News
Study: MRSA On The Rise In Hospital Outpatients
December 1, 2009 2:27 pm | CommentsA recent study reveals a seven-fold increase in the potentially lethal superbug in outpatient hospital units between 1999 and 2006 The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA—an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics—poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, according to a study in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Nurse Abuse Could Involve Over 100 Victims
December 1, 2009 5:24 am | CommentsA metro Atlanta nurse anesthetist has been charged with molesting and sodomizing anesthetized patients in dental and medical offices, and police say the videotaped abuses could involve 100 or more victims. Paul Patrick Serdula, 47, who worked in dental and medical offices across metro Atlanta, was arrested on child molestation and sodomy charges.
Ambulatory Surgical Centers Best Hospitals In Some Procedures
December 1, 2009 5:11 am | CommentsMeasuring five quality-based performance areas, an ambulatory surgical center out performed a standard hospital in otolaryngic surgeries, according to new research in the December 2009 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery . The cross-sectional study analyzed a total of 486 cases at a pediatric ambulatory surgical center (ASC) and a hospital-based facility (HBF).
Flight Risks
December 1, 2009 4:52 am | CommentsThe first ever published study of aviation-related injuries and deaths in the U.S. finds that more than 1,013 patients are admitted to U.S. hospitals with aviation-related injuries annually, and that 753 aviation-related deaths occur each year. The study, conducted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy and Columbia University, also reports that the largest categories of patients were occupants of civilian, noncommercial powered aircraft.
NOTES Approach Produces Another Success
December 1, 2009 4:42 am | CommentsAnother advancement in NOTES (Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopy Surgery) technique has been realized as surgeons used the transanal route to remove a rectal mass. The team of surgeons carried out the first surgical removal of a rectal mass using the TEM (Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery) technique in the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona.
Addressing Post-Surgical Depression Aids Recovery
December 1, 2009 4:21 am | CommentsIn the so-called Bypassing the Blues trial, 50 percent of patients who were depressed after having coronary artery bypass surgery saw improvements of at least 50 percent in their negative mood after participating in the intervention, compared with 29 percent of control patients who received usual care.
Gunshot Victim Recovering After Face And Jaw Transplant
December 1, 2009 4:09 am | CommentsMore than a year-and-a-half following the first near-total face and upper jaw transplant, the donor tissue appears successfully integrated, according to a report in the November/December issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery . The recipient has experienced no long-term rejection and has regained some functional abilities, including her senses of smell and taste.
Radical MS Theory Stirs Interest
November 30, 2009 6:28 am | by by Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today | CommentsCan multiple sclerosis be treated with a simple surgical procedure? That question - raised by the research of an Italian physician - is causing a stir among those who study the condition, which has long been regarded as an autoimmune disease. Instead, according to Paolo Zamboni, MD, of the University of Ferrara, in Ferrara, Italy, MS may result from poor vascular circulation in the brain.
The Greatest Gift
November 30, 2009 6:14 am | CommentsLauran Neergaard, AP Color-coded denim cloths cover the row upon row of black body bags atop cold metal tables. Blue means a body that eventually will go into a common grave. Tan, the family wants those remains back for burial, eventually. These are bodies donated to science, awaiting one of the most sensitive rites in becoming a doctor.
Patients Not Up For Risky Business
November 30, 2009 5:51 am | CommentsA study that will appear in the December issue of Arthritis Care & Research suggests that increasing patient responsibility for making medical decisions may decrease their willingness to accept risky treatment options. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 1.
Surgeon Pioneers 'Scarless' Thyroid Surgery
November 30, 2009 5:28 am | CommentsTulane University surgeon performs a new form of endoscopic surgery to remove all or a portion of the thyroid or parathyroid glands without leaving a scar on the neck November 30, 2009 Tulane University School of Medicine surgeon Dr. Emad Kandil is one of the first in the country to perform a new form of endoscopic surgery that uses a small incision under the arm to remove all or a portion of the thyroid or parathyroid glands without leaving a scar on the neck, a release from the university reports.
Country Folk Replacing More Joints Than City Slickers
November 30, 2009 4:29 am | CommentsSouthern Illinois researchers have determined that Medicare beneficiaries living in rural areas are 27 percent more likely than urban dwellers to have total knee or hip replacement surgeries. Researchers also found women more likely than men to undergo total joint replacement surgeries. Full findings appear in the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism .
Smart Phones Help Speed Up Diagnoses
November 30, 2009 4:09 am | CommentsA recent study from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) states that radiologists can accurately diagnose acute appendicitis from a remote location with the use of a handheld device or mobile phone equipped with special software. “The goal is to improve the speed and accuracy of medical diagnoses, as well as to improve communications among different consulting physicians,” said the study's lead author, Asim F.
New Micro-Endoscope Design Seeks Out Early Signs Of Cancer
November 20, 2009 5:24 am | by by Aaron Hoover | CommentsWhile traditional endoscopes provide a peek inside patients’ bodies a University of Florida engineering researcher is designing one capable of a full inspection. Huikai Xie , an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, is working on replacing the scope’s cameras with scanners that “see” beneath the surface of tissues in revealing abnormal groups of cells or growth patterns before cancerous growths are big enough to be visible.
Weight Not Linked To Success Of Fibroid Surgery
November 20, 2009 5:22 am | CommentsObese patients are no more likely to have post-operative complications than those of average weight when undergoing robotic surgery to remove uterine fibroids, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital. “Performing laparoscopic myomectomy on an obese patient can present difficulties for the most experienced gynecologic surgeon,” says David Eisenstein, M.
