Articles
Study Finds Increase In Unused Transplant Livers
January 11, 2013 9:02 am | by Andrew Seaman | CommentsThe number of donor livers thrown away in the U.S. has increased since 2004 due - in part - to a population growing older and heavier, according to a new study that also points to changes in medical practice that may make some donor livers less viable.
Mom Nearly Dies; Twins' Amniotic Fluid Leaks Into Her Blood
January 8, 2013 9:18 am | by Susan Donaldson James | CommentsAngela Cottam was in the middle of heavy labor with a set of twins when she suddenly began choking and turned blue. She didn't know it at the time, but the amniotic fluid surrounding the babies in her womb had leaked into her blood system and was quickly killing her. Cottam's lungs collapsed and she nearly bled to death.
Obamacare: A Few Changes Coming In 2013
January 7, 2013 9:16 am | by Jen Christensen | CommentsWhile the bulk of the law goes into place in 2014, you'll see a few changes this year. However, much of 2013 will be dedicated to health facilities and government offices getting ready for the larger changes coming down the road.
TAVI May Be Safe for Sickest Patients
January 4, 2013 9:42 am | by Crystal Phend | CommentsHigh surgical risk scores are no barrier for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), according to one center's experience. Patients with a EuroSCORE over 40% had an overall 30-day mortality rate after the valve replacement procedure of 6.5% with and 5.7% without cardiogenic shock.
‘Doc Fix’ In ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Plan Cuts Medicare Hospital Payments
January 2, 2013 10:11 am | by Mary Agnes Carey | CommentsLegislation passed by Congress New Year’s Day to avert the dreaded “fiscal cliff” would stop a scheduled payment cut in Medicare physician payments. But hospitals, which have to bear a major part of financing for that “doc fix,” are not happy.
Study: Robotic Bladder Cancer Surgery Safe
December 21, 2012 9:42 am | by Charles Bankhead | CommentsInitial results from an ongoing randomized trial showed no significant difference in the rate of positive surgical margins or number of lymph nodes evaluated with robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery versus open radical cystectomy.
Guiding The Natural Growth Of Nerve Endings
December 19, 2012 11:03 am | by Gene Ostrovsky, M.D. | CommentsInjured nerves are known to sometime repair themselves, and in certain situations autografts can be performed to bridge gaps in their signal path. Self repair is limited to short distances, while autografts have a number of side effects and limitations. Perhaps that's about to change.
Fast PCI First Choice for STEMI
December 18, 2012 9:23 am | by Kristina Fiore | CommentsFor patients with ST-segment-elevation MI (STEMI), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the treatment of choice, as long as it can be done in time, according to a new guideline. Balloon angioplasty and stenting is preferred when patients have had STEMI symptoms for less than 12 hours, though the strategy can also be applied to those having symptoms for up to 24 hours, according to Patrick O'Gara, MD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues.
Aging Doctors Come Under Greater Scrutiny
December 17, 2012 9:22 am | by Sandra G. Boodman | CommentsStudies have found that approximately one-third of doctors don't even have a personal physician, who might be on the lookout for deteriorating hearing, vision or motor coordination, or the cognitive impairment that precedes dementia.
No Need for Skin Preps to Be Sterile, FDA Told
December 14, 2012 9:05 am | by David Pittman | CommentsRequiring that antiseptic skin preparation products be sterile -- a standard not currently mandated by the FDA -- is unnecessary and wouldn't produce a dramatic drop in infections, manufacturers, clinicians, and policy analysts told the FDA Wednesday.
MRI-Guided Biopsy Boosts Prostate Cancer Detection
December 12, 2012 11:47 am | by Charles Bankhead | CommentsTargeted prostate biopsy with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tripled the cancer yield compared with conventional systematic biopsies, investigators reported. MRI-targeted lesions contained biopsy-proven prostate cancer 21% of the time, whereas systematic biopsy detected cancer just 7% of the time.
Best To Add Chemo After Breast Cancer Surgery
December 11, 2012 11:30 am | by Ed Susman | CommentsLong-term results suggest that after resection of locally recurrent breast cancer, patients should also undergo adjuvant chemotherapy, researchers found. After 5 years, 69% of 85 women who had chemotherapy achieved disease-free survival compared with 57% of 77 women who did not have chemotherapy
Pre-Surgery MRI May Harm Breast Cancer Patients
December 10, 2012 9:50 am | by Andrew M. Seaman | CommentsMRI produces a much clearer image than X-rays and ultrasound, and is recommended for detecting early tumors in women at increased risk for breast cancer. But routinely using the technology once any woman is diagnosed with a tumor may lead to more radical surgery without any benefits.
Examining A Case Of Wrong Surgery Performed On A 6-Year-Old
December 7, 2012 9:15 am | by Patient Safety Blog | CommentsA California hospital has been fined $50,000 – its fifth administrative penalty from the State since 2009 – for performing the wrong procedure on a 6-year-old boy. The boy was supposed to receive a tongue lesion resection, but instead a tongue tie release was performed.
Laser Surgery An Option For Severe Epilepsy
December 5, 2012 9:29 am | by John Gever | CommentsDrug-refractory epilepsy patients who are poor candidates for conventional surgical therapies may benefit from new laser-based approaches, researchers said. Several case series presented at the American Epilepsy Society's annual meeting indicated that MRI-guided laser surgeries effectively decreased seizure frequencies, with shorter recovery periods and possibly less cost than would be expected with standard craniotomy.
