Advances in Lymphedema

2021 ◽  
Vol 128 (12) ◽  
pp. 2003-2016
Author(s):  
Stanley G. Rockson

Lymphedema is a common, complex, and inexplicably underappreciated human disease. Despite a history of relative neglect by health care providers and by governmental health care agencies, the last decade has seen an explosive growth of insights into, and approaches to, the problem of human lymphedema. The current review highlights the significant advances that have occurred in the investigative and clinical approaches to lymphedema, particularly over the last decade. This review summarizes the progress that has been attained in the realms of genetics, lymphatic imaging, and lymphatic surgery. Newer molecular insights are explored, along with their relationship to future molecular therapeutics. Growing insights into the relationships among lymphedema, obesity, and other comorbidities are important to consider in current and future responses to patients with lymphedema.

2018 ◽  
Vol 09 (04) ◽  
pp. 772-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan Reading ◽  
Dawon Baik ◽  
Melissa Beauchemin ◽  
Kathleen Hickey ◽  
Jacqueline Merrill

Background Patient-generated health data (PGHD) collected digitally with mobile health (mHealth) technology has garnered recent excitement for its potential to improve precision management of chronic conditions such as atrial fibrillation (AF), a common cardiac arrhythmia. However, sustained engagement is a major barrier to collection of PGHD. Little is known about barriers to sustained engagement or strategies to intervene upon engagement through application design. Objective This article investigates individual patient differences in sustained engagement among individuals with a history of AF who are self-monitoring using mHealth technology. Methods This qualitative study involved patients, health care providers, and research coordinators previously involved in a randomized, controlled trial involving electrocardiogram (ECG) self-monitoring of AF. Patients were adults with a history of AF randomized to the intervention arm of this trial who self-monitored using ECG mHealth technology for 6 months. Semistructured interviews and focus groups were conducted separately with health care providers and research coordinators, engaged patients, and unengaged patients. A validated model of sustained engagement, an adapted unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), guided data collection, and analysis through directed content analysis. Results We interviewed 13 patients (7 engaged, 6 unengaged), 6 providers, and 2 research coordinators. In addition to finding differences between engaged and unengaged patients within each predictor in the adapted UTAUT model (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, facilitating conditions), four additional factors were identified as being related to sustained engagement in this population. These are: (1) internal motivation to manage health, (2) relationship with health care provider, (3) supportive environments, and (4) feedback and guidance. Conclusion Although it required some modification, the adapted UTAUT model was useful in understanding of the parameters of sustained engagement. The findings of this study provide initial requirement specifications for the design of applications that engage patients in this unique population of adults with AF.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 369-374
Author(s):  
Mashael Alqahtani ◽  
Alla Nahhas ◽  
Lujain Malibari ◽  
Maryam Alghamdi ◽  
Sara Bazuhier ◽  
...  

Background: Oral Cancer (OC) is a serious health problem affecting the oral cavity, which may lead to death. Alcohol, tobacco, and chewing betel are the main risk factors. Early diagnosis and adequate knowledge of OC may improve the survival rate. Objective: This study aimed to assess the knowledge about oral cancer among dental patients in Mecca. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the dental clinics of Mecca. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were distributed to 416 respondents aged 18 or older, who spoke Arabic or English, had no history of OC, and participated voluntarily. The questionnaire consisted of three sections. The first regarded demographical data, the second measured knowledge about OC, and the third was concerned with education regarding OC provided by health-care providers. The interviewers also educated the participants by handing brochures with information about OC. Results: Knowledge about OC among dental patients in Mecca was found to be significantly low. Only 102 of the 416 participants (24.5%) had any knowledge. Only 3.4% of all participants had been educated about OC by their health-care providers. Conclusion: The results of this study show a considerable lack of general knowledge about OC among dental patients in Mecca. Health programs should be developed to raise the community’s awareness.


