PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Targeting use of acid-suppressants in hospital patients

Study identifies those most at risk for gastrointestinal bleeds in the hospital

2013-01-07
(Press-News.org) Gastrointestinal bleeds which occur in the hospital, although rare, are a significant source of morbidity and mortality when they occur. Currently, the prophylactic use of acid-suppressive medication in non-critically ill patients in the hospital is not widely recommended. Despite this, these medications continue to be widely utilized for this purpose.

Shoshana Herzig from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Massachusetts, USA, and her colleagues believe that there is a group of patients whose risk of gastrointestinal bleeds is high enough to warrant the routine prescription of acid-suppressive medication, and a larger group in whom these medications can be safely withheld. The new study¹, which has developed a risk scoring system to identify these patients, appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine², published by Springer.

Recent studies have found that the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding in hospitalized, non-critically ill patients is fairly low. However, some patients will be at greater risk for this complication than others and there is currently no method available to medical staff to help identify those most likely to have a gastrointestinal bleed. The authors therefore set out to find any potential factors which might identify which patients were most at risk to help target the use of prophylactic acid-suppressive medication where it is necessary, and withhold such medication in the rest.

Herzig and her colleagues studied 75,723 admissions to a large academic medical center over a three-year period. Patients were excluded from analysis if they were admitted with gastrointestinal bleeding, developed a bleed within one day of admission, or were due to have cardiac catheterization. There were gastrointestinal bleeds in a total of 203 patients.

From their analysis, Herzig and her colleagues identified independent risk factors which increased the likelihood of a gastrointestinal bleed. These were being over 60 years of age; being male; having liver disease, acute renal failure, or sepsis; being on a medicine service; already taking prophylactic anticoagulants; and having clotting disorders. This information then enabled the authors to develop a risk scoring system to identify high-risk groups. They found that risk of bleeding increased directly in line with these clinical risk factors.

The authors emphasize the need for further studies to reproduce this data. However, their scoring system allows identification of a sub-set of patients who may benefit from prophylactic use of acid-suppressive medication, as well as a larger group in whom these medications can safely be avoided. They conclude that "with further validation at other medical centers, this scoring system may help clinicians individualize the decision to prescribe acid-suppressive medication as prophylaxis."

### References

1. Herzig SJ et al (2013). Risk factors for nosocomial gastrointestinal bleeding and use of acid-suppressive medication in non-critically ill patients. Journal of General Internal Medicine; DOI 10.1007/s11606-012-2296-x 2. The Journal of General Internal Medicine is the official journal of the Society of General Internal Medicine.

The full-text article is available to journalists on request. END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Modern parenting may hinder brain development, research shows

2013-01-07
Social practices and cultural beliefs of modern life are preventing healthy brain and emotional development in children, according to an interdisciplinary body of research presented recently at a symposium at the University of Notre Dame. "Life outcomes for American youth are worsening, especially in comparison to 50 years ago," says Darcia Narvaez, Notre Dame professor of psychology who specializes in moral development in children and how early life experiences can influence brain development. "Ill-advised practices and beliefs have become commonplace in our culture, ...

Wide binary stars can wreak havoc in planetary systems

2013-01-07
An international team of astrophysicists has shown that planetary systems with very distant binary stars are particularly susceptible to violent disruptions, more so than if the systems had two stellar companions with tighter orbits around each other. The team, led by Northwestern University's Nathan Kaib, conducted 3,000 computer simulations to study the effects of binary stellar companions (some with tight orbits around each other and others with wide or distant orbits) on the formation and evolution of planetary systems. The researchers found that wide binary stars ...

Combating USDA's top-ranked invasive insect

2013-01-07
This press release is available in Spanish. First detected in the United States a decade ago, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is now in at least 39 states, is wreaking havoc in homes and gardens, and is a major economic threat to orchard fruits, garden vegetables and row crops. It's no wonder the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ranks this pest as its top "invasive insect of interest." But help may be on the way: USDA scientists at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., are searching ...

Study provides guidance for use of acid-suppressive medications in hospital patients

2013-01-07
BOSTON -- Critically ill patients in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) are routinely prescribed acid-suppressive medications to reduce their risk of developing stress ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding, both of which can result from being in a stressful environment and from being intubated. Over the years, this routine practice has often been extended to patients outside the ICU, despite a lack of evidence that this population is at significant risk of these complications. Now a study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) describes ...

Psychological common ground could ease tensions among those with different religious beliefs

2013-01-07
Understanding how thoughts of mortality influence individuals' beliefs sheds light on the commonalities among different groups' motivations and could help ease tensions between opposing viewpoints, according to University of Missouri experiments that tested the relationship between awareness of death and belief in a higher power. The study found that thoughts of death increased atheists, Christians, Muslims and agnostics conviction in their own world views. For example, contrary to the wartime aphorism that there are no atheists in foxholes, thoughts of death did not cause ...

