News
Organization Repairs Instruments For Volunteer Surgeons Headed To Haiti
January 22, 2010 6:17 am | CommentsSurgeons embarking for Haiti to assist earthquake victims can have their surgical devices refurbished prior to departure at no cost through the non-profit organization Instruments of Mercy, Inc®. “We’ve heard reports of surgeons having to use rusty instruments and hacksaws to amputate limbs,” says Gene Robinson, founder of Instruments of Mercy and CEO of IMS, a surgical instrument management and consulting company that supports Instruments of Mercy.
Approximately $1 Million Of Supplies Donated To Haiti
January 22, 2010 6:16 am | CommentsCardinal Health announces the company is donating approximately $1 million worth of supplies through four organizations: World Vision, AmeriCares, Map International and Heart to Heart International. To most efficiently help meet the critical needs on the ground in Haiti, and leverage resources and the capabilities of relief organizations, they are directing donations through these four organizations.
New Weapon In Fighting HAIs
January 20, 2010 6:01 am | CommentsA new fast-acting disinfectant that is effective against bacteria, viruses, fungi and prions could help to reduce the spread of deadly infections in hospitals, according to research published in the February issue of Journal of General Virology . Researchers from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, Germany have optimised a rapid-acting, practical formula for disinfecting surgical instruments.
Specialists Better Route For Emergency Colon Surgery
January 20, 2010 5:49 am | CommentsReuters – If you find yourself in need of emergency colon surgery, you'll be better off with a surgeon who specializes in operating on the large intestine, a new study from Spain shows. While colorectal surgery is a formally accepted specialty in the United States, Australia and other regions, this is not yet the case in Europe, Dr.
Circumcising Babies Could Help Africa's AIDS Fight
January 20, 2010 5:36 am | CommentsKate Kelland, Reuters Circumcising newborn boys to stop them from becoming infected with the AIDS virus in later life is more cost-effective than circumcising adult men, Rwandan health experts stated. A study by Agnes Binagwaho and colleagues at Rwanda's health ministry found that the operation, which has been shown to cut dramatically the virus' transmission from women to men, is quicker, simpler and more cost-effective in newborns.
New Tools Aid Haiti Relief Effort
January 20, 2010 5:25 am | CommentsFrank Bajak, AP Hundreds of tech volunteers spurred to action by Haiti's killer quake are adding a new dimension to disaster relief, developing new tools and services for first responders and the public in an unprecedented effort. Noel Dickover, a Washington, D.C.-based organizer of the CrisisCamp tech volunteer movement, states that, “developers, crisis mappers and even internet-savvy folks can actually make a difference.
Med Students Cite Place For Alternative Therapies
January 20, 2010 4:57 am | CommentsIn the largest national survey of its kind, researchers from UCLA and UC San Diego measured medical students' attitudes and beliefs about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and found that three-quarters of them felt conventional Western medicine would benefit by integrating more CAM therapies and ideas.
New Catheter-Based Ventilation Device Begins Trials
January 19, 2010 5:00 am | CommentsVentilators, though staples of modern critical care, can have drawbacks for both patient safety and comfort. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that a considerably less intrusive system from a company called ALung Technologies is about to begin clinical trials in India and Europe. The Hemolung is designed to perform respiratory gas exchange via a catheter inserted into the femoral or jugular vein.
FDA Toughens Stance On Tanning Beds
January 19, 2010 4:45 am | CommentsLauran Neergaard, AP Just as millions head to tanning beds to prepare for spring break, the Food and Drug Administration will be debating how to toughen warnings regarding cancer risks. Yes, sunburns are particularly dangerous, but there's increasing scientific consensus that there's no such thing as a safe tan, either.
Conjoined Twins Readying For Separation
January 19, 2010 4:29 am | CommentsEmma and Taylor Bailey, from the San Tan Valley area near Phoenix, were born connected at the chest, sharing a liver and a seven-chambered heart. Most hearts have four chambers. Their parents, Mandy and Tor Bailey, weren't expecting them to ever leave the hospital. Emma and Taylor exceeded expectations but now have heart failure, and their parents know the girls must be surgically separated to survive in the long term.
Bariatric Surgery Outcomes Improve
January 19, 2010 4:12 am | CommentsFollowing a rule expanding coverage of weight-loss surgery under Medicare, bariatric procedures in the Medicare population were centralized to a smaller number of certified centers, were more likely to be minimally invasive, and were associated with improved outcomes, stated a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery .
Fish Oil Helps Shorten ICU Stays
January 19, 2010 3:56 am | CommentsA randomised controlled trial of fish oil given intravenously to patients in intensive care has found that it improves gas exchange, reduces inflammatory chemicals and results in a shorter length of hospital stay. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care investigated the effects of including fish oil in the normal nutrient solution for patients with sepsis, finding a significant series of benefits.
Illegal Drug Injection Site To Stay Open
January 18, 2010 7:20 am | CommentsReuters The Canadian government must allow Vancouver's Insite facility, North America's only sanctioned drug-injection site, to remain open, a provincial appeals court ruled on Friday. The facility allows addicts to use their own illegal drugs under supervised conditions, and is the focus of a battle between the federal government, which wants to close it, and local health officials, who say it saves lives.
Medical Companies Send $15.5M To Haiti
January 18, 2010 7:13 am | CommentsDrug and medical product makers and other health care companies are pledging to donate at least $15.5 million in cash and products to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Besides donating cash to various relief groups, pharmaceutical companies and medical product makers were preparing or have sent products to treat injured people, as well as medicines for patients who had lost their supply.
Surgeon Ruled Incompetent After Removing Wrong Kidney
January 18, 2010 7:02 am | CommentsA urologist has been indefinitely barred from inpatient surgery for removing the wrong kidney of one patient and taking a biopsy from another patient's pancreas instead of a kidney. Dr. Erol Uke has signed the disciplinary ruling from the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, agreeing that his actions justify the board's discipline.