2020 ◽  
Vol 162 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32
Author(s):  
David E. Tunkel ◽  
Sarah M. Holdsworth ◽  
Jacqueline D. Alikhaani ◽  
Taskin M. Monjur ◽  
Lisa Satterfield

This plain language summary explains nosebleeds, also known as epistaxis (pronounced ep-ih-stak-sis), to patients. The summary applies to any individual aged 3 years and older with a nosebleed or history of nosebleed who needs medical treatment or wants medical advice. It is based on the 2020 “Clinical Practice Guideline: Nosebleed (Epistaxis).” This guideline uses research to advise doctors and other health care providers on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of nosebleeds. The guideline includes recommendations that are explained in this summary. Recommendations may not apply to every patient but can be used to help patients ask questions and make decisions in their own care.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Choi ◽  
Julia S. Seng

BACKGROUND: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects 8% of pregnant women, and the biggest risk factor for pregnancy PTSD is childhood maltreatment. The care they receive can lead to positive outcomes or to retraumatization and increased morbidity. The purpose of this study is to gather information from a range of clinicians about their continuing education needs to provide perinatal care to women with a maltreatment history and PTSD.METHOD: Maternity health care professionals were interviewed by telephone. Network sampling and purposive sampling were used to include physicians, nurse practitioners, midwives, nurses, and doulas (n = 20), and results were derived from content analysis.RESULTS: Most providers received little or no training on the issue of caring for women with a history of childhood maltreatment or PTSD during their original education but find working with this type of patient rewarding and wish to learn how to provide better care. Providers identified a range of educational needs and recommend offering a range of formats and time options for learning.CONCLUSIONS: Maternity health care providers desire to work effectively with survivor moms and want to learn best practices for doing so. Thus, educational programming addressing provider needs and preferences should be developed and tested to improve care experiences and pregnancy outcomes for women with a history of trauma or PTSD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-108
Author(s):  
Nasrin Matinnia ◽  
Saeid Yazdi-Ravandi

Background: Childbirth is one of the essential goals of the family, so that infertility can cause many problems for the family. Therefore, the aims of the current study were the frequency of postpartum depression and evaluate the relationship between postpartum depression, socio-demographic factors, and quality of marital satisfaction in postpartum women with a history of infertility referring to health centers in Hamadan. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of all primiparous women with a history of infertility referring to Hamadan health care centers in 2018, of which 240 randomly selected according to the inclusion criteria for one year. Subjects assessed by demographic and clinical information checklist, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and marital relationship quality scale (Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale; RDAS). All statistical calculations performed by busing chi-square with SPSS-17. Results: 152 out of 240 participants (63.3%) had a degree of depression, of which 57 (23.7%) had mild depression, 63 (26.3%) had moderate depression, and 32 (13.3%) had severe depression. According to the result of the study, marital satisfaction in 23.3% (56), 37.1% (89), and 39.6% (95) were excellent, moderate, and low, respectively — the quality of marital relationships associated significantly with and postpartum depression (χ2=19.3, P<0.001). The results of the study showed that there was a significant relationship between age, occupation, educational level, duration of infertility, and depression (P<0.05), but there was no significant relationship between ethnicity, insurance, and depression (P<0.05). Conclusion: Regarding the results obtained in this study and comparison with existing studies, the infertility problem can cause mental and psychological disorders in women. It seems that marital satisfaction and its relationship with different factors and the proper interventions by health care providers are necessary to prevent postpartum depression in these women.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacey S. Cofield ◽  
Amber Salter ◽  
Tuula Tyry ◽  
Christina Crowe ◽  
Gary R. Cutter ◽  
...  

AbstractBackground:Interest in and use of marijuana by persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) has increased. While potential benefits have been reported, so have concerns about potential risks. Few large studies have been conducted about the perceptions and current usage of marijuana and medical cannabinoids in persons with MS.Methods:Participants in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) registry were surveyed in 2014 regarding legality and history of marijuana usage, both before and after diagnosis with MS.Results:A total of 5,481 participants responded, with 78.2% female, 90% relapsing disease at onset, and a current mean age of 55.5 (10.2) years. Sixty-four percent had tried marijuana prior to their MS diagnosis, 47% have considered using for their MS, 26% have used for their MS, 20% have spoken with their physician about use, and 16% are currently using marijuana. Ninety-one percent think marijuana should be legal in some form. Men, those with higher disability, current and past nicotine smokers, and younger age were associated with a higher likelihood of current use.Conclusions:The majority of responders favor legalization and report high interest in the use of marijuana for treatment of MS symptoms, but may be reluctant to discuss this with health care providers. Health care providers should systematically inquire about use of marijuana.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariful Basher ◽  
Proggananda Nath ◽  
Shah Golam Nabi ◽  
Shahjada Selim ◽  
Md Fashiur Rahman ◽  
...  

