Contributions
Racism, Sickle Cell Anemia, and Maternal Morbidity
Although the effects of sickle cell anemia (SCA) on pregnancy have been outlined in past studies, this study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, describes the impact that race has on severe maternal morbidity during delivery in individuals with SCA. The study relied on National Inpatient Sample data from 2007 to 2013. The...
Cognitive Deficits and Sickle Cell Disease
Cognitive impairment is a complication of sickle cell disease (SCD) that can severely impact patients’ lives. However, research in this area is lacking. This study, published in Blood, compared the cognitive function of patients with SCD to that of a healthy control group. Patients with mild to severe SCD were recruited from the University of Pittsburgh Medical...
Chatbot Supports Patients With Sickle Cell Disease
As patients with sickle cell disease age, they face comorbidities of pain and multiple organ damage. Preventive and comprehensive care for these patients is often disparate due to a lack of providers who are knowledgeable about the disease, mistrust and stigmatization of those with the disease, and other barriers to care. As a result, adults...
Managing Sickle Cell Disease Complications
Sickle cell disease can lead to multiple health complications and an increased risk of death. Of these complications, acute chest syndrome is the top cause of mortality, and the complication providers are most familiar with. Due to health advances, patients with sickle cell disease are living longer, meaning more patients are experiencing these health complications...
Deficits in Cancer Screening at Most Facilities During Pandemic
Most accredited cancer programs in the United States reported a decline in cancer screening during the pandemic, most notably in colorectal cancer, according to a study published in Cancer. Rachel H. Joung, M.D., from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues conducted a prospective, national quality improvement study involving 748 accredited cancer...
Missed Cancer Screenings During Pandemic Could Raise Death Rate for Years
The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic kept millions of Americans away from routine cancer screenings. Now a new study finds that many U.S. screening programs were still not back to normal by 2021. The study of more than 700 cancer facilities nationwide found that in January 2021 — a year after COVID’s emergence in...
COVID-19 Led to Dangerous Delays in Care for Women With Gynecologic Cancers
A COVID-19 diagnosis can lead to potentially life-threatening treatment delays for women with gynecological cancers, a new study finds. That’s especially true for non-white patients, the researchers said. “We found that concurrent COVID-19 had significant negative effects on these cancer patients, especially among those who identified as Black or Asian,” said study leader Dr. Gretchen...
HPV Vaccination May Be Cutting Cervical Cancer Rates
The recent decrease in the incidence of cervical cancers, particularly in young women, may be associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination approval, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Cheng-I Liao, M.D., from the Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan, and colleagues examined the association between vaccination availability and the incidence of HPV-attributable cancers....
HPV-Associated Cancer Incidence Starting to Increase
The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers is beginning to increase, with greater increases seen in the lowest-income counties and counties with high smoking prevalence, according to research published in the April issue of JNCI Cancer Spectrum. Yueh-Yun Lin, from the UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston, and colleagues used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End...