The University of Kansas Health System is treating a total of 63 COVID patients today, down from 70 Friday. One COVID patient died yesterday, bringing the total to 16 for March. Other significant numbers:
- 14 with the active virus today, 17 Friday
- 2 in ICU, 1 Friday
- 1 on ventilator, 0 Friday
- 49 hospitalized but out of acute infection phase, 53 Friday
Key points from today’s guests:
Dr. John Ashcraft, surgical oncologist
- Described Lynch Syndrome, an inherited form colon and colorectal cancer, which increases chance of the disease by 30 to 40%
- Know your family history and get screened if young people in your family have had colon cancer
- Signs to look for include bleeding, change in bowel movements, weight loss
- Avoid high fat and low fiber diet, too much red meat and high processed foods. Smoking, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle also play a part in colon cancer
Dr. Ajay Bansal, gastroenterologist
- Colon cancer usually takes many years to develop
- Colonoscopy is the gold standard for both diagnosing removing cancerous polyps in the colon
- The patient’s preparation the day before is vital for a successful procedure
- Procedure usually takes 10 to 20 minutes, unless signs of early cancer or a big polyp is found
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control
- Planning to schedule his colonoscopy soon
- Sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody, had FDA emergency use authorization pulled because it’s not effective against the BA 2 variant
- We all need to keep up with screenings, especially those we may have missed during the pandemic.
Tuesday, March 29 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. Spring is here and more of us back to outdoor running. And with the Boston Marathon just a few weeks away, it’s the unofficial start of marathon season, especially for student athletes. You’ll meet one young runner getting a leg up on his competition thanks to some pretty sophisticated 3D technology.
ATTENTION: media procedure for joining:
Zoom link: https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628
Telephone Zoom link: 1-312-626-6799, meeting ID: 782 897 8628
TVU Grid link: UoK_Health_SDI
Restream links: Facebook.com/kuhospital
YouTube.com/kuhospital
Send advance questions to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.