Cognitive deficits from concussions still present after 2 months

Cognitive deficits from concussions still present after 2 months
2013-01-07
EUGENE, Ore. -- (Jan. 7, 2013) -- The ability to focus and switch tasks readily amid distractions was compromised for up to two months following brain concussions suffered by high school athletes, according to a study at the University of Oregon. Research team members, in an interview, said the discovery suggests that some athletes may need longer recovery periods than current practices dictate to lower the risk of subsequent concussions. Conventional wisdom, said lead author David Howell, a graduate student in the UO Department of Human Physiology, has typical recovery ...

Detrimental effect of obesity on lesions associated with Alzheimer's disease

2013-01-07
In France, more than 860,000 people suffer from Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, making them the largest cause of age-related loss of intellectual function. Cognitive impairments observed in Alzheimer's disease result from the accumulation of abnormal tau proteins in nerve cells undergoing degeneration . We know that obesity, a major risk factor in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, increases the risk of dementia during the aging process. However, the effects of obesity on 'Taupathies' (i.e. tau protein-related disorders), including Alzheimer's ...

Penn study shows mountains are only minor contributors to erosion and climate regulation

2013-01-07
PHILADELPHIA — Though churning smokestacks, cud-chewing cows and gasoline-burning vehicles are contributing constantly to greenhouse gas emissions, there are also many processes that do the reverse, pulling molecules like carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. One of these is chemical weathering, which occurs when rock turns into soil. Carbon dioxide molecules and rain combine to dissolve rock, and the weathering products, including sediment, eventually make their way through waterways to the ocean where some become trapped on the ocean bottom and in coral reefs and seashells. For ...

A French nuclear exit?

2013-01-07
Los Angeles, CA (January 07, 2013). France has been held up, worldwide, as the forerunner in using nuclear fission to produce electricity. However, a third of the nation's nuclear reactors will need replacing in the next decade, and public opinion has shifted toward reducing reliance on nuclear power. In a special issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE four articles explore whether France has the means or desire to unplug from nuclear power. Nuclear arms experts Patrice Bouveret, Bruno Barrillot, and Dominique Lalanne argue that phasing out ...

Timely reminders boost childhood immunizations rates

2013-01-07
AURORA, Colo. (Jan. 7, 2013) – New research from the Children's Outcomes Research Program at Children's Hospital Colorado shows that timely reminders by state or local health departments are more effective at increasing immunization rates among preschool children than those from primary care practices. The study, published December 13 in the American Journal of Public Health, underscores the importance of partnerships between state and county health departments and primary care practices to keep children up-to-date on recommended vaccines. "Immunizations provide ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Intra-arterial tenecteplase for acute stroke after successful endovascular therapy

Study reveals beneficial microbes that can sustain yields in unfertilized fields

Robotic probe quickly measures key properties of new materials

Climate change cuts milk production, even when farmers cool their cows

Frozen, but not sealed: Arctic Ocean remained open to life during ice ages

Some like it cold: Cryorhodopsins

Demystifying gut bacteria with AI

Human wellbeing on a finite planet towards 2100: new study shows humanity at a crossroads

Unlocking the hidden biodiversity of Europe’s villages

Planned hydrogen refuelling stations may lead to millions of euros in yearly losses

Planned C-sections increase the risk of certain childhood cancers

Adults who have survived childhood cancer are at increased risk of severe COVID-19

Drones reveal extreme coral mortality after bleaching

New genetic finding uncovers hidden cause of arsenic resistance in acute promyelocytic leukemia

Native habitats hold the key to the much-loved smashed avocado’s future

Using lightning to make ammonia out of thin air

Machine learning potential-driven insights into pH-dependent CO₂ reduction

Physician associates provide safe care for diagnosed patients when directly supervised by a doctor

How game-play with robots can bring out their human side

Asthma: patient expectations influence the course of the disease

UNM physician tests drug that causes nerve tissue to emit light, enabling faster, safer surgery

New study identifies EMP1 as a key driver of pancreatic cancer progression and poor prognosis

XPR1 identified as a key regulator of ovarian cancer growth through autophagy and immune evasion

Flexible, eco-friendly electronic plastic for wearable tech, sensors

Can the Large Hadron Collider snap string theory?

Stuckeman professor’s new book explores ‘socially sustainable’ architecture

Synthetic DNA nanoparticles for gene therapy

New model to find treatments for an aggressive blood cancer

Special issue of Journal of Intensive Medicine analyzes non-invasive respiratory support

T cells take aim at Chikungunya virus

[Press-News.org] Targeting use of acid-suppressants in hospital patients
Study identifies those most at risk for gastrointestinal bleeds in the hospital