A. Jotkowitz
Throughout history religious figures have been intimately involved in caring for the sick. Not only have they prayed for the welfare of the sick and arranged for their care but in many instances provided medical care as well. With the advent of scientific medicine, the responsibility for medical care was transferred to trained physicians. A new phenomenon has recently emerged in Israel that has threatened this ‘division of labor’ between physicians and rabbis, namely, the establishment of medical navigation organizations. Medical navigation can improve access to highly specialized care and help build trust between doctors and patients. However, this system is accompanied by numerous ethical and professional difficulties. For example, it is not clear how referrals are made and to what extent the system should be regulated. The phenomenon needs to be further studied to determine its prevalence in Israeli society as well as its impact on the practice of medicine from the perspective of both physicians and patients.
Y. Shilo, S. Efrati, Z. Simon, A. Sella, E. Gez, E. Fenig, M. Wygoda, A. Lindner, G. Fishlev, K. Stav, A. Zisman, Y.I. Siegel and D. Leibovici
Background: Hemorrhagic radiation cystitis (HRC) is a significant clinical problem that occurs after pelvic radiation therapy and is often refractory.
Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) for HRC.
Methods: Daily 90 minute sessions of HBO at 2 ATM 100% oxygen were given to 32 HRC patients with American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) grades 3-4 hematuria.
Results: The median age was 72.5 (48–88 years). The median time interval between radiation therapy and HBO was 4 years (1–26 years). The patients received a median of 30 HBO sessions (3–53). Hematuria resolved in 27 patients (84%) and persisted in 5. Cystectomy was required in two, and ileal-conduit and bilateral percutaneous nephrostomies were performed in one and two patients, respectively. With a median follow-up of 12 months (5–74 months), the hematuria cleared completely in 16 patients (59%) and mild hematuria requiring no further treatment recurred in 10 others. Another patient with ASTRO grade 4 hematuria needed bladder irrigation and blood transfusions. Complications included eardrum perforation in four patients and transient vertigo and mild hemoptysis in one case each. None of them required HBO discontinuation.
Conclusions: HBO controlled bleeding in 84% of the patients. A durable freedom from significant hematuria was achieved in 96% of the patients. HBO seems to be an effective and safe modality in patients with HRC.
S. Hamoud, R. Mahamid, M. Halabi, J. Lessick, S. Abbadi, R. Shreter, Z. Keidar, D. Aronson,
H. Hammerman and T. Hayek
Background: Chest pain is one of the most common reasons for emergency department visits and hospital admissions. Chest pain units (CPU) are being incorporated in tertiary hospitals for rapid and effective management of patients with chest pain. In Israel prior to 2010, only one chest pain unit existed in a tertiary hospital.
Objectives: To report our first year experience with a CPU located in an internal medicine department as compared to the year before establishment of the CPU.
Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of consecutive patients who were admitted to our internal medicine department for the investigation of chest pain for 2 different years: a year before and a year after the establishment of the CPU in the department. We focused on the patients' characteristics and the impact of the CPU regarding the investigational modalities used and the length of in-hospital stay.
Results: In the year before establishment of the CPU, 258 patients were admitted to our department with chest pain, compared to 417 patients admitted to the CPU in the first year of its operation. All patients were followed for serial electrocardiographic and cardiac enzyme testing. All CPU patients (100%) underwent investigation compared to only 171 patients (66%) in the pre-CPU year. During the year pre-CPU, 164 non-invasive tests were performed (0.64 tests per patient) compared to 506 tests (1.2 tests/patient) in the CPU population. Coronary arteriography was performed in 35 patients (14%) during the pre-CPU year, mostly as the first test performed, compared to 61 patients (15%) during the CPU year, mostly as a second test, with only 5 procedures (1.1%) being the first test performed. The length of hospitalization was significantly shorter during the CPU year, 37.8 ± 29.4 hours compared to 66.8 ± 46 hours in the pre-CPU year.
Conclusions: Establishment of a CPU in an internal medicine department significantly decreased the need for invasive coronary arteriography as the first modality for investigating patients admitted with chest pain, significantly decreased the need for invasive procedures (especially where no intervention was performed), and significantly shortened the hospitalization period. CPU is an effective facility for rapid and effective investigation of patients admitted with chest pain.