Cancer Patients Share Web Info With Docs for Insight, Advice

Yahoo! News Search Search Web HomeVideoPhotosGMAYear in ReviewOddComicsTravelOpinionTrending NowVitalityWho Knew?WeatherU.S.U.S. VideoGMAEducationReligionCrimes and TrialsThe LookoutSept. 11LocalContributor NetworkYear in ReviewWorldWorld VideoMiddle EastEuropeLatin AmericaAfricaAsiaCanadaAustralia/AntarcticaThe EnvoyBusinessVideoExclusivesToday's MarketsStocksPersonal FinancePress ReleasesMarketplaceNewsmakersEntertainmentVideoClinton ConcertCelebrityTVMoviesMusicReviewsFashionBooksArtsTheaterDear AbbyComicsOdd NewsSportsVideoNFLMLBNBANCAAFNCAABSoccerCyclingNHLTennisGolfBoxingMotor SportsMMAExtremeTechBlogTech It UpBest in TechGadgetsWirelessAppleSocial MediaSecurityOpen SourceGamingAppsUpgrade Your LifePoliticsDestination 2012The TicketThe SignalRemake AmericaThe IssuesElection MapWhite HouseCongressThe CourtsWomen and PoliticsPress ReleasesVideoScienceScience VideoWeather NewsSpace / AstronomyAnimal / PetsDinosaurs / FossilsBiotechEnergyGreenHealthVideoWeight LossCancerSexual HealthMedications/DrugsParenting/KidsSeniors/AgingDiseases/ConditionsVitalityBlogsThe UpshotThe CutlineThe LookoutThe SideshowThe TicketAround the WorldKatie's TakePower PlayersThis Could Be BigNewsmakersTrending NowLocalPopular SearchKeywordNews Search Featured»VideosPhotosTrending NowKatie's TakeTech it up!VitalityWho Knew?Power PlayersRemake America   Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, firstLogin with Facebook YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY prev next

View the Original article

Patients leaving hospital against advice fare worse

Reuters – 14 hrs ago NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Hospital patients who leave against medical advice may have an increased risk of being readmitted or dying within a month, a study at one New York medical center finds.

In the U.S., about 500,000 hospital patients a year sign themselves out against medical advice.

Studies have suggested that decision can be unwise: patients hospitalized for asthma, HIV or a heart attack, for example, have been found to have an increased risk of readmission when they leave contrary to doctors' recommendations.

But the new study, reported in the American Journal of Medicine, suggests patients are also at increased risk of dying within 30 days of leaving against medical advice.

Researchers found that of 84,000 patients treated at their medical center, those who left against doctors' advice were more likely be readmitted within the next month: one-quarter of them ended up back in the hospital, versus 11 percent of patients who went home after a planned discharge.

They were also twice as likely to die: 1.3 percent died during the month after leaving the hospital, compared with 0.7 percent of patients with a planned discharge.

"That's the really sobering finding," said lead researcher Dr. William N. Southern, of Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

"These patients are not only at greater risk of readmission," he said, "they are also more likely to die in the next 30 days."

The exact reasons are not certain, Southern told Reuters Health.

Patients who signed out against medical advice tended to have a shorter hospital stay than patients with a planned discharge.

"So it may be that they aren't staying long enough to complete a course of treatment," Southern said in an interview. "But it may also be that they are not getting the follow-up care they may need."

The bottom line, according to Southern, is that people should be aware of the risks of leaving the hospital early.

That does not mean they have to follow "doctor's orders."

"Refusal of care is a patient's fundamental right," Southern said.

But, he added, patients do not always sign out because they don't want treatment. Often, it's for a personal obligation like work or caring for a family member.

The findings are based on 84,000 patients treated at Montefiore Medical Center between 2002 and 2008. That included 3,544 patients who signed out against medical advice.

Patients who checked out early were different from their counterparts in other ways too. For example, they were more likely to have a history of substance abuse or psychiatric conditions or to be on Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor.

But even when the researchers accounted for those differences, as well as factors like age and race, patients who left the hospital against advice still had twice the risk of dying.

Of course, the specific risks to any one person would depend on the illness being treated, overall health and other factors. "Our findings suggest that whatever your baseline (death) risk is -- whether it's high or low -- it would be twice as high if you leave the hospital against medical advice," Southern said.

A limitation of the study, though, is that it reflects a single medical center -- one located in a high-poverty area of New York. Southern said it's not known whether the results would be the similar at all hospitals.

But he said the findings do give hospital staff something to communicate to patients. Until now, it had not been clear whether discharge against medical advice was associated with death risk specifically.

"Now we know that it is," Southern said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/JcvCbG American Journal of Medicine, online April 17, 2012.

View the Original article

Summer Skin Care Advice

April 19, 2012 by admin

When summer season arrives, there’s nowhere to be but outside. Of course you are entitled to enjoy the warm sunshine, but remember to be smart about it.

As you’ve probably been told many times before, UV radiation from the sun has harmful effects, and that you have to take good care of your skin. Here’s some for you to follow in order to keep your skin looking and feeling healthy.

Remember to apply sunscreen before heading outdoors. In fact, don’t just apply sunscreen during the summer-try to get into this habit all throughout the year. No matter how overcast the sky may be, UV rays can still penetrate there way into the skin. After applying sunscreen on your face and body during the morning, regularly re-apply some every two to three hours. Try to use a sunscreen that has a sun protection factor of at least 15.

One important piece of is to moisturize.

Your skin tends to get very dry throughout the summer season, and it needs as much moisture as it can get. Some sunscreens not only protect your skin from UV rays, but also moisturize it at the same time.

When you end up sunbathing the whole day, you’re bound to get sunburn. Another piece of is to treat your skin with products that contain large amounts of Aloe Vera. Aloe Vera soothes dryness, burns, and discomfort.

Follow these three pieces of advice this summer and you can be confident that your skin is taken good care of.

Skin Care

View the Original article

What to do with a child who’s happy hanging out at home: Advice from Marguerite Kelly

The Lorax’ movie and the kids who protected Dr. Seuss’ messageLeap Year: Is Feb. 29 a good day to give birth or not worth the hassle?The Ohio school shootings: Why we keep repeating the pastStories By DateFull Monthly Archive Posted at 04:25 PM ET, 03/02/2012By On Parenting
From elsewhere in The Post: A 7-year-old boy isn’t as active as his parent would like, prompting a letter to Family Almanac columnist Marguerite Kelly.

View the Original article