News
H1N1 Generates New Disaster Plans
December 2, 2009 7:07 am | CommentsMaggie Fox, Reuters Stung by the continuing struggle to make a vaccine against the swine flu pandemic, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Tuesday her department would review its approach to disaster preparedness. The goal, Sebelius said, will be streamlined regulations that speed the approval of new technologies being promoted through government contracts with private companies.
Mind Control For Robotic Hand
December 2, 2009 6:56 am | CommentsA group of European scientists say they have successfully connected a robotic hand to a man who had lost an arm, allowing him to feel sensations in the artificial hand and control it with his thoughts. The experiment lasted a month. Scientists say it was the first time an amputee has been able to make complex movements using his mind to control a biomechanical hand connected to his nervous system.
ICU Infections Common Worldwide
December 2, 2009 4:35 am | CommentsAn international study that examined the extent of infections in nearly 1,300 intensive care units (ICUs) in 75 countries found that about 50 percent of the patients were considered infected, with infection associated with an increased risk of death in the hospital. The full study will appear in the December 2 issue of JAMA.
Nashville Invest $250 Million For Medical Trade Center
December 2, 2009 4:23 am | CommentsErik Schelzig, AP Market Center Management has announced plans to build and operate a $250 million Nashville Medical Trade Center on the site of the city's existing convention center. Officials say it could create 2,700 jobs. The 12-story structure would be built on top of the largely underground facility that would become available if the Metro Council approves the construction of a new $585 million convention center a few blocks away.
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.
