Harvard Health Content API

Fewer than 1 out of 10 nosebleeds that don’t stop at home require the most extreme treatments at the hospital, a study finds. The study used hospital data on more than 57,000 patients who were treated for nosebleeds. All occurred without any known cause. Hospital staff stopped the bleeding in about 38% of the cases with little treatment. Another 53% were treated either by stuffing the nose with cotton or by cutting off the bleeding vessel (cauterizing) with heat, electricity or chemicals. Nearly 5% had surgery to tie off the blood vessel. Another 3% had embolization. This procedure plugs the blood vessel with a sealant. These two treatments cost more and have more risks than the others. About 1.3% of those who had surgery died. That was twice the death rate of nasal packing. Strokes occurred in 1.5% of those who had embolization. Almost all nosebleeds can be stopped at home.

A drug long used for gout may also be an effective first treatment for pericarditis, a study finds. The drug, colchicine, also may help to prevent the condition from coming back. Pericarditis is an inflammation of the lining around the heart. Colchicine (Colcrys) reduces inflammation. However, it usually is not used as a first treatment for pericarditis. The study included 240 people with pericarditis. Everyone received standard treatment with aspirin or ibuprofen for 3 months. People were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group also received colchicine. The other group received look-alike placebo (fake) pills. After treatment, 83% of those who took colchicine improved and didn’t have a return of symptoms. Only 63% of the placebo group had this positive result. The colchicine group also had quicker relief of symptoms. And they were less likely to end up in the hospital.

Many doctors are ignoring guidelines to steer clear of PSA testing for older men, says a study. Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston reviewed Medicare records for more than 61,000 patients and more than 2,000 doctors. More than 40% of men ages 75 and older had prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests, which screen for prostate cancer. None of these men had a history of prostate cancer. The researchers found that certain doctors ordered the test more than 10 times as often as other doctors did. The PSA test is not recommended for men ages 75 and older, because most prostate cancers grow so slowly that men this age would die of another cause before the cancer became a threat. The researchers also note that diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer in elderly men can carry health risks.