Articles
Some Transplant Candidates Need More Imaging
September 11, 2012 4:36 am | by Chris Kaiser | CommentsA subgroup of patients awaiting a kidney transplant could benefit from closer surveillance by SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging, researchers suggested. Of the 133 patients in the study who underwent screening before renal transplant from 2003 to 2011, 6 percent developed new ischemia or infarct during an average follow-up of 5 years, according to Sapna Legha, MD, of Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, and colleagues.
A Surgeon Gets Infected With West Nile Virus And Tells His Story
September 11, 2012 4:32 am | by Don Read, M.D. | CommentsI will never be normal like I was before I got sick. I couldn’t run if it was an emergency. I cannot ride a bicycle, although I can sort of halfway dance with my wife. I can’t carry my grandchildren up the stairs. I am never sick. I was a perfectly healthy surgeon, working 88.7 hours a week on average.
Heart Failure Group Focused On Devices
September 10, 2012 6:45 am | by Crystal Phend | CommentsMiniaturized ventricular assist devices (VADs) and other novel pieces of equipment will take the spotlight here at the Heart Failure Society of America meeting against a backdrop of tension over standardizing performance in the field. VAD pumps have gotten progressively smaller and more convenient for patients over time -- to the point where they are considered as a heart transplant alternative in some circumstances.
Dabigatran Use Up, But Not Just For Afib
September 7, 2012 4:41 am | by Chris Kaiser | CommentsDabigatran, the first FDA-approved oral anticoagulant for stroke reduction in atrial fibrillation (Afib) since warfarin, has been widely adopted in the U.S., but is increasingly being used off label, researchers found. Dabigatran (Pradaxa) use increased from 0.062 million quarterly visits to 0.363 million quarterly visits, which reflected its growing share of oral anticoagulant visits since the fourth quarter of 2010 to the last quarter of 2011 (3.
Zapping Renal Nerves Helps Mind, Too
September 5, 2012 6:26 am | by Todd Neale | CommentsIn patients with resistant hypertension, renal denervation reduced blood pressure without harming psychological status, a small study showed. In fact, renal denervation was associated with improved symptoms of anxiety and depression and severity of headache, according to Denise Fischer, Dr.rer.Med.
Why Doctors Complain: A History Of Physician Income
September 5, 2012 6:20 am | by Richard Patterson, M.D. | CommentsWe’re not going for sympathy here. Doctors as a whole enjoy less sympathy than many other professional groups (members of Congress enjoy the least, I would think), and that’s probably appropriate. They have high incomes and many prerogatives and rank highly in esteem polls as individuals, if not as a group.
Proper Instrument Reprocessing
September 4, 2012 6:30 am | by Ralph Basile | CommentsRalph Basile, Vice President of Marketing Healthmark www.hmark.com All the steps in instrument reprocessing are important. Failure in any single one can result in a failed process, meaning an unsafe instrument—one not suitable for use on the next patient.
Feds Notify Hospitals Of Liability For Wrongly Implanted Heart Devices
August 31, 2012 5:01 am | CommentsIn what experts say is a novel legal tactic to resolve hundreds of ongoing investigations simultaneously, the Justice Department is e-mailing hospitals across the country today with instructions to examine questionable implantable defibrillator surgeries on Medicare patients and estimate potential penalties under the False Claims Act.
FDA OKs Afinitor Disperz For Child Tumors
August 31, 2012 4:48 am | CommentsThe new formulation, Afinitor Disperz, was cleared to treat children as young as 1 year old who have inoperable tumors caused by tuberous sclerosis. Tuberous sclerosis causes tumors in the brain, eyes, lungs, liver and other organs, leading to learning disabilities, seizures and other problems. The tumors are not cancerous, but they can be fatal for patients who develop complications from tumor growth in the brain.
Results From Cardiovascular Study Published
August 31, 2012 4:43 am | Comments(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI) (NASDAQ: CSII), a medical device company developing and commercializing innovative interventional treatment systems for vascular disease, today announced publication of 12-month results from its CALCIUM 360° study in the Journal of Endovascular Therapy.
Only Trained Physicians Should Provide Interventional Pain Services
August 30, 2012 11:26 am | by Asokumar Buvanendran, M.D. | CommentsAs an anesthesiologist and pain physician, I understand the complexity of pain management procedures required for chronic pain disease. Chronic pain is a disease like others such as hypertension and cardiac disease. Several interventional pain procedures can be dangerous, even in the hands of the most specially trained interventional physicians, as they are performed near or around the spinal cord and surrounding nerves.
Skip Aspirin In Stent Patients With Afib
August 30, 2012 11:21 am | by Chris Kaiser | CommentsAtrial fibrillation patients on anticoagulation therapy don't require clopidogrel (Plavix) plus aspirin following stenting and it's aspirin, not clopidogrel, that should be omitted, researchers said. In a small, randomized trial patients taking warfarin plus clopidogrel had significantly less bleeding than those randomized to clopidogrel, aspirin, and an anticoagulant -- 19.
Oregon Surgeon Charged In Patient's Death
August 30, 2012 6:26 am | Commentsvideo platform video management video solutions video player An Oregon doctor has pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a manslaughter charge in the death of her friend on whom she'd performed a tummy tuck. The friend experienced "seizure-like activity" hours after the surgery at the doctor's clinic, according to the Oregon Medical Board, and died four days later.
More Men Getting 'Bro-Tox'
August 30, 2012 6:00 am | CommentsSurgeon Dr. Ramtin Kassir presents three of his patients, all men, who say after going through plastic surgery they feel more confident.
