Israel Medical Association Journal

Background: With advances in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), patient cohorts from different time periods might be different.

Objectives: To compare presentation and outcomes between two cohorts.

Methods: Data were collected from George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA 1986–1987 (DC), and Tel Aviv Medical Center, Israel 1999–2009 (TA).

Results: The study comprised 227 patients (139 TA, 88 DC). TA patients were older (75.4 ± 9.8 vs. 63.8 ± 14.3 years, P < 0.001) and had more cardiovascular diseases (56.8% vs. 14.8%, P < 0.001), fewer cytopenias (1.67 ± 0.82 vs. 2.0 ± 0.93, P = 0.003), and lower mean corpuscular volume (94.3 ± 9.9 fl vs. 100.5 ± 15.3 fl, P < 0.001). Hemoglobin, leukocyte, neutrophil, and platelet counts were similar. More TA patients had dysplasias. Bone marrow cellularity and cytogenetics were similar, but more TA patients had blasts < 5% (73.4% vs. 50.6%, P = 0.003). More TA patients had early French-American-British (FAB) disease (66.9% vs. 40.9%, P < 0.001) and lower risk disease per International Prognostic Scoring System (81% vs. 50%, P < 0.001). The 5 year survival (5YS) of TA patients was not significantly greater (62% vs. 55%). 5YS by FAB was also slightly greater for TA patients (77% vs. 65% for early FAB; 43% vs. 37% for advanced FAB, P > 0.05).

Conclusions: Although patients diagnosed with MDS at a later period were older and had more cardiovascular co-morbidities, they had fewer cytopenias, tended to have earlier disease, and had minimally greater, but not significant, 5YS.

Background: Gender-related differences (GRD) exist in the outcome of patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Objectives: To assess GRD in patients who underwent CRT.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 178 patients who were implanted with a CRT in a tertiary center 2005–2009 was analyzed. Primary outcome was 1 year mortality. Secondary endpoints were readmission and complication rates.

Results: No statistically significant difference was found in 1 year mortality rates (14.6% males vs. 11.8% females, P = 0.7) or in readmission rate (50.7% vs. 41.2%, P = 0.3). The complication rate was only numerically higher in women (14.7% vs. 5.6%, P = 0.09). Men more often had CRT-defibrillator (CRT-D) implants (63.2% vs. 35.3%, P = 0.003) and had a higher rate of ischemic cardiomyopathy (79.2% vs. 38.2%, P < 0.001). There was a trend to higher incidence of ventricular fibrillation/ventricular tachycardia in men before CRT implantation (29.9% vs. 14.7%, P = 0.07%). A higher proportion of men upgraded from implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to CRT-D, 20.8% vs. 8.8%, P = 0.047. On multivariate model, chronic renal failure was an independent predictor of 1 year mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 3.6; 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.4–9.5), CRT-D had a protective effect compared to CRT-pacemaker (HR 0.3, 95%CI 0.12–0.81).

Conclusions: No GRD was found in 1 year mortality or readmission rates in patients treated with CRT. There was a trend toward a higher complication rate in females. Men were implanted more often with CRT-D and more frequently underwent upgrading of ICD to CRT-D.

Background: Direct aspiration from suspected pathological tissue and rapid parathyroid hormone analysis may offer a reliable, cost effective alternative to currently used “gold standard” tests.

Objectives: To validate the accuracy of intraoperative measurements of parathyroid hormone levels in parathyroid adenomas.

Methods: A prospective study included 22 patients diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism who underwent parathyroidectomy due to an adenoma or hyperplasia. Aspirations of tissues extracted from three adjacent areas (the pathological parathyroid, thyroid, and muscle tissues) were sent for rapid parathyroid hormone analysis. The assay values of these tissue aspirates were compared to the results of the pathology report based on frozen section analysis and the final pathology report.

Results: All assay results were significantly higher for parathyroid tissue 16,800 to 1,097,986 pmol/L (median 26,600), than for either thyroid 1.7 to 415 pmol/L (median 6.5), P < 0.001, or muscle tissue 1.1 to 1230 pmol/L, (median 11.3), P < 0.001. All tissues showing high parathyroid assay values were also verified by pathology examinations: 7 had adenomas and 15 had a differential diagnosis of adenoma or hyperplasia. The frozen section identified all but one (false negative). Rapid intraoperative parathyroid levels > 1500 predicted parathyroid tissue with a 99% level of confidence, while levels between 1000 and 1500 predicted it with 95% confidence. The intraoperative parathyroid hormone assay showed > 70% decrease in 15/21 cases.

Conclusions: Rapid intraoperative parathyroid hormone analysis is a reliable and precise technique, equally accurate for frozen section analysis in predicting with high certainty intraoperative parathyroid tissue.

