Latest Conference Articles

Transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) was shown to be more effective than taking the maximal proton pump inhibitor (PPI) dose in relieving heartburn, regurgitation, and other troublesome symptoms in patients with refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

As irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) remains a complicated condition to treat with an etiology that's still unknown, it's difficult for physicians to find the best proven therapies among new remedies and the variety of pharmacological and nondrug options they have been trying for years.

While it's already clinically understood that most patients with Crohn's disease suffer a recurrence following an intestinal resection, researchers have not evaluated the best strategy to prevent the disease from recurring.

Patients taking linaclotide experience clinically meaningful improvement in abdominal and bowel symptoms, which closely correlate with the US Food and Drug Administration's new criteria for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C).

Growing evidence suggests increased cardiovascular risk in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) - in particular nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASN) - but no data exists to support a specific management approach.

Robert Wachter, MD, assured attendees at Hospital Medicine 2013 that trends point to the ongoing health of the profession of hospital medicine, even in the face of increasing pressures to provide more and more care in the outpatient setting.

The complex world of Medicare reimbursement is about to get even more complicated as CMS moves from a fee-for-service reimbursement plan to value-based payments.

Esophageal pH monitoring is more cost effective than the long-term use of proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), since it can help rule out gastroesophageal reflux diseases (GERD) and avoid the unneeded costs associated with prolonged medication therapy.

Achieving safe, effective pain control for inpatients can challenge even experienced clinicians. Components of successful pain control include avoiding pain crises while still steering clear of respiratory depression, being confident with equianalgesic calculations, and transitioning to the outpatient setting.

While it's important for nutrition and an integral part of patients' lives, food also plays a role in functional gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Andrew J. Muir, MD, MHS, said having more antiviral hepatitis C drugs in the pipeline could spur more people to accept treatment and improve patient outcomes.

Presenters at Digestive Disease Week 2013, held May 18-21, 2013, in Orlando, Fla., differed on the risks of surgical complications from the use of biologic agents.

Sorting through and demystifying the toolkit of antidepressants, anxiolytics, and other psychiatric medications available to hospital physicians.

Matthew Martinez, MD, FACC, discussed warfarin alternatives and newer mechanical and interventional strategies for the management of atrial fibrillation at Hospital Medicine 2013.

Researchers present surprising new data at Hospital Medicine 2013 about venous thromboembolism prophylaxis implementation, along with novel approaches to integrating primary care and hospital management of very ill patients.

Inpatient management of patients with increasingly virulent community acquired and nosocomial infections, ranging from bacteremia to C. difficile colitis, presents hospitalists with challenging choices.

Many accepted practices in hospital medicine, ranging from electrolyte management to the components of a syncope workup, may have scant or equivocal evidence to support their use.

Medication reconciliation at the time of admission as well as at patient discharge can prevent significant harm from adverse drug events, yet many providers feel they don't have time to take this important step.

Although several reliable and valid pain assessment tools for cognitively intact and impaired geriatric patients are currently available, clinical evidence emphasized by Keela Herr, PhD, RN, FAAN, AGSF, co-director of the John A. Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence at the University of Iowa College of Nursing, suggests those scales are not consistently administered throughout practice settings.

Phase III study results show patients with chronic non-cancer pain and opioid-induced constipation (OIC) experienced improvements in spontaneous bowel movement frequency and other symptoms of OIC.

While past studies suggest variability in physicians' chronic pain treatment decisions based on patients' sex and race, few have considered the degree of providers' self-insight into the influence of such demographics on their treatment decisions.

A literature review of randomized controlled trials and open-label studies of six months or longer duration finds good evidence that opioid therapy improves pain scores, with weaker evidence for its long-term effect on functional status.

Though the total National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget has stayed flat over the past several years, chronic pain research has enjoyed an expanded slice of the federal funding pie, as dollars committed to that portion of science grew from $279 million in 2008 to $396 million in 2012.

In light of issues concerning opioid misuse running parallel to the tenfold increase of prescription opioid use over the past 20 years, a team of researchers have developed an ongoing study examining results of a pilot program aimed at reducing patients' use of pain medications.

Only half of all patients who report experiencing symptoms that would fulfill migraine diagnostic criteria have received a formal migraine diagnosis from a physician.

The TIRF REMS Access program is designed to streamline the prescribing process and ensure appropriate patients are safely provided with TIRF products, but it may be preventing patients from accessing needed medications.

Results from a small study indicate patients with difficult-to-treat diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) may benefit from therapy with tanezumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against nerve growth factor.

Jennifer Erensen, associate director of health policy at Purdue Pharma L.P., discusses the clinical study "Review of opioid conversion recommendations from select clinical practice guidelines: all are not equal," presented at the 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society.

Analysis of claims data finds patients often receive starting doses of Butrans that do not follow published recommendations, with more than one-third of patients receiving initial doses that are too low.

According to the Administration on Aging, patients older than 65 are expected to account for approximately 19 percent of the U.S. population by 2030, compared to 12.9 percent today.