Lexa W. Lee

During a follow-on session at the 2013 Southern Hospital Medicine Conference, Steven Cohn, MD, discussed the effect of PCI on subsequent non-cardiac surgery outcomes, monitoring specific hormone levels as indicators of cardiovascular risk, and other hot topics in perioperative medicine.

Presentation at the 2013 Southern Hospital Medicine Conference reviewed the clinical application of several key risk indices, including the Revised Cardiac Risk Index and the Vascular Study Group of New England Risk Index.

Hepatitis C, HIV, C. diff, and other infectious diseases can present complex clinical challenges in the hospital setting.

Endocrinologist Pavan Chava, DO, discusses available methods to prolong glycemic control in hospitalized diabetics while avoiding hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia.

In his presentation, George Therapondos, MD, a hepatologist at the Ochsner Medical Center, detailed how to manage inpatients with cirrhosis that progresses to liver failure and gastrointestinal bleeding.

Suma Jain, MD, a pulmonologist at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation, provides a clinical update on the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Primary prevention measures for upper GI bleeding should include NSAIDs, antiplatelet therapy, and anticoagulants appropriately, while secondary preventive measures should include testing and treating H. pylori and using long-term PPIs when appropriate.

Observing that atrial fibrillation (AF) is estimated to increase the risk of stroke fivefold, a cardiologist at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute discussed stroke reduction management by treating AF.

In his "Venous Thromboembolism: New Evidence and Best Practice" presentation, Steven Deitelzweig, MD, a hospitalist at Ochsner Medical Center, reviewed new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) used to treat venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Study results presented at the 2013 United States Conference on AIDS show that both combo drugs have a similar efficacy profile in ART-naïve patients, but patients treated with Complera reported fewer and less severe side effects.

Researchers found that overall cognitive performance was below average in a sample of patients with HIV who were referred for neurocognitive evaluation. Especially affected were areas involving memory, which can have a negative effect on treatment adherence.

Increased spending for treatment of HIV patients does not necessarily lead to a more positive clinical outcome, according to a new study presented at the 2013 United States Conference on AIDS.