Nurses Can Make a Difference, One Shaved Leg at a Time
In nursing school and during my first clinical rotations, I was always uncomfortable with performing bed baths. To shut out my discomfort, I would focus on the task at hand, doing my best to ensure the patient’s privacy, keeping the water warm, and only exposing the one body area I was washing at the moment.
Germline and Somatic Variants: What Is the Difference?
Cancer occurs from pathogenic genetic variants (formerly referred to as mutations) that involve changes in the order of the base pairs, including substitutions, deletions, additions, or shifts. Pathogenic variants can be divided into two broad categories based on the tissue from which they originate.
FDA Vaping Regulations; CMS Scope of Practice; APPs Improve Health Care
Congress returned from the winter holiday season to an administrative announcement partially curtailing flavored e-cigarettes and vaping mechanisms. Additionally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began the year with the announcement of a new policy prioritizing enforcement against certain unauthorized flavored e-cigarette products to help curb the youth smoking epidemic. However, to the chagrin of the smoking cessation community, FDA is still allowing menthol and traditional tobacco flavors to be sold as usual, and reports have indicated that teens and other underage users will still opt for traditional products if they’re available.
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What the Research Cautions About Kratom’s Opioid-Like Abuse Potential
Kratom is a Southeast Asian tropical tree, the leaves of which have been chewed, smoked, or made as tea for their stimulant and euphoric effects. They have also been employed in traditional medicine to reduce pain and fever, to relieve diarrhea, for wound healing, and as a substitute for opium. Recently, kratom supplements have become popular in the United States for alleviating pain, improving mood, lowering anxiety, and alternative opioid withdrawal treatment.
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FDA Approves Avapritinib for Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors With a Rare Mutation
On January 9, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved avapritinib (AyvakitTM) for adults with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor harboring a platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha exon 18 mutation, including D842V mutations.
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FDA Approves Pembrolizumab for BCG-Unresponsive, High-Risk Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer
On January 8, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin unresponsive, high-risk, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ with or without papillary tumors who are ineligible for or have elected not to undergo cystectomy.
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Comprehensive Tobacco Treatment Helps Almost Half of Patients Quit Smoking
After nine months of follow-up, 44% of patients in a comprehensive tobacco treatment program were compliant with smoking abstinence, according to the results of a study published in JAMA Network Open.
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Does Cryotherapy Prevent Extremity Toxicities From Taxane Chemotherapy?
As many as 50% of patients receiving taxane chemotherapy have reported experiencing peripheral neuropathy (PN) or nail changes during treatment. Both are potentially dose-limiting adverse events: nail changes can lead to infections; PN affects patients’ ability to perform activities of daily living and results in sensory impairments such as loss of balance, muscle weakness, and numbness that can increase patients’ risk for falls.
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Nurses Must Understand Health Disparities to Provide Effective Patient Education
Issues pertaining to geography, socioeconomic status, or racial or ethnic background can prohibit patients from accessing the treatment and care they need to successfully navigate their cancer diagnosis. Connecting patients to healthcare professionals and tailored interventions that educate, motivate, and reduce barriers can be a tremendous boon for their care and ultimately their outcomes.
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FDA Finalizes Enforcement Policy on Unauthorized Flavored Cartridge-Based E-Cigarettes
Amid the epidemic levels of youth use of e-cigarettes and the popularity of certain products among children, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a policy prioritizing enforcement against certain unauthorized flavored e-cigarette products that appeal to kids, including fruit and mint flavors. Under this policy, companies that do not cease manufacture, distribution and sale of unauthorized flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes (other than tobacco or menthol) within 30 days risk FDA enforcement actions.