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Research Team Formally Develops Quality Indicators To Assess Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
A groundbreaking study released today in the June 9 Journal of the National Cancer Institute reports on a set of expert consensus-based quality indicators to evaluate pancreatic cancer care across the United States. The research team not only discerned noticeable variances in treatment outcomes, but they were also able to use these new quality indicators to evaluate and identify areas for improvement.
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Food And Drug Administration Moves Towards Greater Openness
The Food and Drug Administration is taking steps towards greater openness. The Associated Press reports that FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg "announced Tuesday she has created a task force to make recommendations on how the agency can release more information in such areas as drug evaluation and enforcement matters. She wants a report in six months." Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein will head the task force, which will represent all of the FDA"s major divisions as well as its law enforcement branch. It will hold two public meetings with the first on June 24. "The FDA has long operated under strict confidentiality rules," the AP reports, and in opening up information, one sensitive issue will be what to do with unpublished clinical trial data from drug manufacturers. Despite such concerns, "Hamburg said she believes the need for secrecy may have been taken too far, and is harming the FDA"s credibility within the medical community and among consumers" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/2).
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Obama Readies Stronger Hand On Health Reform, Plans Meetings With Players
The next two weeks of a health reform fight may prove pivotal for President Barack Obama"s image and his ability to use his popularity to get things done, The Washington Post reports.
Public Health

Vertebroplasty For Fractures

Published recently is a study investigating the use of percutaneous vertebroplasty as a treatment for osteoporotic compression fractures. Vertebral compression fractures are a common complication of osteoporosis and can cause extreme pain and limit movement. Type-II fractures are often resistant to non-operative treatments and therefore the authors wanted to investigate percutaneous vertebroplasty as a pain management technique in these cases. Percutaneous vertebroplasty involves injection of acrylic bone into the fractured vertebra, but its long term effects of use on quality of life have to be determined. Thus, this study investigated reduction in pain and quality of life score, first in the short term (ò‰¤12 months) and then in the long term (36 months). The results demonstrated that patients achieved an "immediate, significant and lasting reduction in the average and worst back pain". In addition, a comparison of the pre- and post-vertebroplasty scores showed "a significant and clinically relevant increase in six of eight domains and both summary scores". Therefore, the authors conclude that not only did the "intensity, frequency and duration of back pain decrease", but there was also an improvement in overall physical and mental health after percutaneous vertebroplasty. However, the decision as to whether to undertake this treatment "should be made carefully and according to the risks and potential benefit for each patient". Read the full text article. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery


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