I thought I should take the time to tell you just how to fill out a quick, 5 minute RateADrug.com survey on any medication you have taken in your medical history. There are several quick links on the right margin of the blog. The medications listed are all relevant to trauma and recovery.
To take a survey for a medication not listed on the side, follow these easy instructions:
1. Please go to http://rateadrug.com/Default.aspx
2. In the blue box, type in/select a medication you've taken at some time in your life to take the survey.
3. Answer the questions and submit. Write a detailed comment if you can.
4. On the confirmation page, select "PPREP Student Intern" from the drop down menu.
5. Type in "kimn" as the alias and submit!
You can take as many surveys as you want, for any medication.
Thanks so much for the help! I really appreciate it. You'll be hearing from me soon!
Friday, June 25, 2010
New Medication Provides Hope
Being a Nutrition/Pre-Pharmacy student at the University of Arizona, I am always interested in reading about new medications that are coming into use in the world of trauma and recovery. I am fascinated with the idea that humans can engineer and manufacture drugs and treatments to cure the illnesses in the world.
Very recently, a medication called tranexamic acid, or TXA, has been the topic of much excitement and optimism in the world of pharmaceuticals and trauma care. It is able to reduce the chances of bleeding to death by an entire 15%, a highly impressive statistic.
A fact that stands out most to me is that TXA is cheap and easy to make. It is not common that new advances in medicine are cost efficient. Furthermore, researchers' fears of side effects such as blood clots, strokes, or heart attacks are dissipated by the knowledge that none of these issues have been found in their study. For now, TXA doesn't seem to have a downside and hopefully, it stays that way for trauma patients. Imagine the possibilities!
I am hoping to hear more about the medication as new research is made. Discoveries like these make me excited to pursue a career in Pharmacy.
Read the full article at: http://cbs3.com/health/life.saving.medications.2.1753119.html
Very recently, a medication called tranexamic acid, or TXA, has been the topic of much excitement and optimism in the world of pharmaceuticals and trauma care. It is able to reduce the chances of bleeding to death by an entire 15%, a highly impressive statistic.
A fact that stands out most to me is that TXA is cheap and easy to make. It is not common that new advances in medicine are cost efficient. Furthermore, researchers' fears of side effects such as blood clots, strokes, or heart attacks are dissipated by the knowledge that none of these issues have been found in their study. For now, TXA doesn't seem to have a downside and hopefully, it stays that way for trauma patients. Imagine the possibilities!
I am hoping to hear more about the medication as new research is made. Discoveries like these make me excited to pursue a career in Pharmacy.
Read the full article at: http://cbs3.com/health/life.saving.medications.2.1753119.html
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Interesting Article from ScienceDaily.com
I stumbled upon this article online and thought it was worth sharing. It's clear that trauma affects people in a great deal of ways. It is important for those patients to be well-educated and offered all the resources that could help them.
"Uninsured More Likely to Die from Trauma Than Patients With Insurance, Study Finds
ScienceDaily (June 14, 2010) — Trauma patients without insurance are more likely to die of their injuries from auto accidents and gunshot wounds than privately insured patients with similar injuries, according to findings of an analysis of 193,804 patients from 649 facilities conducted by University Buffalo emergency medicine physicians.
In addition, the authors found that Medicaid patients who were injured in motor vehicle accidents had a lower death rate than those with private insurance, indicating that factors other than the level of financial remuneration for medical services are influencing trauma outcomes.
Patients covered by any of the insurance plans studied -- Medicaid, Medicare, private and managed care organizations such as HMOs -- had better mortality rates for all injuries than persons without insurance, the analysis showed.
Results of the study were presented June 4 at the 2010 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.
Dietrich Jehle, MD, UB professor of emergency medicine and first author on the study, says these findings suggest that the causes of this difference are many and probably are not based just on quality of care.
"Generally we don't know a trauma patient's insurance status when we treat them initially in the emergency department, which makes us ask if there are differences in these populations other than the delivery of care," says Jehle. "This finding was a little surprising.
"Both race and insurance status are independent predictors of mortality rates for trauma outcomes, and of the two, insurance status, specifically lack of coverage, is the most significant," he continues. "This is not unexpected, since uninsured adult patients in general have a 25 percent greater morality rate than insured adults for all medical conditions."
Lack of insurance could influence mortality in a number of ways, notes Jehle. With no way to pay for care, persons may delay getting treatment. Those without insurance frequently are from ethnic groups who face language or literacy problems, and may be afraid to go to a hospital.
Other factors could include differences in risk-taking behaviors. Studies have shown a relationship between not wearing seat belts and lack of health insurance, and that the uninsured are likely to drive older, less safe vehicles.
In addition, says Jehle, people without insurance have poorer health status in general, which would lessen their ability to survive a traumatic injury, and they often are treated differently. "Research shows that, for other than trauma injuries, the uninsured may actually receive less aggressive treatment and fewer diagnostic procedures," he says.
Universal health coverage could change these statistics, Jehle says. "For instance, there would be no need for patients to delay treatment with universal health coverage, and such coverage could improve the overall health status of injury victims and increase their survival rates."
