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Showing posts from March, 2022

Dementia: problem, risks, effects, and management

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I had met my classmate around 4 months back and informed her also about my mom's death. But in a recent email, she wrote to me that I had met her a couple of years back. She also enquired about my mom. Seeing her email, the first thought that came to my mind was: is she suffering from early dementia. I hope not. Maybe, she just forgot about the time that I had met her a few months back. Maybe because it was a hurried and surprise visit.  Nonetheless, dementia is on the rise. It affects people after 60 years of age. The increased life expectancy means that one will see more of such cases in the near future.  India has around 10 million dementia cases out of the world total of 57 million. This is a huge percentage. It affects not only an individual but the whole family. There is this individual who is physically okay but mentally absent. The person needs custodial care and it could turn out to be expensive. It is also emotionally disturbing to see your loved one in that state of...

Female surgeons operate with better outcomes in female patients compared to male surgeons

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 A peer-reviewed article published last December in an academic medical journal JAMA Surgery states that women patients are safer in female surgeon's hands compared to the male surgeon's hands. Women operated by a male surgeon have more chances of adverse events compared to those in whom female surgeons have operated.  Large sample sized research on surgery and gender of surgeons Researchers from the USA and Canada analyzed the data of surgery on a large number of patients of the two nations. 1.3 million records of operated patients from Ontario, Canada between 2007 and 2019 were subjected to a detailed study. 2,397 surgeons had operated on them. Their analysis revealed that female patients on whom male surgeons operated had 15% higher chances of worse outcomes compared to those on whom female surgeons operated.  These women had 32% greater chance of dying. Major complications occurred 16% more in these patients and 11% rise in readmissions for surgery-related complicatio...