News
Organ Donor Spreads Rare Infection
December 21, 2009 5:46 am | CommentsHolbrook Mohr, AP An extremely rare infection has been passed from an organ donor to at least one recipient in what is thought to be the first human-to-human transfer of this amoeba. Four people in three states received organs from a patient who died at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in November after suffering from neurological problems, said Dave Daigle, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention.
Intuition, Bedside Skills Rival New Technology
December 21, 2009 5:31 am | CommentsAccording to a Loyola University Health System study, a simple bedside exam performed by a physician or surgeon after brain surgery can be superior to a CT scan, especially in predicting which patients would need to return to the operating room to treat complications such as bleeding. Patients typically receive CT scans following open brain surgery to remove tumors, repair aneurysms or treat injuries, but CT scans can cost hundreds of dollars and expose patients to radiation.
Illinois Supreme Court Delays Malpractice Ruling
December 18, 2009 4:28 am | CommentsThe Illinois Supreme Court did not rule Thursday on whether the state’s medical malpractice law will survive. “It is not unusual for an opinion that is on the anticipated list to be withdrawn before filing,” a spokesman for the high court said. The next batch of Supreme Court opinions is expected in mid-January.
New Strategy For Battlefield Wound Treatment
December 18, 2009 4:15 am | CommentsScientists say they have made a synthetic blood-clotting agent that could help wounded troops and patients by cutting bleeding time in half and offer surgeons a limitless supply with a longer shelf life than fresh donor platelets, Science Translational Medicine reports. The materials that make up the composition of the fake platelets are already used in treatments approved by the U.
Sunshine Often The Best Cure
December 18, 2009 4:05 am | CommentsRandolph E. Schmid, AP People in sunny, outdoorsy states say they're the happiest Americans, and researchers think they know why. A new study comparing self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living found these folks generally have reason to feel fine. The places where people are most likely to report happiness also tend to rate high on studies comparing things like climate, crime rates, air quality and schools.
Johnson & Johnson Makes Acquisition
December 18, 2009 3:56 am | CommentsJohnson & Johnson recently announced that its Ethicon unit will buy privately held medical technology company Acclarent, Inc. for $785 million in cash. Both companies' boards of directors have approved the deal. Acclarent makes minimally invasive devices used in sinus surgery. The deal is expected to close during the first quarter of next year.
Living Longer Than Ever Before
December 18, 2009 3:48 am | CommentsAverage life expectancy in the United States has reached almost 78 years, a record high, federal health officials said recently. Women can expect to live to 80.4 years on average and men to 75.3 years, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But even though Americans can expect to live longer than their parents, life expectancy in the United States is still lower than in many other industrialized countries, including Canada and Japan.
CNN's Top Five Medial Innovations For 2009
December 16, 2009 4:05 am | CommentsAt www.cnn.com you can see their top picks for the most innovative medical developments of 2009. Here are the top 5: 5. NeuroStar’s Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy system. Used for treatment of depression, the unit pulses magnetic fields into a patient’s prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain that regulates mood, to stimulate those neurons and increase the number of mood-enhancing chemicals that can be produced.
Medical Call Spooks Home Intruder
December 16, 2009 3:47 am | CommentsA man who broke into an 89-year-old woman's Knoxville home was scared off when a monitoring company answered her medical alert call. The woman activated a medical alert device on her neck and the voice of an operator responded over the intercom. She told police the intruder ripped the device off her, causing a slight abrasion and a cut finger, but he fled taking nothing.
Many Still Fearful Of Electronic Records Systems
December 16, 2009 3:39 am | CommentsAlthough physicians support the use of electronic health records, concerns about potential privacy breaches remain an issue, according to two research articles published in the January 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Informatics Association (JAMIA). One published study is based on views of more than 1,000 family practice and specialist physicians in Massachusetts who were asked whether they thought electronic health information exchange (HIE) would drive down costs, improve patient care, free up their time and preserve patient confidentiality.
Stroke Surgery Safe for Kidney Patients
December 16, 2009 3:06 am | CommentsDoctors may now have more reason to refer their chronic kidney disease patients to surgery for a blocked carotid artery. A University of Western Ontario study suggests that a carotid endarterectomy can reduce the risk of stroke in kidney disease patients by 82 percent. Additionally, researchers concluded that the risk of death was not increased for patients who underwent the surgery.
3 Toxin Exposures, 2 Minor Electrocutions, 1 Gastrointestinal Tract A-Bleeding And A Few Less Ornaments For The Tree
December 16, 2009 2:43 am | CommentsA new study from Children's Hospital Boston's Division of Emergency Medicine has found that holiday decorations, particularly glass ornaments, are one more safety hazard parents must consider during the season. A review of records from Children's Emergency Department revealed an average of five ornament-related injuries per year, of which, more than half involve a child eating fragments of these ornaments, including batteries and pieces of glass.
SCIP Amends Patient Warming Recommendations
December 15, 2009 6:43 am | CommentsSurgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) now includes conductive fabric warming in its recommendations to keep surgical patients warm December 15, 2009 The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) recently amended its guidelines for perioperative temperature management by changing the definition of active warming to now include “forced-air warming, conductive over-the-body active warming, or warm water garments.
FDA Grants Emergency Use For H1N1 Detection Device<
December 15, 2009 5:51 am | CommentsDxNA has announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its 2009 H1N1 influenza virus diagnostic test for use in DxNA’s GeneSTATTM detection platform. According to the company, the new platform enables faster detection of the virus in a portable composition that weighs less than 10 pounds.
CNN's Top 10 Medical Innovations
December 15, 2009 5:40 am | CommentsAt www.cnn.com you can find what they feel are the top medical developments for 2009. Here are the first five, with the conclusion appearing tomorrow. 10. Warm Organ Perfusion Device. Currently, organs waiting to be transplanted are rushed to the patient in a freezer, but after five hours the heart or lung or liver has usually deteriorated so much that it becomes useless.