The study data was extracted from the National Trauma Data Bank for 2001-05. The researchers concentrated on patients between the ages of 18 and 30 to eliminate those more likely to have chronic health conditions, leaving 191,666 patients in the analysis with complete data, including 150,332 blunt trauma patients and 41,334 penetrating trauma patients.
Blunt trauma patients were most commonly in motor vehicle accidents, with smaller subgroups of patients with falls or assaults. The penetrating trauma patients included all gunshot wounds, plus small subgroups of injuries from stabbings.
"If health care reform progresses," says Dietrich, "it would be interesting to revisit these findings."
Kris Attwood, a UB biostatistics graduate student, and Seth Gemme, a UB medical student, also contributed to the study."
Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100611123844.htm
"Uninsured More Likely to Die from Trauma Than Patients With Insurance, Study Finds
ScienceDaily (June 14, 2010) — Trauma patients without insurance are more likely to die of their injuries from auto accidents and gunshot wounds than privately insured patients with similar injuries, according to findings of an analysis of 193,804 patients from 649 facilities conducted by University Buffalo emergency medicine physicians.
In addition, the authors found that Medicaid patients who were injured in motor vehicle accidents had a lower death rate than those with private insurance, indicating that factors other than the level of financial remuneration for medical services are influencing trauma outcomes.
Patients covered by any of the insurance plans studied -- Medicaid, Medicare, private and managed care organizations such as HMOs -- had better mortality rates for all injuries than persons without insurance, the analysis showed.
Results of the study were presented June 4 at the 2010 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.
Dietrich Jehle, MD, UB professor of emergency medicine and first author on the study, says these findings suggest that the causes of this difference are many and probably are not based just on quality of care.
"Generally we don't know a trauma patient's insurance status when we treat them initially in the emergency department, which makes us ask if there are differences in these populations other than the delivery of care," says Jehle. "This finding was a little surprising.
"Both race and insurance status are independent predictors of mortality rates for trauma outcomes, and of the two, insurance status, specifically lack of coverage, is the most significant," he continues. "This is not unexpected, since uninsured adult patients in general have a 25 percent greater morality rate than insured adults for all medical conditions."
Lack of insurance could influence mortality in a number of ways, notes Jehle. With no way to pay for care, persons may delay getting treatment. Those without insurance frequently are from ethnic groups who face language or literacy problems, and may be afraid to go to a hospital.
Other factors could include differences in risk-taking behaviors. Studies have shown a relationship between not wearing seat belts and lack of health insurance, and that the uninsured are likely to drive older, less safe vehicles.
In addition, says Jehle, people without insurance have poorer health status in general, which would lessen their ability to survive a traumatic injury, and they often are treated differently. "Research shows that, for other than trauma injuries, the uninsured may actually receive less aggressive treatment and fewer diagnostic procedures," he says.
Universal health coverage could change these statistics, Jehle says. "For instance, there would be no need for patients to delay treatment with universal health coverage, and such coverage could improve the overall health status of injury victims and increase their survival rates."
The study data was extracted from the National Trauma Data Bank for 2001-05. The researchers concentrated on patients between the ages of 18 and 30 to eliminate those more likely to have chronic health conditions, leaving 191,666 patients in the analysis with complete data, including 150,332 blunt trauma patients and 41,334 penetrating trauma patients.
Blunt trauma patients were most commonly in motor vehicle accidents, with smaller subgroups of patients with falls or assaults. The penetrating trauma patients included all gunshot wounds, plus small subgroups of injuries from stabbings.
"If health care reform progresses," says Dietrich, "it would be interesting to revisit these findings."
Kris Attwood, a UB biostatistics graduate student, and Seth Gemme, a UB medical student, also contributed to the study."
Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100611123844.htm
Let's start with the basics: Trauma, Recovery, & RateADrug.com
Trauma is, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "1. an injury (as a wound) to living tissue caused by an extrinsic agent 2. a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury 3. an emotional upset, the personal trauma of an executive who is not living up to his own expectations." For others, trauma cannot be defined. It is an immensely personal experience that each sufferer comes into and experiences differently. For most, there are feelings of depression, anxiety, lack of power, loneliness, and helplessness. There are several symptoms and disorders that may follow a significant trauma.
There are several events that can cause trauma, including assault, rape, transportation accidents, natural disasters, war, prison, and many other kinds of physical, emotional, or psychological abuses and violence. These can all be life-changing situations that causes a person to change their personality, living habits, location, relationships with others, and all other aspects of normal life. With advances in supportive treatments and medications, trauma sufferers are able to regain the lives they once had and live happily and healthily.
This blog is dedicated to the causes, symptoms, medications, treatments, resources, and news pertaining to trauma and recovery, in conjunction with RateADrug.com. The free, online database contains a wealth of information on the effectiveness and side effects of several medications, including those used by trauma patients. The easy, quick surveys offered by RateADrug.com allow users to contribute to the site by sharing their experiences and opinions about drugs with other users. Keep reading this blog as it gets updated to learn more about trauma and recovery. There is a lot more information to be made available.
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