While VA has long considered itself a provider of world-class prosthetics care, younger veterans are reporting that the department has yet to adapt to a more active patient population.
Prediction of Patient Outcomes After Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
Serum cytokines, neuronal proteins and clinical data can be used to predict vasospasm and early mortality in patients with severe traumatic brain injury, according to a recent study.
VARA Registry Seeks to Improve the Lives of Veterans With Rheumatoid Arthritis
New findings concerning the risk of interstitial lung disease in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and how body composition and metabolic dysregulation are tied to RA and inflammation were among the highlights of research presented at the 20th Annual Fall Meeting of the VA Rheumatoid Arthritis (VARA) Registry held in September.
Higher CVD Events in Older Adults Undergoing Chemotherapy, With Certain Cancers
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a greater risk for cancer survivors because of either their malignancy or its treatment.
Sexual Orientation Affects Prevalence of Atherosclerotic CVD in Veterans
Sexual orientation appears to have some unexplained effect on cardiovascular health, according to a new study.
Prescribing of Antihypertensives Not Always Guideline Concordant at VHA
While more than half of U.S. veterans diagnosed with hypertension with a pretreatment systolic BP ≥160 mm Hg were started on antihypertensive monotherapy, disparities existed between guideline-recommended first-line treatments and the actual regimens initiated, according to a new study.
Higher Psychosocial Well-Being at Time of Trauma Reduces PTSD Risk
Victims of traumatic events with higher well-being in three areas—vocational well-being, financial well-being and social well-being—are less likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a recent study.
VA Overtreats Prostate Cancer in Veterans with Limited Life Expectancy
Overtreatment, especially with radiotherapy, has increased for veterans with limited life expectancy and intermediate-risk or high-risk prostate cancer, according to a new study.
Understanding Long-Term Surgical Outcomes Can Help Ensure Treatments Align With Patient Priorities
Surgical outcome studies often focus on mortality, complications or hospital readmissions. While such outcomes are important, they don’t always align with matters most to older patients, particularly those nearing the end of life.
Audit, Feedback Increase HF Medication Management by VA Pharmacists
Giving more active feedback to primary care pharmacists about their heart failure patients led to more interactions and a greater number of medication adjustments, according to a presentation at a recent conference.
Hearing Loss Linked to Parkinson’s Disease; Hearing Aids Help Offset Risk
A complex and progressive neurological disorder, Parkinson’s disease (PD) has been diagnosed in more than a million Americans and disproportionately impacts veterans.
Operator of Fraudulent Pain Clinics Took Advantage of Veterans, Servicemembers, Others; Sentencing Scheduled for February
Michael Kestner, the owner and operator of medical clinics in Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina, was convicted last month in federal court of fraudulently billing Medicare and TRICARE for $35 million in unnecessary opioid injections.
Understanding the Underuse of Mental Healthcare by U.S. Servicemembers
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are common mental health conditions among U.S. servicemembers, yet only a fraction of those affected pursue mental healthcare services. An even smaller proportion receive adequate levels of care.
Veterans With HIV Tended to Have CVD Events Earlier Than Those Without
HIV patients have an increased atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability, making them more susceptible to severe cardiovascular complications, according to previous research.
Use of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Too Low in Women Veterans
HIV remains a persistent health concern in the United States, with more than 36,000 new diagnoses in 2021, according to a new study noting that HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is recommended for those at increased risk for infection.
Schizophrenia, Antipsychotics Raised Dementia Risks in Veterans With HIV
A new study raised alarms about the association between dementia risks in HIV patients with schizophrenia and the use of off-label antipsychotics.
Military Health System Multiple Myeloma Patients Survive Longer
Military Health System (MHS) beneficiaries with multiple myeloma have longer 5- and 10-year survival rates compared to multiple myeloma patients from the U.S. general population, according to a recent study.
Veterans Study Found Positive Sotorasib Results Similar to CodeBreak Trials
Three years ago, based on the CodeBreak100 trial, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to the KRAS G12C inhibitor sotorasib for treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer in the second line or later.
Limited Information on Breast Cancer Risk After Military Exposures
A long list of health effects have been attributed to military environmental exposures (MEE) such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), tactile herbicides, airborne hazards and open burn pits (AHOBP) and depleted uranium.
House Coronavirus Committee Held Its Last Meeting in November
Next month marks the 5-year anniversary of the first case of COVID-19 reported in the United States. Since then, more than 110 million Americans have been infected, and 1.2 million have died.
Medications Can Cause Falls, Related Adverse Outcomes in COPD Patients
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the sixth-most-common cause of death in the United States, but the link between medications and a greater risk of morbidity and mortality in those patients is not well known, according to a new report.
Did VA ‘Cry Wolf’ About Budget Shortfall? Legislators Claim It Did
Legislators are accusing VA of crying wolf after a recent budget update revealed that the department did not need $3 billion in supplemental benefits funding after all and that it might not be facing a healthcare funding shortfall next year, either.
Chronic Ill Health Remains an Issue for Many Gulf War Veterans
For many veterans who served during the 1990-1991 Gulf War era, Gulf War Illness (GWI) and chronic ill health have lasting effects nearly 30 years later, according to a recent study.
How Will the Trump Administration Alter VA Operations? Some Pundits Say to Look at Project 2025 Proposals
As President-elect Donald Trump gathers his Cabinet and prepares to take office for the second time, questions remain about how this new administration will attempt to transform government agencies, including VA.
Suicide Rates Continue to Rise, Especially for Active-Duty U.S. Servicemembers
Suicide deaths per 100,000 servicemembers were 9% higher in 2023 than in 2022, according to a report from the DoD, which advises that 523 servicemembers took their own lives last year.
Reducing Patient Anxiety Caused by ‘Active Surveillance’ of Low-Risk Cancer
In patients with low-risk cancers undergoing active surveillance, the medical field needs to help manage the anxiety caused by waiting, according to a recent study.
Mary Jo Pugh Spearheads Research Into TBI Link to Heart Issues
As an investigator at the Informatics, Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences Center of Innovation (IDEAS COIN) at the Salt Lake City VA, the longitudinal studies that Mary Jo Pugh, PhD, RN, has helped build during her 25-year career have demonstrated that traumatic brain injury (TBI) greatly increases a patient’s risk for a host of comorbidities, most notably chronic cardiovascular disease.
Federal Medicine’s Role in Uncovering How the Epstein-Barr Virus Relates to MS
We interviewed Lynn Levin, MD, formerly of the Department of Epidemiology, Division of Preventive Medicine, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, about the research that led to the discovery of the crucial role of the Epstein-Barr virus in the development of multiple sclerosis and several other autoimmune disorders.
To Care for Him Who Shall Have Borne the Battle and for His Widow, and His Orphan.
During my many career visits to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) building on 810 Vermont Ave. NW, Washington, DC, I have been greeted in the main lobby by Lincoln’s mission statement for the VA. Few governmental agency taskings have been stated more eloquently and succinctly. It would take another 65 years before the modern VA was created, on July 21, 1930, when Hoover signed Executive Order 5398. Lincoln’s call for the American people to pay their debt to those who defend the Constitution remains a primary responsibility of our democracy
Photophobia After Mild TBI Often Declines in Servicemembers After 30 Days
After a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), military servicemembers who suffer from photophobia, a symptom of visual discomfort in response to normal light levels, often show a decline in photophobia within 30 days of the injury, according to a recent study.
