4 Tips on Circulatory Disorders of the GI Tract

1.The small intestine and the colon have a relatively restricted blood supply and are frequently affected by circulatory disorders, whereas the esophagus, stomach, and rectum are well supplied with blood and are only occasionally involved in circulatory disturbances.

2.The colon is commonly affected by ischemia (reduction of blood flow to a level not permitting normal function). In most cases, symptoms subside within days and healing is seen within 2 weeks. Antibiotics and bowel rest usually suffice. In complicated disease, damaged parts of the colon must be removed surgically.

3.Acute mesenteric ischemia results from inadequate circulation of blood to the small intestine. Treatment is aimed at dilating (opening) the blood vessels with drugs and/or surgery to restore intestinal blood flow and to remove any irreversibly damaged bowel.

4.Chronic mesenteric ischemia results when blood flow to the small intestine is reduced to an insufficient level. It causes pain associated with eating. Surgery is often warranted to correct the problem.


Please remember, as with all our articles we provide information, not medical advice. For any treatment of your own medical condition you must visit your local doctor, with or without our article[s]. These articles are not to be taken as individual medical advice.

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For more health info and links visit the author's web site www.hookman.com

People who suffer chronic pain may be at higher risk for falls.

According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "people who suffer chronic pain may be at higher risk for falls." Researchers "followed more than 700 people over age 70" in the Boston area. "After 18 months," the investigators "found that people who said they felt pain in two or more joints in one month were 50 percent more likely to fall in the following month than people who did not report joint pain."

       "Severe pain and pain that affected participants' ability to do daily activities also made falls more likely, the researchers found." Moreover, "having pain in one month made falling in the next month likely. People who reported severe pain in one month had a 77 percent increased risk of falling the next month," but "even people reporting very mild pain were more likely to fall the following month, the group found."

        "Pain contributes to functional decline and muscle weakness, the researchers said, and it has been associated with mobility limitations that could predispose patients to falls." The study authors suggested that "paying closer attention to pain and falls 'could result in better health and help people to continue living actively and independently in the community.'"

Please remember, as with all our articles we provide information, not medical advice. For any treatment of your own medical condition you must visit your local doctor, with or without our article[s]. These articles are not to be taken as individual medical advice.

Deepen your understanding of "medical malpractice"... www.MedMalBook.com

For more health info and links visit the author's web site www.hookman.com

NHS decides not to make sorafenib, bevacizumab available

"In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service (NHS) has decided not to make two more cancer drugs available because of cost." According to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, [NICE] the use of "sorafenib (Nexavar) for liver cancer and...bevacizumab (Avastin) for metastatic colorectal cancer" is "not cost-effective." But, the decision on bevacizumab "is preliminary, and the manufacturer, Roche, has said that it will continue to work with NICE on making the drug available." The moves "have sparked headlines about cancer patients being denied life-prolonging drugs" as well as criticism from some oncologists. Karol Sikora, MD, medical director of Cancer Patterns UK, noted that "the British decision about sorafenib puts it 'hopelessly out of step with the rest of Europe,' because every other country within the European Union makes the drug available."
Commentary-Disseminate to those people who want us to emulate the British system of Healthcare-such as Roger Moore of “Sicko”

Please remember, as with all our articles we provide information, not medical advice. For any treatment of your own medical condition you must visit your local doctor, with or without our article[s]. These articles are not to be taken as individual medical advice.

Deepen your understanding of "medical malpractice"... www.MedMalBook.com

For more health info and links visit the author's web site www.hookman.com

Seniors taking psychotropic medications may be at increased risk for falls

According to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, seniors who take certain "psychotropic medications may be at increased risk for falls." After analyzing "22 published studies" including "79,081 participants older than 60," University of British Columbia researchers "concluded that there was a significant association between the use of sedatives, hypnotics, antidepressants, and benzodiazepines and the risk of falls in older adults."

Please remember, as with all our articles we provide information, not medical advice. For any treatment of your own medical condition you must visit your local doctor, with or without our article[s]. These articles are not to be taken as individual medical advice.

Deepen your understanding of "medical malpractice"... www.MedMalBook.com

For more health info and links visit the author's web site www.hookman.com

Gastric distress-related ED visits may increase during the holidays.

