Sharon Worcester is an award-winning medical journalist for MDedge News. She has been with the company since 1996, first as the Southeast Bureau Chief (1996-2009) when the company was known as International Medical News Group, then as a freelance writer (2010-2015) before returning as a reporter in 2015. She previously worked as a daily newspaper reporter covering health and local government. Sharon currently reports primarily on oncology and hematology. She has a BA from Eckerd College and an MA in Mass Communication/Print Journalism from the University of Florida. Connect with her via LinkedIn and follow her on twitter @SW_MedReporter.
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Perform biopsy in non-healing ulcers
Most ulcers seen in the clinic setting are venous, arterial, or neuropathic, but about 10% are tied to “more unusual causes” and require biopsy....
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Skin rash in recent traveler? Think dengue fever
Maintain clinical suspicion for dengue fever among individuals with recent travel to endemic areas who present with a rash and other signs and...
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Transfers to tertiary acute care surgery service point to shortage of rural general surgeons
Key clinical point: Transfer of patients to a tertiary facility and acute care surgery service who require basic surgical procedures or no...
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Weight loss may improve fertility in anovulatory obese women
HELSINKI – A 6-month lifestyle intervention was associated with an increased natural conception rate in infertile anovulatory obese women,...
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Threatened miscarriage diagnosis increases risk for other poor outcomes
HELSINKI, FINLAND – Women with threatened miscarriage early in pregnancy are at increased risk of developing complications that can contribute to...
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Jury still out on value of r-HGH with IVF
HELSINKI, FINLAND – Recombinant human growth hormone, or r-HGH, offered no advantage over placebo with respect to improving the live birth rate...
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Study shows no benefit with brief immobilization after IUI
HELSINKI, FINLAND – A brief period of immobilization after intrauterine insemination did not improve pregnancy rates, and was actually associated...
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Low serum AMH level does not predict clinical pregnancy after ICSI
Serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels do not predict clinical pregnancy in women undergoing ICSI, according to findings from a retrospective cohort...
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Most women conceive within 5 years of starting fertility treatment
HELSINKI, FINLAND – The overall birth rate within 5 years of initiating fertility treatment with homologous gametes was 71% among nearly 20,000...
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Cochrane review: Endometrial scratching may promote implantation
Scratching the endometrium to create a “favorable inflammation” may improve the likelihood of embryo implantation in subfertile women trying to...
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mtDNA level predicts IVF embryo viability
Mitochondrial DNA level appears to be a useful biomarker for in vitro fertilization embryo viability, according to findings from a blinded...
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Including quality-of-life scores may aid decision making for patients with advanced ovarian cancer
CHICAGO – Physical function, role function, global health status, and abdominal/gastrointestinal symptoms (AGIS) each predicted overall survival...
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Checkpoint-blocking antibodies appear safe, beneficial in elderly melanoma patients
Key clinical point: PD-1 inhibitors and combination ipilimumab/nivolumab prolonged survival vs.
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Donor blood testing highlights increasing Zika risk in Puerto Rico
In the coming months, it is possible that thousands of women in Puerto Rico could become infected with Zika. This could lead to dozens or hundreds...
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Metformin increases efficacy of everolimus-letrozole combo for EEC
CHICAGO – Adding metformin to the everolimus and letrozole backbone increases the clinical benefit rate in patients with advanced or recurrent,...