Despite efforts to control blood glucose levels in the hospital, an estimated one-fourth of hospitalized patients continue to experience hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia is linked to poor health outcomes ...including an increased risk of mortality, need for dialysis, infections, and length of stay. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) publishes clinical practice guidelines annually that provide evidence-based recommendations on all components of diabetes care, general treatment goals, and tools to evaluate the quality of care. Although previous recommendations discuss intensive blood glucose goals for hospitalized patients, updated guidelines suggest a more lenient approach to the management of hyperglycemia. According to the 2009 recommendations, blood glucose levels should be kept as close to 110 mg/dL as possible and generally less than 140 mg/dL. These stringent blood glucose targets were adopted based on the results of the study conducted by Van den Berghe et al. In 2010, the ADA released an updated position statement recommending that blood glucose levels be maintained between 140 and 180 mg/dL in critically ill patients based on the findings of the Normoglycemia in Intensive Care Evaluation-Survival Using Glucose Algorithm Regulation (NICE-SUGAR) trial. This article reviews the evidence supporting the updated guidelines for the management of hyperglycemia in the hospital setting. Additional updates to the 2013 recommendations are also discussed. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Investigators at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, Fla., are testing an innovative computer-based system designed to more accurately measure bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers. ...Accurate measurement of the wound, followed by optimal treatment, is key to preventing it from worsening. People with spinal-cord injuries (SCI) are at high risk for developing pressure ulcers because of immobility, a lack of sensation, moisture and other risk factors. Pressure ulcers are painful injuries to the skin and underlying tissue resulting from prolonged pressure on the skin. They most often develop on skin that covers bony areas of the body, such as the heels, ankles, hips and tailbone, and they can appear because of a lack of blood flow.
According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, "repeated blows can cause tau to misfold and change its shape. According to McKee, a huge research effort is underway to enable doctors to diagnose CTE ...in people who are still alive through blood tests, CT scans and MRIs, among other means.
