Analysis of Patients' Dietary Status/Restrictions Following Instrumental Swallow Evaluations in Skilled Nursing Facilities.

Many residents in Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) present with dysphagia and receive altered diets or liquids to minimize the risk of complications. Limited access to timely instrumental evaluations of swallow may impede the best management of these dysphagic residents. De-identified FEES reports completed by a mobile FEES company during a single month, January 2019, were reviewed.

An evidence-based approach to abnormal vision in the emergency department.

Patients present to the ED with visual disturbances that may be painful or painless and may include loss of visual acuity, field cuts, diplopia, and headache. A detailed history and complete ocular examination are essential to obtaining the correct diagnosis and offering expedited treatment and referral. This review discusses the differential diagnosis for patients experiencing abnormal vision from a nontraumatic or minimally traumatic etiology, and reviews diagnostic and treatment strategies from an evidence-based perspective, including point-of-care ocular ultrasound.

Assessing Pneumococcal Vaccination Availability in Under-Vaccinated Rural Counties: A Pharmacy Perspective.

Objective: Vaccines are a low-cost, high-impact interventions that effectively and efficiently reduce the burden of infectious diseases. Many rural populations have vaccination rates well below nationally recommended levels. Community pharmacies may offer a solution to this problem.

Determinants and Outcomes of Hospice Utilization Among Patients with Advance-Staged Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Veteran Affairs Population.

Background: Hospice provides integrative palliative care for advance-staged hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, but hospice utilization in HCC patients in the USA is not clearly understood.

Aims: We examined hospice use and subsequent clinical course in advance-staged HCC patients.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on a national, Veterans Affairs cohort with stage C or D HCC.

Natural History of Untreated Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a US Cohort and the Role of Cancer Surveillance.

Background & Aims: Determining the natural history and predictors of survival in patients with untreated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States is useful to test existing tumor classifications, identify subgroups of patients likely to benefit from treatment, and estimate lead time related to HCC surveillance.

Methods: We identified a national cohort of 518 veterans diagnosed with HCC from 2004 through 2011, with follow-up ending in 2014, who received no palliative or curative treatment. We examined the association between postdiagnosis survival and patient factors, tumor characteristics, and prediagnosis surveillance.

Effectiveness of surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma in clinical practice: A United States cohort.

Background & Aims: The effectiveness of surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in reducing cancer related mortality among patients with cirrhosis is largely unknown. The objective of this study was to study the effectiveness of HCC surveillance in the national Veterans Administration (VA) clinical practice.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with HCC during 2005-2010 by reviewing patients' medical records to determine receipt of HCC surveillance in the 2years prior to HCC diagnosis.

Transarterial bland versus chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma: rethinking a gold standard.

Background: Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the most common procedure for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, HCC is generally considered chemoresistant and data demonstrating the superiority of TACE over bland embolization (TAE) are lacking.

Materials And Methods: A nationwide, retrospective cohort study of HCC patients treated with first-line TACE or TAE within the Veterans Affairs health care system (2005-2012) was performed.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the Absence of Cirrhosis in United States Veterans is Associated With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Background & Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can develop in individuals without cirrhosis. We investigated risk factors for development of HCC in the absence of cirrhosis in a U.S.

"The Heart Truth:" Using the Power of Branding and Social Marketing to Increase Awareness of Heart Disease in Women.

In September 2002, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute launched The Heart Truth, the first federally-sponsored national campaign aimed at increasing awareness among women about their risk of heart disease. A traditional social marketing approach, including an extensive formative research phase, was used to plan, implement, and evaluate the campaign. With the creation of the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness, the campaign integrated a branding strategy into its social marketing framework.