Noncardiac inpatient has acute hypertension: Treat or not?

A retrospective study found more harm than benefit from treating elevated blood pressure in hospitalized noncardiac patients.

Can early introduction of gluten reduce risk of celiac disease?

This UK study revealed the benefits of introducing gluten at age 4 months.

Alcohol abstinence reduces A-fib burden in drinkers.

A recent Australian study demonstrated a significant reduction in A-fib recurrence and burden among regular drinkers who abstained from alcohol.

Updated USPSTF screening guidelines may reduce lung cancer deaths.

By nearly doubling the number of patients eligible for screening, as many as 60,000 US lives may be saved-but concerns may limit acceptance.

Automated office BP measurement: The new standard in HTN screening.

Obtain greater accuracy in blood pressure measurement with an automated office device.

Enhancing Patient Activation and Self-Management Activities in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Using the US Department of Defense Mobile Health Care Environment: Feasibility Study.

Background: Past mobile health (mHealth) efforts to empower type 2 diabetes (T2D) self-management include portals, text messaging, collection of biometric data, electronic coaching, email, and collection of lifestyle information.

Objective: The primary objective was to enhance patient activation and self-management of T2D using the US Department of Defense's Mobile Health Care Environment (MHCE) in a patient-centered medical home setting.

Methods: A multisite study, including a user-centered design and a controlled trial, was conducted within the US Military Health System.

Patient-centered medical home: an emerging primary care model and the military health system.

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a primary care model that aims to provide quality care that is coordinated, comprehensive, and cost-effective. PCMH is hinged upon building a strong patient-provider relationship and using a team-based approach to care to increase continuity and access. It is anticipated that PCMH can curb the growth of health care costs through better preventative medicine and lower utilization of services.

Update on a clinical measure for the assessment of problem solving.

Purpose: The Rapid Assessment of Problem Solving test (RAPS) is a clinical measure of problem solving based on the 20 Questions Test. This article updates clinicians on the RAPS, addresses questions raised about the test in an earlier article (R. C.

Using semantic feature analysis to improve contextual discourse in adults with aphasia.

Purpose: Semantic feature analysis (SFA) was used to determine whether training contextually related words would improve the discourse of individuals with nonfluent aphasia in preselected contexts.

Method: A modified multiple-probes-across-behaviors design was used to train target words using SFA in 3 adults with nonfluent aphasia. Pretreatment, posttreatment, and follow-up sessions obtained language samples for the preselected contexts.

Developing a clinician-friendly aphasia test.

Purpose: The Kentucky Aphasia Test (KAT) is an objective measure of language functioning for persons with aphasia. This article describes materials, administration, and scoring of the KAT; presents the rationale for development of test items; reports information from a pilot study; and discusses the role of the KAT in aphasia assessment.

Method: The KAT has 3 parallel test batteries, KAT-1, KAT-2, and KAT-3.

Communicative value of self cues in aphasia: A re-evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Adults with aphasia often try mightily to produce specific words, but their word-finding attempts are frequently unsuccessful. However, the word retrieval process may contain rich information that communicates a desired message regardless of word-finding success. AIMS: The original article reprinted here reports an investigation that assessed whether patient-generated self cues inherent in the word retrieval process could be interpreted by listener/observers and improve on communicative effectiveness for adults with aphasia.

The personalized cueing method: from the laboratory to the clinic.

Purpose: The personalized cueing method is a novel procedure for treating naming deficits of persons with aphasia that is relatively unfamiliar to most speech-language pathologists. The goal of this article is to introduce the personalized cueing method to clinicians so that it might be expanded and improved upon. It is also hoped that this article will promote further research in the treatment of naming deficits of clients with aphasia.

The effects of varied joint motion and loading conditions on posterior cruciate ligament fiber length behavior.

Background: The posterior cruciate ligament has been described as being composed of 2 bands that reciprocally tighten and loosen with knee flexion, but the fiber anatomy and behavior may be more complex.

Hypothesis: The mechanical effects of defined loading conditions at discrete knee joint angles can vary significantly within the substance of the posterior cruciate ligament depending on the fiber region tested.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.

Kinetic analysis of 18F-fluorodihydrorotenone as a deposited myocardial flow tracer: comparison to 201Tl.

Unlabelled: The goals of this investigation were to assess the accuracy of (18)F-fluorodihydrorotenone ((18)F-FDHR) as a new deposited myocardial flow tracer and to compare the results to those for (201)Tl.

Methods: The kinetics of these flow tracers in 22 isolated, erythrocyte- and albumin-perfused rabbit hearts were evaluated over a flow range encountered in patients. The 2 flow tracers plus a vascular reference tracer ((131)I-albumin) were introduced as a bolus through a port just above the aortic cannula.

A clinical measure for the assessment of problem solving in brain-injured adults.

Rapid Assessment of Problem Solving (RAPS) is a clinical test of verbal problem-solving skills for brain-injured persons. This modification of F. A.

Problem-solving by traumatically brain injured and neurologically intact subjects on an adaptation of the twenty questions test.

Primary Objective: RAPS (Rapid Assessment of Problem-Solving) is a clinical measure for assessing verbal problem-solving in hard-to-test patients or those that may not be able to tolerate a longer, more detailed assessment. The design of the test is based on Mosher and Hornsby's Twenty Question test, but RAPS contains several modifications to facilitate its use with brain-injured individuals. This study used RAPS to compare the verbal problem-solving ability of subjects that were neurologically intact and subjects that had chronic traumatic brain injuries.

Flow heterogeneity following global no-flow ischemia in isolated rabbit heart.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate flow heterogeneity and impaired reflow during reperfusion after 60-min global no-flow ischemia in the isolated rabbit heart. Radiolabeled microspheres were used to measure relative flow in small left ventricular (LV) segments in five ischemia + reperfused hearts and in five nonischemic controls. Relative flow heterogeneity was expressed as relative dispersion (RD) and computed as standard deviation/mean.

Having the courage to be competent: persons and families living with aphasia.

Unlabelled: This paper provides examples and illustrations of how aphasic people can and do demonstrate their competence in managing their lives despite chronic aphasia. It discusses a number of ways in which aphasic persons and their families can learn to live fully despite the intrusion of aphasia.

Educational Objectives: After reading this paper, participants should (1) have a more fully developed appreciation of what it means to live courageously with aphasia, (2) recognize the importance of developing a lifespan perspective following the onset of aphasia, and (3) better understand competence in aphasia.

Quantitative gated blood pool SPECT: analysis of 3-dimensional models for the assessment of regional myocardial wall motion.

Background: Gated blood pool single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (GBPS) uses truly 3-dimensional (3D) data, requiring attention to appropriate reference systems and segmentation models for proper quantification. To date, optimal 3D reference models have not been evaluated. In this study several techniques for 3D GBPS were evaluated.