March 18, 1997
Health Source: Medical News from the University of Washington
DIURETICS AND BETA BLOCKERS SHOULD CONTINUE as first-line treatments for high blood pressure, according to conclusions of University of Washington researchers after analyzing a number of clinical trials. Dr. Bruce Psaty reports these treatments have proved to be both safe and effective, providing support of current national guidelines. Psaty notes that while many experts may favor new agents, including ACE inhibitors and calcium-channel blockers, these have not been evaluated in large clinical trials for ability to prevent stroke and heart disease.
A WINNEBAGO USED FOR RESEARCH, NOT LEISURE, IS allowing for on-site chemical exposure evaluation. Researchers at the University of Washington Department of Environmental Health and the Center for Chemically Related Illness at Harborview Occupational Medicine Clinic are using a mobile lab to conduct worker evaluations for research projects and assist at job sites where chemical exposure has occurred. Dr. Noah Seixas is currently using the lab for a study of hard-metal lung disease, performing on-site lung function tests on industrial workers to help characterize workers’ risk of occupational lung disease.
A NEW TREATMENT FOR MEN WITH URINARY PROBLEMS resulting from an enlarged prostate may prove an attractive option. Trans-urethral needle ablation (TUNA) involves the use of heat to shrink the tissue of the prostate. The outpatient procedure is less painful and less invasive than standard surgery, said Dr. William Ellis, a urologist at University of Washington Medical Center, where TUNA procedures are being performed. Millions of older men suffer from the effects of an enlarged prostate gland, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia.
TO HELP PROTECT AGAINST ENDOMETRIAL CANCER, women who take estrogen replacement therapy should also take progestin at least 10 days a month, say University of Washington researchers. A study of nearly 2,000 women found that those who took estrogen without also taking progestin had a four-fold increase in risk of endometrial cancer compared to those who had never taken hormone replacement therapy or had taken it for less than six months. Dr. Shirley Beresford, associate professor of epidemiology, said the increased risk seems to greatly depend on how many days a month progestin was taken.
HELPING PARENTS COPE WITH THE VIOLENT DEATH of an adolescent or young adult child was the focus of a recently completed controlled study at the University of Washington School of Nursing. The five-year intervention study included a series of weekly informational and support group sessions. Dr. Shirley Murphy said that while results are still being analyzed, initial reports indicate that mothers had a significant decrease in mental distress and trauma symptoms immediately following the program. Fathers did not show significant improvement.
NEW STAT NURSES PROVIDE ON-CALL CRITICAL CARE at University of Washington Medical Center. Roaming the hospital equipped with patient monitoring equipment, STAT nurses can be summoned to help stabilize patients, provide assistance to nurses with heavy patient loads, or offer other needed services. Started as a pilot project, the STAT Nurse program has been successful in helping to deal with increases in unplanned admissions and the growing number of more complex patients on nursing units, said Sherri Del Bene, UWMC nurse manager for cardiothoracic critical care.
