Ochsner Medical Center

About: Ochsner Medical Center is a healthcare organization based out in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Heart failure. The organization has 980 authors who have published 1159 publications receiving 49961 citations. The organization is also known as: Ochsner Hospital & Ochsner Foundation Hospital.

Total abdominal colectomy is cost-effective in treating colorectal cancer in patients with genetically diagnosed Lynch Syndrome.

Abstract: Background Lynch syndrome (LS) has a 80% lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer and metachronous cancer. No studies have examined the quality adjusted life expectancy after SEG or TAC for LS patients, which this study was aiming for. If TAC offers a higher quality adjusted life year (QALY) to SEG in LS patients, preoperative diagnosis of LS is critical as it alters the recommended surgical procedure. Methods A Markov decision tree was constructed using Treeage software to compare QALY of LS patients following SEG or TAC. Probabilities, cost, and utility were obtained from literature. Cost-effectiveness analyses were performed. Results TAC dominates SEG as both the life-saving and cost-saving strategy. TAC dominated SEG on QALY (17.80 vs 17.13 QALY) for a cohort of LS patients diagnosed at an average of 30 year old and followed every 2 years after initial surgery. Conclusions We conclude that TAC as the primary surgical option for LS patients diagnosed with Stage I-III colon cancer is cost-effective. Further cost-effectiveness study is recommended to include extra-colonic malignancies in LS patients.

Implementing telestroke to reduce the burden of stroke in Louisiana.

Abstract: Cardiovascular diseases (heart diseases and stroke) are the leading cause of death in the United States. People living in rural areas have disproportionately high mortality rates due to stroke mainly due to lack of specialty services. Timely intervention is a critical factor in determining the prognosis for acute stroke and thousands of lives can be saved by recognizing/treating a stroke patient within an hour. This paper deals with telestroke, a unique intervention implemented in Louisiana that incorporated latest technology to integrate with advanced clinical protocols in treating acute stroke. People living in remote and rural areas of Louisiana were greatly benefited from this initiative and several lives saved as a result of timely intervention. Expanding these initiatives to larger populations and other states will greatly reduce the stroke mortality.

Characterization of HIV-Associated Hodgkin's Lymphoma in HIV-Infected Patients A Single-Center Experience

Abstract: IntroductionAlthough the incidence and prevalence of AIDS-defining malignancies has decreased in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the incidence and prevalence of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) in the HIV-infected population continues to rise. Compared with the general population, HIV-infected patients exhibit a 5-10-fold increased risk for developing HL.MethodsA retrospective review of charts and electronic records from 2000-2010 at the HIV outpatient clinic (HOP)-Louisiana State University in New Orleans was conducted, and pathologically confirmed cases of HIV-HL were identified within this cohort.ResultsWe found a prevalence of 6.3 cases per 1,000 patients per year of HIV-HL over a period of 10 years in our HIV outpatient clinic. The mean absolute CD4 count before treatment was 284 cells/mm3 and after treatment was 194 cells/mm3. The average time from the diagnosis of HIV infection to the diagnosis of HIV-HL was 7.6 years. The most common histopathologic type was mixed cellularity follo...