Latest Conference Articles

Although we have made great advances in understanding the genetic components of psychiatric illness, caution is essential when applying information from genetic testing to the selection of treatment in clinician practice.

Presentation at the 2013 NEI Psychopharmacology Congress noted potential "red flag" symptoms and events that indicate increased risk of bipolar depression, and discussed several medication options for effectively managing this mental health disorder.

Planning and preparation prior to a disaster, developing networks of contacts with other medical personnel and facilities, avoiding overburdening medical staff and personnel in the aftermath of a disaster, and effectively treating PTSD and other mental health disorders are the keys to disaster preparedness.

Study results show hyponatremia is closely associated with all-cause mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but few previous studies have examined this relationship.

According to the authors of a recent study, almost 50% of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) say they have chronic pain, and over 75% of them rate it as being moderate to severe.

A recent anonymous survey among nephrologists suggests that patients' social support, ability to understand the transplant process, and age are the most important factors influencing nephrologists' decisions to exclude them from kidney transplant referral.

A recent study suggests that dialysis patients' use of opioid analgesics (OAs) is widespread and exceeding historical limits, and that the patients who use opioids are staying on them longer.

During a follow-on session at the 2013 Southern Hospital Medicine Conference, Steven Cohn, MD, discussed the effect of PCI on subsequent non-cardiac surgery outcomes, monitoring specific hormone levels as indicators of cardiovascular risk, and other hot topics in perioperative medicine.

Presentation at the 2013 Southern Hospital Medicine Conference reviewed the clinical application of several key risk indices, including the Revised Cardiac Risk Index and the Vascular Study Group of New England Risk Index.

Hepatitis C, HIV, C. diff, and other infectious diseases can present complex clinical challenges in the hospital setting.

Endocrinologist Pavan Chava, DO, discusses available methods to prolong glycemic control in hospitalized diabetics while avoiding hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia.

Though patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have variable risks of death, the population risk prediction tools that are currently available perform poorly.

In his presentation, George Therapondos, MD, a hepatologist at the Ochsner Medical Center, detailed how to manage inpatients with cirrhosis that progresses to liver failure and gastrointestinal bleeding.

Suma Jain, MD, a pulmonologist at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation, provides a clinical update on the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH).

A recent study found that drug regimens containing renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular and all-cause deaths among patients starting hemodialysis, compared to regimens containing only beta blockers (BBs).

Patients who have chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) require 20% less warfarin and more monitoring for bleeding than patients who have normal kidney function.

After developing a predictive model that compares a patient's individualized risk of mortality while undergoing dialysis to the risk of kidney transplant, a research team has created a free mobile app called iChoose Kidney that enables patients and providers to make informed decisions on treatment choices.

Primary prevention measures for upper GI bleeding should include NSAIDs, antiplatelet therapy, and anticoagulants appropriately, while secondary preventive measures should include testing and treating H. pylori and using long-term PPIs when appropriate.

Observing that atrial fibrillation (AF) is estimated to increase the risk of stroke fivefold, a cardiologist at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute discussed stroke reduction management by treating AF.

In his "Venous Thromboembolism: New Evidence and Best Practice" presentation, Steven Deitelzweig, MD, a hospitalist at Ochsner Medical Center, reviewed new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) used to treat venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Results of a recent community-based study suggest that African-American patients are at higher risk for acute kidney injury (AKI) than Caucasians - a difference that appears to be related to disparities in income and socioeconomic status.

A recent study presented at Kidney Week 2013 suggests that a plain X-ray is a reliable and inexpensive tool for assessing the risks of cardiovascular events and death in patients who have chronic kidney disease (CKD) and are not on dialysis.

Drawing upon data from a large European study, Andrés Cárdenas, MD, reported an association between hyponatremia and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) during a poster session at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases held November 1-5, 2013, in Washington, DC.

Investigating the association between hyponatremia and cognition in patients with cirrhosis, Jasmohan Bajaj, MD, and colleagues from Virginia Commonwealth University presented results showing reduced brain edema, better quality of life (QOL), and less caregiver burden with the use of the aquaretic tolvaptan.

A novel direct-acting antiviral (DAA) targeting a protein associated with hepatitis C (HCV) also has antiviral activity against HIV-1 and shows benefit in co-infected individuals when added to pegylated interferon and ribavirin treatment (PR).

Emerging data from a clinical trial on triple direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy plus ribavirin (RBV) in hepatitis C (HCV) genotype 1 (GT1) patients shows that the low rate of relapse during and after treatment leads to high concordance rates between measurements of sustained viral response (SVR) at 4, 12, and 24 weeks post-treatment.

Sustained viral response (SVR) without resistance or safety issues was reported among chronic hepatitis B (HBV) patients taking tenofovir disopoxil fumarate (TDF) therapy over a 7-year period.

High medication adherence and sustained viral response (SVR) has been reported in hepatitis C (HCV) patients taking an interferon-free, short-duration, oral regimen of ribavirin (RBV) combined with 3 direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) that are currently in phase 2b/3 clinical trials.

Triple therapy consisting of a protease inhibitor combined with pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin (PR) may increase sustained viral response (SVR12), but it may be more difficult to tolerate than PR therapy alone.

As the worldwide disease burden increases and the need for expanded access to care rises concomitantly, primary care clinics utilizing an interdisciplinary staffing model offer a promising alternative to treating patients with hepatitis C (HCV).