A procedure called medial thigh lift, performed as part of body contouring procedures in patients with massive weight loss ,carries a substantial risk of complications, reports a study in the January 2015 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). “Wound complications in medial thighplasty… Continue reading Complications After Thigh Lift Surgery Common
Category: Medical Care
Too Few Patients Are Having Gallbladder Removed
Although gallbladder removal is a fairly common operation among older adults, a new study shows that many people who could benefit from the surgery don’t get it. Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston looked at 11 years of billing records of 160,000 Texas Medicare patients 66 and older. All the patients… Continue reading Too Few Patients Are Having Gallbladder Removed
Patients Don’t Want Their Doctors to Know Everything About Their Health
Many patients withhold sensitive health information from their doctors, according to the first real-world trial of the impact of patient-controlled access to electronic medical records. Researchers from Clemson University, the Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine and Eskenazi Health published their finding in in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Kelly Caine, assistant professor… Continue reading Patients Don’t Want Their Doctors to Know Everything About Their Health
On the Road to Personalized Cancer Treatments
Researchers from the University of Michigan have developed a way to grow some cancer cells outside the body – and that could lead to better treatment of the disease. The new technique is more than three times as effective as previous methods, the university said in a news release, and could ultimately lead to more… Continue reading On the Road to Personalized Cancer Treatments
Study: Shorter Doctors’ Hours Don’t Affect Patient Outcomes
A new study has found that there is no difference in the rate of death or rehospitalization of Medicare patients following a mandated reduction in the number of continuous hours a medical resident can work. The study, published in JAMA, was conducted by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania… Continue reading Study: Shorter Doctors’ Hours Don’t Affect Patient Outcomes
When Are Computers Better Than Doctors?
A computer system did better than doctors when it came to collecting and reporting information about patients, according to a study by researchers at Cedars-Sinai. The investigators said that their study indicates the possibility of computers to improve the quality of medical care. They emphasized that they didn’t expect technology to replace physicians in clinical… Continue reading When Are Computers Better Than Doctors?
The Wrong Kind of Monitoring in Hospitals?
Millions of physiological alarms in hospitals are triggered each month, and the technology needs to be improved to avoid further “alarm fatigue” among health care providers, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the University of California said their study of alarm fatigue was the first ever… Continue reading The Wrong Kind of Monitoring in Hospitals?
Prompt Care for Dislocated Shoulder Prevents Repeat Dislocations
Prompt and appropriate treatment of a dislocated shoulder—when the head of the upper arm bone (humerus) is completely knocked out of the shoulder socket (glenoid)—can minimize risk for future dislocations as well as the effects of related bone, muscle and nerve injuries, according to a literature review published in the December 2014 issue of the… Continue reading Prompt Care for Dislocated Shoulder Prevents Repeat Dislocations
New approach to treating ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that primarily kills motor neurons, leading to paralysis and death two to fiv years from diagnosis. Currently ALS has no cure. Despite promising early-stage research, the majority of drugs in development for ALS have failed. Now researchers at Thomas Jefferson University… Continue reading New approach to treating ALS
Nanobodies: A Smaller Weapon in Fighting Disease
A new system developed by researchers at Rockefeller University promises to make nanobodies, proteins that flag diseased cells for destruction, more accessible for various kinds of research. Nanobodies are “cousins” to antibodies and can perform similar tasks such as marking molecules for research or discovering diseased cells. They are much simpler to produce than antibodies,… Continue reading Nanobodies: A Smaller Weapon in Fighting Disease
Caregiver Involvement in Hospital Discharge Is Beneficial
Results of a study published in November 2014 in The American Journal of Managed Care show that the presence of a family caregiver during patient discharge is associated with a greater rate of completion of post hospital transitional care coaching intervention, particularly among men. Discharge is a crucial component of the hospitalization process. Patients’ understanding… Continue reading Caregiver Involvement in Hospital Discharge Is Beneficial
New Drug Therapy Helps Tinnitus Patients
A new treatment for tinnitus appears to help patients cope better with the perceived ringing in their ears, thus improving their quality of life. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis, found that the improvement was reported by participants who took computer-based cognitive training and received a drug called d-cycloserine. Patients who… Continue reading New Drug Therapy Helps Tinnitus Patients
A Better Way to Manage Medications
Medication non-adherence – the lack of consistency in taking prescription drugs – may be the most underestimated health-related issue today. Experts say that failure to follow medication regimens accounts for more than 125,000 deaths each year in the U.S., as well as 10 to 25 percent of annual admissions to nursing homes. To combat the… Continue reading A Better Way to Manage Medications
Development of Ebola Training Module
Johns Hopkins Medicine has been tasked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to lead a group and to design an interactive Web-based learning program that guides health care workers, nurses and physicians through government-approved protocols to aid clinicians as they provide care to patients who may be at risk of contracting the Ebola… Continue reading Development of Ebola Training Module
Pill-Only Regimens Cure Hep C
Two new pill-only regimens that rapidly cure most patients with genotype 1 hepatitis C (HCV), the most difficult to treat form of the infection, could soon be widely prescribed across Europe. Recently-published studies confirmed the efficacy and safety of combination therapy with two oral direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs), with around 90% of patients cured after… Continue reading Pill-Only Regimens Cure Hep C
Reducing Wait Time in Doctors’ Offices
Using a pain clinic as a testing ground, researchers at Johns Hopkins have shown that a management process first popularized by Toyota in Japan can substantially reduce patient wait times in doctors’ offices and possibly improve the teaching of interns and residents. In a report on the pilot study, published online in September 2014, in… Continue reading Reducing Wait Time in Doctors’ Offices
An Effective Treatment for Ebola
A leading Ebola researcher from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has gone on record stating that a blend of three monoclonal antibodies can completely protect monkeys against a lethal dose of Ebola virus up to five days after infection, at a time when the disease is severe.
Change in Tube Feeding Boosts Nutrition
While the importance of enteral nutrition (EN), or feeding patients through a tube, in an intensive care unit is well understood, underfeeding is still common. A practice of a certain amount of feeding per hour can be interrupted by tests, procedures, or emergencies. Changing to a volume-based system, which calls for a certain nutrition volume per day, could reduce underfeeding, according to a quality improvement audit published in the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition’s (A.S.P.E.N.) Nutrition in Clinical Practice journal on August 26th 2014.