At hospitals, gastric distress is a part of the holiday tradition." Indeed, "in the early hours of Thanksgiving...emergency rooms are typically empty," but certain turkey-cooking practices "can easily strike a blow" to diners. Typically, a frozen turkey is left on a countertop for 12 hours, while a roasted bird may sit "for two or three hours before" reaching the table. "During that time, a virus or bacterium can land on the food and start growing," causing gastroenteritis. "Although bacteria will die" once the bird is reheated, "the toxins made by the bacteria that cause illness can survive even in a hot oven." Bones have also been known to trigger "trips to the hospital," and those "with heart conditions should avoid too much salt, which can trigger an accumulation of fluid in the lungs."

Please remember, as with all our articles we provide information, not medical advice. For any treatment of your own medical condition you must visit your local doctor, with or without our article[s]. These articles are not to be taken as individual medical advice.

Deepen your understanding of "medical malpractice"... www.MedMalBook.com

For more health info and links visit the author's web site www.hookman.com

Cigarettes "widely contaminated" with hundreds of bacteria

"DNA examination of four cigarette brands shows, for the first time, that cigarettes are 'widely contaminated' with hundreds of different types of bacteria. In fact, there appears to be as many bacteria in cigarettes as there are chemicals." According to the University of Maryland study in Environmental Health Perspectives, the bacteria "are linked to lung, blood, and food-borne-related infections." For example, investigators found "acinetobacter -- associated with certain blood and lung infections" -- and "bacillus -- some types are associated with anthrax and food poisoning." And, if those "organisms can survive the smoking process," the study authors said, "they could possibly go on to contribute to both infectious and chronic illnesses in both smokers and individuals who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke."

Please remember, as with all our articles we provide information, not medical advice. For any treatment of your own medical condition you must visit your local doctor, with or without our article[s]. These articles are not to be taken as individual medical advice.

Deepen your understanding of "medical malpractice"... www.MedMalBook.com

For more health info and links visit the author's web site www.hookman.com

The Latest Opinions In Preventing Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs)

The US is contending with a growing "problem that cost billions of" dollars: hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Some "100,000 people die with hospital transmitted infections every year." Now, two new studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine "demonstrate that simple measures could dramatically reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections."
        Indeed, many hospitals throughout the nation have already launched campaigns against HAIs, including programs that encourage "stepped-up hand-washing by doctors and nurses. The new studies looked at the bacteria patients may be carrying before entering the hospital, especially...Staphylococcus aureus. The lead author of the first study explained that "about one-third of people at any one time carry this bacterium in their nose or on their skin," and "it does not give them any problem." But, if "they go to a hospital and the skin is somehow breached, they are really prone to invasion or infection by their own bacteria."
        With that in mind, a team at the Erasmus University Medical Center set about identifying which patients scheduled for surgery carried the bacteria in their nostrils. Once identified, using a rapid test, patients either received placebo treatment or Bactroban (mupirocin), an antibiotic nose gel, and daily baths with chlorhexidine.
        Over the course of six weeks, "about 3% of the treated group had staph infections, compared to about 8% in the dummy treatment group.. The "treatment also cut average hospital stays by two days." Meanwhile, researchers in the US aimed to find an alternative to "the reddish-brown iodine solution that's been used for decades to swab the skin before an operation."
        In the second study, a team at Baylor College "randomly assigned 849 surgical patients, scheduled for clean-contaminated surgery in six hospitals, to have either a chlorhexidine/alcohol scrub or a scrub and paint with povidone-iodine.. In short, the former "reduced infections by 41% compared with povidone-iodine."
        What's more, the method used by the Texas team is "'much more effective, very simple, and very inexpensive,' compared to that reported by the Dutch group," according to an accompanying editorial. There is, however, "no barrier to both methods being used in people at high risk of infection after surgery, such as those with compromised immune systems.".

Please remember, as with all our articles we provide information, not medical advice. For any treatment of your own medical condition you must visit your local doctor, with or without our article[s]. These articles are not to be taken as individual medical advice.

Deepen your understanding of "medical malpractice"... www.MedMalBook.com

For more health info and links visit the author's web site www.hookman.com