Post-Kala-Azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) remains a major public health threat in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Surya Kanta Kala azar Research Centre (SKKRC), Mymensingh, from January 2012 to July 2013 to evaluate the health seeking behaviour and the length of delay of PKDL management. The consecutive 200 diagnosed PKDL cases that got treatment in SKKRC hospital were subjected to evaluation. Most (98%) of the patients were not aware and had no knowledge about PKDL, though 87.5% had a history of history of Kala-azar treatment. Many patients reported first to village doctor (15.5%), the pharmacy shop (10%), or traditional health provider (7.5%) upon recognition of symptom. The time between the initial symptom recognition and first medical consultation (patient delay) ranged from 10 days to 4745 days (13 years) with a median of 373 days (mean: 696; IQR: 138 to 900 days). The time between first medical consultations to definite treatment (system delay) ranged from 0 days to 1971 days (5.4 years), with a median delay of 14 days (mean: 46.48; IQR: 7 to 44 days) that was reported in this study. Age, education, occupation, and residential status had significant association with patient delay (P<0.05). Educational status, occupation, number of treatment providers, and first health care provider had a significant association with system delay (P<0.05). Success in PKDL diagnosis and treatment requires specific behavior from patients and health care providers which facilitate those practices.


Author(s):  
Vaibhav Goel Bhartiya ◽  
Prem Chandra ◽  
Himani Sharma

Since the beginning of human civilization, hygiene, health, medicine religious practices and law, are found to be interwoven around each other. On one hand, ancient legal system or religion preaches us about an ideal way of living life, on the other hand, the health care providers, try to identify and observe the religious practices and faith of the patient for providing better treatment. These practices may include prayer, meditation, bathing and cleanliness, dietary needs and astrological beliefs of patient. The history of alliance of law in the religious preaching and religious practices, medicine, and healthcare is very interesting to look at. Since ages, to make people take up cleanliness as a habit, it has been linked to Godliness, for example in Hinduism it is often said that “Swachchta hi Prabhuta hai”. Also, for hundreds of years, religious institutions were responsible for licensing physicians to practice medicine. Thus, religious practices are external activities or functions of human civilizations which works as code of conduct for them. The present piece of work is an attempt to identify the relevance of Article 25 of Indian Constitution for the medical practitioners while treating patients with orthodox patients with deep rooted religious practices which may create hindrances in the treatment too.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliae AR Mohamed Hussein ◽  
Islam Galal ◽  
Nahed A Makhlouf ◽  
Hoda A Makhlouf ◽  
Howaida K Abd-Elaal ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundSince the start of COVID-19 outbreak investigators are competing to develop and exam vaccines against COVID-19. It would be valuable to protect the population especially health care employees from COVID-19 infection. The success of COVID-19 vaccination programs will rely heavily on public willingness to accept the vaccine.AimsThis study aimed to describe the existing COVID-19 vaccine approval landscape among the health care providers and to identify the most probable cause of agreement or disagreement of COVID-19 vaccine.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was done.ResultsThe present study included 496 health care employees, 55% were at age group from 18-45 years old. History of chronic diseases was recorded in 40.4%, and definite history of drug/food allergy in 10.1%. Only 13.5% totally agree to receive the vaccine, 32.4% somewhat agree and 40.9% disagreed to take the vaccine. Causes of disagreement were none safety, fear of genetic mutation and recent techniques and believe that the vaccine is not effective (57%, 20.2%, 17.7% and 16.6% respectively). The most trusted vaccine was the mRNA based vaccine. The age of health care employees and the presence of comorbidities or chronic diseases were the main factors related to COVID-19 acceptance (P<0.001 and 0.02 respectively).ConclusionVaccine hesitancy is not uncommon in healthcare employees in Egypt and this may be an alarming barrier of vaccine acceptance in the rest of population. There is an urgent need to start campaigns to increase the awareness of the vaccine importance.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document