Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Stroke Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience Article Date: 10 Jul 2012 - 10:00 PDT Current ratings for: Weekend Stroke Patients Fare Worse Than Weekday Ones There is even a term for the apparent difference in a patient's chances of receiving full care during weekends; it is called the weekend effect. Lead author, William L. Palmer, MA, MSc, and team wrote that the weekend effect challenges the statement made by many regarding the equality of care patients receive when being hospitalized, irrespective of when this occurs. Palmer and team set out to find out whether a stroke patient's access to the hospital's best and safest stroke care varies depending on whether he/she was admitted on a weekday or weekend. They carried out a retrospective cohort study of 93,621 patients, in England, who had been hospitalized with stroke from 1st April, 2009 to the end of March, 2010. The team gathered data on which day patients were hospitalized and compared six indicators of stroke care, including hospital discharge, 30-day readmission rates, availability of brain scans, availability of clot treatments (thrombolysis), seven-day mortality, and complications. Of these 93,621 stroke patients, irrespective of day of admittance to … Continue reading →

Study Highlights: EMBARGOED UNTIL 3 pm CT/4 pm ET, Tuesday, July 10, 2012 DALLAS, July 10, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Treatment is delivered faster when emergency medical services (EMS) personnel notify hospitals a possible stroke patient is en route, yet pre-notification doesn't occur nearly one-third of the time. That's according to two separate Get With The Guidelines(R)-- Stroke program studies published in American Heart Association journals. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recommends EMS notify hospitals of incoming stroke patients to allow stroke teams to prepare for prompt evaluation and treatment. Quick response is vital for stroke patients, particularly those with ischemic stroke, when a clot cuts off the blood supply to a portion of the brain. Clot-busting drugs can only be given within a limited time -- three to 4.5 hours after the onset of symptoms. For both studies, researchers examined the records of 371,988 acute ischemic stroke patients transported by EMS to one of 1,585 hospitals participating in the Get With The Guidelines--Stroke quality improvement program between 2003 and 2011. Pre-notification of hospital by EMS resulted in faster diagnosis and treatment for stroke patients, according to the study published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes. Pre-notification was independently … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES, July 10 (UPI) -- Treatment is faster when paramedics tell hospitals a possible stroke patient is en route, but this doesn't occur one-third of the time, U.S. researchers say. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association both recommend emergency medical services notify hospitals of incoming stroke patients because quick response is vital for stroke patients, particularly those with ischemic stroke, when a clot cuts off the blood supply to a portion of the brain. Clot-busting drugs can only be given within a limited time -- 3 to 4 1/2 hours after the onset of symptoms -- researchers said. The researchers examined the records of 371,988 acute ischemic stroke patients transported by EMS to one of 1,585 hospitals participating in the Get With The Guidelines -- Stroke quality improvement program from 2003 to 2011. Pre-notification occurred in 67 percent of patients in 2011, a modest increase from the 58 percent in 2003, the study said. Pre-notification was independently associated with better treatment times for faster imaging, treatment of clot-busting drug tPA within 60 minutes on arrival and more eligible patients treated with tPA. "Despite national guidelines recommending pre-notification by EMS for acute stroke patients, it's disappointing that there's been little … Continue reading →

Some doctors are asking if athletes should be genetically tested to see if they are at a greater risk for developing Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Dr. Steven DeKosky is the dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He says there is more evidence that suggests repeated head injuries can cause memory loss later in life, and genes could play a role in increasing the risk. According to Dr. DeKosky, there are ethical concerns about telling people what their genetic makeup is because it doesn't necessarily confirm they will develop memory loss diseases. "We have a difficult habit of thinking that if I have this particular variant of a gene that I'm going to get the disease and if I don't have it I'm not going to get the disease and they're not that predictive," Dr. DeKosky said. An informal poll taken of experts in Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury revealed 45% thought it was too early to introduce genetic testing in schools, and that more information is needed to discuss how the genetic testing would be useful. There are more than five million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease. This year alone caring for those patients will cost … Continue reading →

Consumers armed with genetic testing information from the likes of 23andMe and a whole host of gene testing companies are showing up at the emergency room or their primary care physicians looking for answers. The problem is that those physicians dont know enough about the emerging field of personalized medicine, said Dr. Jennifer Lowry a pediatrician at Childrens Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri. Lowry, who works at the hospitals Center for Personalized Medicine and Therapeutic Innovation was speaking at MedCity CONVERGE Conference, Tuesday, in Philadelphia. Personalized medicine may be routine at Mayo Clinic but when parents show up with their childs genetic test results in the doctors office, many physicians are asking what this all means, Lowry said. They are like Whaaaat? Later, in an interview Lowry said that personalized medicine was not even taught when she was in medical school and she had to learn it by herself. She and others on the panel which included James Burn, president and CEO of genetic testing firm AssureRx and Mike Scott, patient advocate, chairman of National Organization for Rare Disorders agreed that physician education was essential. Burns said that AssureRx is exploring ways to educate patients simultaneously with those in the … Continue reading →