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A combination of two nerve blocks reduced immediate postsurgery opioid use in total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients by about 35% compared with use of a transmuscular quadratus lumborum block (T-QLB) alone, according to a small study published in BMC Anesthesiology. The study, which included 50 subjects, concluded that those treated with both T-QLB and a

Although COVID-19 vaccination is intended to provide protection from the novel coronavirus, it is not free from side effects, which experts said are normal signs that show the human body is undergoing some changes to build immunity against the virus. While most side effects are mild and tend to go away very quickly, there are

Artificial intelligence (AI)–powered neural networks modeled on real human brain connectivity patterns perform cognitive tasks better than traditional AI systems, new research suggests. “This work opens new opportunities to discover how the network organization of the brain optimizes cognitive capacity,” write the researchers from The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) and the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute,

Teenagers with moderate or severe atopic dermatitis (AD) had significant improvement at 12 weeks with the investigational oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor abrocitinib plus topical therapy, a placebo-controlled trial showed. Almost half of the patients had clear or almost clear skin by clinician assessment (IGA), and about 70% of patients treated with either of two

Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH, is a family physician of 40 years and an avid runner who has carried over his passion for fitness and nutrition into treating patients. He achieved this through moving to practicing functional medicine a decade ago. According to Scherger, functional medicine “shifts the whole approach [to family medicine], recognizing that

COVID-19 vaccines do not provide absolute protection against the novel coronavirus. Even fully vaccinated individuals are at risk of getting infected and transmitting the disease. So in case you or any member of your family gets COVID-19 amid the delta surge, here’s what you should do to ensure a better outcome and prevent the further

Adding or switching biologics is a common practice in the treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but there is a dearth of clinical data on whether patients should receive their first or second biologic as monotherapy or combined with immunomodulatory therapies. It’s a clinical conundrum made more difficult by the increasing number of

It’s been over 25 years, but I still remember my first clinical rotation as a third-year medical student: ob/gyn. It was so refreshing to finally take care of patients, to be in a hospital, and to see the things we learned in the classroom translated into clinical care. I’ll never forget a case from that

Sweating is a natural process that our bodies constantly go through to regulate its temperature. A sign of a healthy and normal body, sweating helps us release heat, especially when temperatures start rising. Unfortunately, sweating also has less-lovely secondary effects, which often include sticky skin, armpit stains and *gasp* body odor. Sweat itself has no odor. Rather,

A higher intake of flavonoid-rich foods such as berries, apples, tea, and red wine is associated with a clinically relevant reduction in blood pressure levels, an association that is partially explained by bacteria in an individual’s gut microbiome, new research suggests. In a population-based study of more than 900 individuals, those with the highest intake

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially recommended on Aug. 12 and Aug. 13, 2021, respectively, that people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised receive a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. One reason for this recommendation is high hospitalization rates among immunocompromised people who are vaccinated. As

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Many families delayed much-needed healthcare for their children out of fears that they may be exposed to SARS-CoV-2, according to data from the Urban Institute April 2021 Health Reform Monitoring Survey. Data from 9067 adults aged 18 to 64 years indicate

“Words have consequences and during a public health emergency like COVID-19, those words can mean life or death for patients.” — Joe Knickrehm, vice president of communications for the Federation of State Medical Boards, on their statement that physicians who spread COVID misinformation could face disciplinary action. “Our plan is to protect the American people

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Patients age 12 years and older with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are fully immunized against COVID-19 with either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccine may be eligible to receive an additional dose now, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has announced. New

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. The pace of COVID-19 vaccinations keeps rising, with more than 1 million doses of vaccine administered in the United States on Thursday, including 562,000 people getting their first dose, White House COVID-19 Data Director Cyrus Shahpar said on Twitter. Thursday was

The 24-hour news cycle is just as important to medicine as it is to politics, finance, or sports. At MedPage Today, new information is posted daily, but keeping up can be a challenge. As an aid for our readers and for a little amusement, here is a 10-question quiz based on the news of the

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Americans may be hit with surprising bills in the future if they’re hospitalized with COVID-19. While vaccines and testing are still free, many insurance companies are no longer waiving out-of-pocket expenses for people hospitalized with the coronavirus, the Kaiser Family Foundation

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued a new safety communication about the use of robotically assisted mastectomy, warning patients and physicians that the safety and effectiveness of such devices have not been established in the prevention or treatment of breast cancer. The agency also called out robotically assisted surgical (RAS) device use in

Teclistamab, a bispecific antibody that binds B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and CD3 to redirect T cells to multiple myeloma cells, showed promising efficacy in patients with relapsed or refractory disease, according to results from a phase I study. Forty patients received the recommended phase II dose of subcutaneous teclistamab, which led to an overall response

A global phase 3 trial of ravulizumab (Ultomiris) for adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is being discontinued following a data review, its manufacturer has announced. The CHAMPION-ALS placebo-controlled trial had enrolled 382 adults with sporadic or familial ALS at about 90 sites in North America, Europe, and Asia. The primary outcome measure was change

[embedded content] Rohin Francis, MBBS, applied for astronaut selection to the European Space Agency. While he has no chance of getting in, he chats with doctors who are currently training for space here on Earth. Following is a partial transcript of this video; note that errors are possible: Rohin Francis, MBBS: Some friends were chatting

Researchers have just stumbled upon drugs and compounds that could help mankind in its war against the novel coronavirus. Though the drugs have yet to prove their efficacy in treating SARS-CoV-2 infection among patients, they have already shown scientists that they are capable of preventing viral transmissions in the lab.  A Study On Existing Drugs Scientists

Childhood exposure to parental smoking appears to greatly boost the risk of confirmed cases of rheumatoid arthritis in adult women, although the overall rate is small, a new study reports. The findings, published Aug. 18, 2021, in Arthritis & Rheumatology, follows other evidence that early second-hand smoke exposure can trigger lifelong damage to the immune

Tweets from a black female medical student about the perils of being on call after lengthy hospital shifts was met with a stinging rebuke from the Twitter account of the Connecticut chapter of the American College of Cardiology — prompting an apology and some high-octane exchanges on medical Twitter. In a series of Tweets, “queen

Over the past 30 years, global suicide deaths rose by almost 20,000, with most countries seeing the highest suicide rates in people ages 70 and older. (Injury Prevention) The FDA cleared BrainsWay’s Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) system for anxious depression, the company announced. The TMS system was already indicated for major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive

Patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) as a complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have worse functional impairment and higher mortality, compared with patients who have idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). Despite these factors, some patients with more severe PH in COPD may respond to treatment and show clinical improvement after treatment, according to recent

There is an ongoing debate on whether booster shots are really needed to ensure optimum protection against COVID-19, especially with the spike in transmissions brought forth by the delta variant. On the one hand, many are doubting the need for an extra shot after completing the two-dose mRNA vaccines and the single-dose J&J vaccine. But

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is urging healthcare providers to immediately stop use of and discard all Eco-Med ultrasound gels and lotions because of risk for bacterial contamination with Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc). Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA announced an outbreak of at least 15 Bcc