Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a syndrome characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits.
VA OIG: Lack of Oversight Found in DO’s Sexual Abuse at Beckley VAMC
This is just the latest finding by the OIG that places blame for a recent criminal case on lack of VA oversight.
Adverse Health Outcomes Vary by Soldiers’ Specialized Combat Experiences
Experiencing combat during deployment has been associated with adverse health outcomes including mental health problems, sleep problems and alcohol misuse.
Psychologist Colleen Richardson Makes Sure VA Properly Cares for Caregivers
During her four years of active duty with the Navy, Colleen Richardson, PsyD, saw the immediate effects of trauma first-hand. In 2008, as the first woman Operational Stress Control and Readiness Provider embedded with the 1st Marine Division’s Regimental Combat Team, the clinical psychologist provided mental health care to servicemembers on the front lines in Iraq.
COVID-19 Telehealth Changes Improve VA Treatment for Opioid-Use Disorder
Implementing new policies during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced barriers to telehealth delivery of buprenorphine treatment for opioid-use disorder for veterans seeking care, a new study reports.
Marijuana Laws Linked to Increasing Cannabis-Use Disorder in Veterans
As laws and attitudes about marijuana use have been relaxed over the past two decades, the substance has become widely regarded by society as innocuous.
Survey: Post-9/11 Veterans More Likely to Exercise, Eat Right Than Civilians
BOSTON — Recent U.S. veterans reported similar or better outcomes than nonveterans when it comes to their health, vocational, financial and social well-being. That is in contrast to some earlier cohorts who had served in the military and lagged behind civilians in some domains.
Prior to PACT Act, VA Prematurely Denied Most Burn Pit Claims
With the passage of the PACT Act last month, Congress is demanding that VA put burn pit exposure at the forefront of its healthcare and benefits processes.
Colonoscopy Findings Can Offer Clues to Future Non-CRC Mortality
A new study from the Durham, NC, VAMC and Duke University argued that an opportunity to improve health status is being missed by focusing only on cancer screening.
Cancer Data Misleading When Asians Are Aggregated With Pacific Islanders
While federal guidelines have called for separating data for Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander individuals from data for Asian individuals, the cohorts often are aggregated or excluded completely in medical research, according to a new study.
Study Calls for Greater Use of Fecal Immunochemical Testing for CRC
Backlogs in high-volume gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures, such as colonoscopy occurred during the current COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the early days.
COVID-19 Could Be Especially Risky for Veterans With Sickle Cell Trait
The presence of sickle cell trait (SCT) should be considered an adverse prognostic factor for COVID-19, according to a new study.
More Needs to Be Done Despite VA’s ‘Vast’ Efforts to Improve COPD Outcomes
The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among veterans is estimated to be between 8% and 19%—significantly higher than in the general population
Airway Abnormalities in Post-9/11 Deployed Military Personnel Detected by Quantitative Imaging Analysis
Quantitative imaging analysis has been able to detect airway abnormalities in military personnel with persistent respiratory symptoms, offering a new, effective tool to diagnose and monitor patients with deployment-related lung disease, according to a recent study.
Pharmacogenomic Testing Had Positive Results for Major Depression Patients
Pharmacogenomic testing can help clinicians avoid prescribing antidepressant medications that might have undesirable outcomes.
Blood Sugars Higher for Flu Vaccine Recipients With Diabetes
The Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System, established by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has more than 350 reports of hyperglycemia post-influenza vaccine, according to a new study.
Elderly Veterans More Likely to Die from COVID-19 Than Flu
An often repeated misconception during the COVID-19 pandemic is that the Sars-C0V-2 and influenza viruses are similarly fatal for older adults, although there have been limited data to support that observation.
Hemorrhagic Mortality A Problem for APL Patients
Even though the rate of complete remission of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is currently more than 90% because of the use of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) with arsenic trioxide (ATO), hemorrhagic mortality has emerged as the most significant barrier to APL-induced remission, according to a new study.
Yellow Fever Vaccine Response Lower After Flu Vaccine
The DoD’s support of the United States government’s response to the Ebola crisis in Liberia, beginning in 2014‐2015, was the first U.S. military operation to support a disease‐driven foreign humanitarian assistance mission.
Clonal Hematopoiesis Does Not Predict Severe COVID-19
COVID-19 cases range dramatically from severity, from asymptomatic to self-limited influenza-like illness to severe respiratory failure or even death.
Pediatric ALL Survivors Have High Follow-Up Screening Rates in MHS
Does universal access to healthcare make any difference in health screening for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors?
New VA Therapy Reduces Pain, Disability, PTSD Symptoms Following TBI
Military servicemembers and veterans are at high risk for head injury compared with civilians. More than 369,000 U.S. veterans have at least one mild traumatic brain injury, and many report the onset or worsening of headache within three months of their injury.
Pain Associated With Gray-Matter Volume Differences in Gulf War Veterans
Gulf War veterans with chronic pain display changes in the volume of key areas of the brain, a finding that could explain why these veterans experience prolonged pain, according to a new study.
Despite Allergic-Type Reactions, Military Study Found Many Patients Can Tolerate Second Dose of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine
Although serious allergic reactions to mRNA vaccines are extremely rare, fear of them has driven hesitancy among some potential recipients. That especially has been the case when an adverse effect occurred after the first dose.
MHS Researchers Found Current Antibiotic Dosing Guidelines Adequate for Critically Ill Patients With Trauma, Burn
Critical illness caused by burn and sepsis doesn’t alter how the body processes piperacillin and tazobactam (pip-tazo), an antibiotic and beta-lactamase inhibitor drug combination
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Is Uncommon in Brains of Military Personnel
Military personnel exposed to attacks with high explosives frequently experience neuropsychiatric symptoms, including cognitive dysfunction, behavioral changes, mood disturbances and suicidality.
Low VHA COVID-19 Booster Rates Leave Veterans Vulnerable to Severe Cases
President Joe Biden, despite being 79 years old, had a mild case of COVID-19. The primary explanation for why he escaped severe symptoms is that he was not only vaccinated, but double-boosted.
SBRT Linked to Less Toxicity Than Limited Resection But More Fatigue
NEW YORK – For the estimated one-fourth of early-stage lung cancer patients not medically fit for lobectomy, limited resection and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) are seen as alternative treatments. “Given the equipoise on the effectiveness of the two...
Should USPSTF Lung Cancer Screening Recommendations Be Expanded?
WASHINGTON, DC – In 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended annual lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20-pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past...
Biomarkers Can Stratify outcomes in Some ICI-Treated NSCLC Patients
NEW HAVEN, CT – In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there are limited predictive biomarkers for anticancer immunotherapy. Proposed as candidate biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in patients with advanced NSCLC are tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes...
