read more

researchers have identified an immunoglobulin “signature” that could be used to predict which patients are most at risk of developing post-acute covid syndrome (PACS), otherwise known as long covid. In a multicentre prospective study, 175 patients with covid-19 and 40 healthy control group participants were followed for up to a year. More than half of the patients with covid reported long covid symptoms lasting longer than a month. Those who developed long covid were found to have lower levels of IgM and IgG3 antibodies than those who quickly recovered, found the research, published in Nature ..read more

Two years after the covid-19 outbreak began and a year since vaccinations started, many governments are now reducing the length of time people with covid have to isolate. Elisabeth Mahase looks at the evidence behind the different strategies What are the isolation rules in different countries? In the US, new rules mean that people have to isolate for only five days, while in the UK they have to isolate for 10 days unless they have negative lateral flow tests on days 6 and 7, at which point they can stop isolating.12 In France and Japan the isolation period is 10 days, while in Ne ..read more

Elevated levels of three circulating proteins have been found to help protect against kidney failure in diabetes, according to HMS researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center and their colleagues in industry and academia. The findings could provide biomarkers useful in detecting advancing kidney disease risk in people with diabetes and provide the basis for future therapies against the progression of end-stage renal disease, the most serious and advanced stage of diabetic kidney disease. The investigators used high-throughput proteomic platforms to profile levels of slightly more than 1,000 protei ..read more

The news in summer 2021 was almost as oppressive as the heat itself. Boston sweated through its hottest June on record. Lytton, British Columbia, reached an unheard-of 121 degrees Fahrenheit as the Pacific Northwest baked under a heat dome. Another dome in August stifled the Mediterranean. As records toppled, lives were lost. Early investigations suggest that nearly one thousand people died as a direct result of the Pacific Northwest heat wave. Most of them were older adults. In Oregon’s Multnomah County, which includes Portland, the average age among those who perished was 70. People over 6 ..read more

The messenger RNA (mRNA)–based vaccines BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 are more than 90% effective against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). However, their comparative effectiveness for a range of outcomes across diverse populations is unknown. We emulated a target trial using the electronic health records of U.S. veterans who received a first dose of the BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 vaccine between January 4 and May 14, 2021, during a period marked by predominance of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 (alpha) variant. We matched recipients of each vaccine in a 1:1 ratio according to their risk factors. Outcomes inc ..read more

Diversity among the radiologist workforce may be lacking, despite commitment from the specialty to address this issue. But one New York radiology department has found promise piloting a virtual imaging internship to target underrepresented minority medical students, experts reported Thursday. Weill Cornell Medicine recently designed the four-week program, hoping to provide clinical exposure and allow students to better understand radiology. The course incorporated patient care sessions via videoconferencing, along with lectures, online modules, mentoring and curriculum, according to a break ..read more

Lung ultrasound (LUS) score is predictive of the development of moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (ms-BPD), with moderate diagnostic accuracy on the third day of life (DOL) and the seventh DOL, according to the results of a multicenter, prospective, observational diagnostic accuracy study published in the journal CHEST. Researchers sought to examine the diagnostic accuracy of the LUS score performed in the first week of life for predicting the development of ms-BPD and whether scanning of the posterior lung fields would improve the diagnostic accuracy. They used 2 LUS aerati ..read more

The CMS said it has instructed Medicare administrative contractors to temporarily hold all Medicare claims with dates of service on or after April 1 until a moratorium on Medicare sequestration cuts is extended, shielding health care organizations from a 2% payment cut set to take effect today. The agency also announced it “will resume standard sequestration reductions beginning with April 2021 payment for Medicare Advantage organizations and Part D sponsors.”  Full Story: FierceHealthcare ..read more

Dr. Maya Goldenberg has broadened her research into the science-values complex to investigate vaccine hesitancy as illustrative of poor public trust in scientific institutions. She will be taking us through vaccine hesitancy, looking at social and political concerns including mistrust of scientific institutions and government. You won’t want to miss this! Earn 5.0 CE Hours and 5.0 ASRT Category A Credits Saturday, May 1, 2021 9:30 AM- 3:50 PM Eastern Time (EST) REGISTER TODAY Complimentary pricing for OAMRS members has been made possible through support from Siemens Healthineers and The Pers ..read more