Medical practice is a form of art, with each complex detail essential to the welfare of the individuals in the care of the physician. Art and medicine have shared a close relationship in a variety of ways for centuries, as demonstrated by anatomical drawings and textbooks from the 16th century. Leonardo da Vinci, driven by his fascination with the details of the human body and how it functioned, succeeded in creating an anatomical model of the cerebral ventricles and the aorta using molten wax and a glass structure, respectively (Heart and Its Blood Vessels). By using water that contained grass seeds, this experiment enabled him to study blood flow. da Vinci’s engrossment with the complexity of the human body is reflected in many of his drawings, including the famous depiction of the human physique in his drawing of the Vitruvian Man. This drawing, which defines the ideal proportions of the human body and their correlation with geometry, is an example of how artistic and scientific objectives integrate with each other.

Background: Concerns about metformin-associated lactic acidosis (MALA) prohibit the use of metformin in a large subset of diabetic patients, mostly in patients with chronic kidney disease. Increasing evidence suggests that the current safety regulations may be overly restrictive.

Objectives: To examine the association between chronic metformin treatment and lactate level in acute illness on the first day of admission to an internal medicine ward.

Methods: We compared diabetic and non-diabetic hospitalized patients treated or not treated with metformin in different sets of kidney function.

Results: A total of 140 patients participated in the study, 54 diabetic patients on chronic metformin treatment, 33 diabetic patients without metformin and 53 patients with no diabetes. Most participants were admitted for conditions that prohibit metformin use, such as heart failure, hypoxia and sepsis. Average lactate level was significantly higher in the diabetes + metformin group compared to the diabetes non-metformin group. Metformin treatment was not associated with higher than normal lactate level (hyperlactatemia) or low pH. No patient was hospitalized for lactic acidosis as the main diagnosis.

Conclusions: Chronic metformin treatment mildly increases lactate level, but does not induce hyperlactatemia or lactic acidosis in acute illness on the first day of admission to an internal medicine ward. These data support the expansion of metformin use.

Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) added to radiation therapy (RT) in intermediate to high risk prostate cancer negatively impacts quality of life. 

Objectives: To compare health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in patients receiving combined RT with and without ADT 

Methods: The study population comprised patients treated with definitive RT for prostate cancer who completed the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite-26 form between 3 and 24 months after completing RT. Covariance and a stepwise backward logistic regression model was used. 

Results: Data were available for 143 patients who received RT+ADT and 70 who received RT alone. The sexual function and hormonal vitality scores of patients receiving RT+ADT were significantly lower than those receiving RT alone (P < 0.0001). Patients with only compulsory school education had significantly lower sexual function scores than patients with university level education (P ≤ 0.005). Patients with depression had significantly lower hormonal vitality scores than those without depression (P ≤ 0.0001). 

Conclusions: The addition of ADT to RT is responsible for decrements in quality of life in the sexual and hormonal vitality domains, which is further compounded by lack of education and depression. This underlines the need to improve education, identify and treat depression, and develop strategies to improve the quality of life of patients receiving combination therapy. 

 

Background: Cannabis has been used throughout history for different purposes but was outlawed in the United States in 1937 followed by most countries. Although recently reintroduced as a medical treatment in several countries, the use of cannabis in Israel is permitted for some medical purposes but is still controversial, eliciting heated public and professional debate. The few published studies on physicians' attitudes to medical cannabis found them to be generally unsupportive. 

Objectives: To examine, for the first time, the experience, knowledge and attitudes of Israeli physicians towards medical cannabis (MC). 

Methods: A 32 item questionnaire reflected physicians' demographics, knowledge of and experience with MC and their attitudes to this treatment. 

Results: Seventy-two physicians participated in this study. Physicians generally agreed that MC treatment could be helpful for chronic and for terminally ill patients (n=61, 79.2%). Oncologists and pain specialists did not agree unanimously that MC can undermine mental health, whereas other physicians did (P < 0.001, df = 4). Physicians who recommended MC in the past (once or more) agreed more than physicians who did not with the statement "MC treatment in Israel is accessible to patients who need it" (P < 0.05, df = 2). 

Conclusions: In contrast to other studies we found partial acceptance of MC as a therapeutic agent. Further in-depth studies are needed to address regulatory and educational needs.

 

Abstract

Background: A single self-rated health (SRH) assessment is associated with clinical outcome and mortality, but the biological process linking SRH with immune status remains incompletely understood.

Objectives: To examine the association between SRH and inflammation in apparently healthy individuals.

Methods: Our analysis included 13,773 apparently healthy individuals attending the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center for periodic health examinations. Estimated marginal means of the inflammation-sensitive biomarkers [i.e., highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and fibrinogen] for the different SRH groups were calculated and adjusted for multiple potential confounders including risk factors, health behavior, socioeconomic status, and coexistent depression.

Results: The group with the lowest SRH had a significantly higher atherothrombotic profile and significantly higher concentrations of all inflammation-sensitive biomarkers in both genders. Hs-CRP was found to differ significantly between SRH groups in both genders even after gradual adjustments for all potential confounders. Fibrinogen differs significantly according to SRH in males only, with low absolute value differences.

Conclusions: A valid association exists for apparently healthy individuals of both genders between inflammation-sensitive biomarker levels and SRH categories, especially when comparing levels of hs-CRP. Our findings underscore the importance of assessing SRH and treating it like other markers of poor health.

