June 4, 1997
Contact: Mike OÏ€Hara
507-284-9522 (days) 507-284-2511 (evenings)
e-mail: [email protected]
For Immediate Release
ROCHESTER, MINN. ã Following are brief reports on some recent Mayo studies: Study Shows Preoperative Testing Not Necessary for Healthy Patients
Preoperative testing is not necessary for healthy surgical patients, reports a Mayo study published in the June issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Researchers studied a sample of medical records of Mayo patients who had no laboratory tests performed within 90 days before surgery. All of the 1,044 patients followed underwent anesthesia and surgery successfully and without incident. The study concludes that a patientπs history and an examination are sufficient preoperative assessment for healthy patients.
≥Many hospitals perform routine laboratory screening tests prior to surgery. Our study shows that patients who are evaluated and determined to be healthy without laboratory tests can safely undergo anesthesia and surgery,≤ says Mayo anesthesiologist Bradly Narr, chief author of the study. ≥Intraoperative testing can be used to react to surgical events if they arise.≤
People with Arthritis Have Higher Medical Care Costs
Medical care costs of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) are two to three times higher than those of people without arthritis, according to a Mayo Clinic analysis. Analyzing the medical records of people in Olmsted County, Minnesota (where Mayo Clinic Rochester is located), researchers found that the average annual medical charges were:
person with RA $3,802
person with OA $2,655
Non arthritic $1,388
The study found that RA and OA patients received more care not just for their musculoskeletal problems but also for numerous other conditions including respiratory, heart, gastrointestinal and psychiatric. People with arthritis also had more charges for procedures, hospital care, imaging studies, physician services, laboratory tests and prescription drugs. The study appeared in a recent issue of The Journal of Rheumatology. ≥We were surprised by how high the costs for care were for people with osteoarthritis,≤ says Dr. Sherine Gabriel, lead author of the study. OA is a common joint disease that affects virtually everyone as they get older.
Longer Needles Needed for Delivering Vaccines
Longer needles are needed to ensure that immunizations are effective in many people, say Mayo vaccine researchers in the June 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Many vaccines are meant to be injected into the muscle of the upper arm (the deltoid). But after ultrasound studies of the amount of deltoid fat on 220 people coming for immunizations, the researchers found that the standard 5/8-inch needle used for immunizations would not have reached the muscle in 48 percent of women and 17 percent of men. They conclude that 1 to 1.5-inch needles are needed for heavier people. They point out that injecting vaccines into fat instead of muscle results in more vaccine failures and also is more painful, since fat has more nerve fibers than muscle.
Enema May be Better Nicotine Delivery System for Ulcerative Colitis Patients
Several studies have shown that many patientsπ ulcerative colitis is improved by treatment with nicotine, delivered via a patch. But side effects are a significant problem for most of the patients. A study by researchers in Britain and Mayo Clinic reports that a nicotine enema may offer a better treatment alternative.
In tests on 16 volunteers, the researchers found that the enema delivered large quantities of nicotine directly to the site of the disease. Nicotine levels in the blood, the source of side effects, were only slightly elevated using the enema. The therapeutic effects of the enema system are now being tested. The report appeared in the March issue of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
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