Monthly Archives: September 2017

HPV-related oropharynx cancer: The new staging system

Patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer now have a better prognosis and may not need as aggressive therapy as patients with HPV-negative head and neck cancers. In this blog, Dr Shrujal Baxi discusses a staging system for oropharyngeal cancers that are HPV-related and those that are not which reflects this improved prognosis.

Medicine
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Can Lyme disease trigger celiac disease?

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Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition driven by immune responses to the ingestion of gluten proteins in genetically predisposed individuals. Additional environmental factors, including infectious agents are also speculated to play a role in the onset of celiac disease. A new study, published today in BMC Medicine, examines the potential contribution of Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne infection in the United States and Europe, to the risk of celiac disease.

Health Medicine

Quadrivalent flu vaccines are cost-effective, particularly for school children

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Quadrivalent vaccines are currently given to children in England and Wales as part of the national seasonal influenza vaccination program. However the cost-effectiveness of this vaccine program compared to trivalent vaccines is an open question. Research published today in BMC Medicine uses a mathematical model of seasonal flu to estimate quadrivalent vaccine program cost, finding it to be cost effective for all age groups. Here to tell us more is lead author of the article Dr. Dom Thorrington.

Health Medicine

“Weekend effects” in intensive care units

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The notion that hospitalized patients can expect the same outcomes regardless of the day they are admitted has been increasingly questioned, with some studies suggesting that patients are at an increased risk of death if admitted on the weekend. Research published today in Critical Care comprehensively investigates the existence of “weekend effects” in intensive care units using elaborate statistical methods on a large cohort of Austrian patients.

Medicine