Objectives: To evaluate the course and management of visual and pregnancy outcomes of consecutive pregnancies with IIH.

Methods: The medical records of women with IIH in consecutive pregnancies were reviewed for neuro-ophthalmological findings, management, and visual and pregnancy outcomes.

Results: The study group comprised eight women with at least two consecutive pregnancies (mean age 27.3 ± 5.3 years). The mean duration of IIH prior to the first pregnancy was 3.4 ± 3.16 years. One woman with IIH pre-pregnancy symptoms and three women with clinical features of IIH during the second trimester of pregnancy (gestational week 21.7 ± 4.04) were treated with acetazolamide (250 mg every 8 hours). Symptoms resolved, resulting in uncomplicated first deliveries for all four. The first deliveries of four other women were by cesarean section due to obstetric indications. Only one woman developed symptoms and signs of IIH during her second pregnancy and was thus treated with acetazolamide. Two women who completed three pregnancies had no IIH symptoms during their pregnancies. The course and outcome of those pregnancies were normal.

Conclusions: IIH apparently does not worsen or even become symptomatic in consecutive pregnancies. The appropriate management of IIH in pregnant women is similar to management for non-pregnant women; neither the course nor the obstetric outcome of first and consecutive pregnancies is influenced by the presence of IIH.

Background: The European Quality of Life 5-Dimensions questionnaire is one of the most commonly used measures of health-related quality of life.

Objectives: To present the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the Hebrew version of the EQ-5D[1].

Methods: We conducted face-to-face interviews with a representative sample (n=1666) of the Israeli Jewish population. The data collected included demographic and medical information, and self-valuation of health using the EQ-5D descriptive system, Visual Analogue Scale and Time Trade-Off. Construct validity was assessed by assuming that older individuals, those with a greater burden of diseases, and those reporting experience with their own severe illness would have lower EQ-5D indexes, VAS[2] and TTO[3] values. Test-retest reliability was assessed in a small sample (n=50) that was reevaluated after a 3 week interval.

Results: Test-retest reliability of the EQ-5D and VAS was very high (r ≥ 0.85). Reliability of the TTO was moderate (r = 0.48). There were significant differences in the EQ-5D index, profiles, VAS and TTO between healthy and sick respondents and younger and older respondents, indicating good validity of the instrument.

Conclusions: The Hebrew translation of the EQ-5D is a practical, reliable and valid instrument for assessing the health-related quality of life of the general Israeli Jewish population.

Chronic disease management has been a rapidly growing entity in the 21st century as a strategy for managing chronic illnesses in large populations. However, experience has shown that disease management programs have not been able to demonstrate their financial value. The objectives of disease management programs are to create quality benchmarks, such as principles and guidelines, and to establish a uniform set of metrics and a standardized methodology for evaluating them. In order to illuminate the essence of disease management and its components, as well as the complexity and the problematic nature of performing economic calculations of their profitability and value, we collected data from several reports that dealt with the economic intervention of disease management programs. The disease management economic evaluation is composed of a series of steps, including the following major categories: Data/information technology, information generation, assessment/recommendations, actionable customer plans, and program assessment/reassessment. We demonstrate the elements necessary for economic analysis. Disease management is one of the most innovative tools in the managed care environment and is still in the process of being defined. Therefore, objectives should include the creation of quality benchmarks, such as principles and guidelines, and the establishment of a uniform set of metrics and a standardized methodology for evaluating them.

Background: The introduction of more potent statins such as atorvastatin and rosuvastatin in Israel was accompanied by massive advertising about their superiority.

Objectives: To assess the need for switching therapy from older statins to more potent ones among diabetic patients with uncontrolled hypercholesterolemia.

Methods: Data on all diabetic patients over 30 years old attending two urban clinics were extracted and analyzed. For each patient we checked the last low density lipoprotein-cholesterol measurements for the year 2006, the brand and the dose of cholesterol-lowering medications, prescriptions and actual purchasing over a 4 month period prior to the last LDL-C[1] measurement, and whether treatment changes were necessary to achieve the LDL-C target (100 mg/dl or 70 mg/dl).

Results: The study population comprised 630 patients, age 66.7 ± 12.6 years, of whom 338 (53.6%) were women. Of the 533 (84.6%) patients whose LDL-C was measured in 2006, 45 (8.1%) had levels < 70 mg/dl and 184 (33.3%) had levels of 70 mg/dl < LDL-C < 100 m/dl.  The reasons for LDL-C > 100 mg/dl were patients not prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs (38.3%), partial compliance (27.2%), and under-dosage of statins (15.4%); only 7.7% needed to switch to a more potent statin. Reasons for LDL-C > 70 mg/dl were patients not prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs (34.3%), partial compliance (22.0%), and under-dosage of statins (26.6%); only 8.7% needed to switch to a more potent statin.

Conclusions: Only a small minority of diabetic patients with uncontrolled hypercholesterolemia need one of the potent statins as the next treatment step. More emphasis on compliance and dose adjustment is needed to achieve the target LDL-C level.