Deaths from ischemic heart disease and hypertensive diseases in the United States increased during the COVID-19 pandemic over the prior year, while globally, COVID-19 was associated with significant disruptions in cardiovascular disease testing. These findings are from two papers publishing in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that examined the indirect effects of… Continue reading Heart Disease Patients and COVID-19
Tag: hospital
COVID-19 and Heart Health
As hospitals, health professionals and healthcare systems, governments and leaders work to reduce community spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. and protect the most vulnerable individuals, the American Heart Association (AHA) is offering further tips for heart attack and stroke survivors on preventing a second event in the midst of a pandemic. Reducing risk… Continue reading COVID-19 and Heart Health
COVID-19 and Pregnancy
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is launching a study to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic during and after pregnancy, the agency said. In a news release, the NIH said that researchers in the study will analyze the medical records of up to 21,000 women to evaluate whether changes to healthcare delivery that… Continue reading COVID-19 and Pregnancy
Heart Patients Who Are Given Opioids Less Likely to Seek Follow-Up Care
Heart disease patients who were prescribed opioids at hospital discharge were less likely to follow up with their healthcare provider or to participate in heart rehabilitation than patients who were not prescribed the drugs, new research shows. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, comes as the nation’s opioid epidemic continues,… Continue reading Heart Patients Who Are Given Opioids Less Likely to Seek Follow-Up Care
Safety of Hospital Patients Still Falls Short
Although it’s long been a goal to increase patient safety in hospitals, there hasn’t been nearly as much progress as there should be. The commitment to increase patient safety came after a landmark 1999 study by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) highlighted the prevalence of medical errors and made clear the need to decrease… Continue reading Safety of Hospital Patients Still Falls Short
Patient Satisfaction Linked to Number of Nurses on Staff
Hospital patients’ satisfaction with their care drops when the patients believe that staffing levels of nurses are too low, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southampton, UK, and King’s College, London. The study results were based on the British NHS (National Health Service) Inpatient Survey… Continue reading Patient Satisfaction Linked to Number of Nurses on Staff
A New Way to Help Diabetes Patients
Researchers have developed a method of identifying those diabetes patients who are at most risk for being admitted to an emergency room or hospital because of very low blood sugar. The results of the research, led by investigators from Kaiser Permanente, was published in JAMA Internal Medicine in August 2017. Advances in care and improved… Continue reading A New Way to Help Diabetes Patients
Hospitals and Data Breaches
People who are hospitalized have many things to worry about besides a personal data breach, yet this is happening at a startling rate: recent research co-authored by a Michigan State University business scholar found nearly 1,800 occurrences of large data breaches in patient information over a seven-year period. The study, by Xuefeng “John” Jiang, MSU… Continue reading Hospitals and Data Breaches
Predicting Outcomes in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients
Researchers have developed a “predictive tool” to help determine the outcome for older patients who have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI). The tool developed by the team of investigators at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., accounts for variables such as age and severity of brain injury to help physicians and hospital staff… Continue reading Predicting Outcomes in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients
Ultraviolet Light Helps Battle Superbugs
Ultraviolet light could help in keeping drug-resistant bacteria from lingering in patients’ rooms and causing new infections, researchers say The new tool is known as UVC. Some hospitals have already begun using UVC machines in addition to standard chemical disinfection to kill potentially dangerous bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but research on their… Continue reading Ultraviolet Light Helps Battle Superbugs
One Patient’s Health Crisis Can Negatively Affect Others
Hospital patients can suffer negative health effects if a person in their unit has a crisis such as being transferred to an intensive-care unit, according to new research by University of Chicago physicians. The effect was described in a research letter published in JAMA. The researchers found that when one patient on a typical 20-bed… Continue reading One Patient’s Health Crisis Can Negatively Affect Others
Better Medical Communication Needed in Hospitals
Structured means of communication can help doctors, nurses and clinicians better understand each other during routines designed to evaluate patients, according to a new study. Previous studies on these routines – multidisciplinary rounds, or MDRs – have demonstrated that the daily meetings have positive effects on patient care and outcomes. MDRs involve health care personnel… Continue reading Better Medical Communication Needed in Hospitals
Appendicitis Patients: Overnight Hospital Stay Isn’t Necessarily Healthier
Patients who undergo a laparoscopic appendectomy and are sent home the same day don’t experience higher rates of post-operative complications than those who are hospitalized overnight, according to study results published on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website ahead of print publication. Each year, more than 250,000 appendectomies are performed in the… Continue reading Appendicitis Patients: Overnight Hospital Stay Isn’t Necessarily Healthier
Give Cardiac Patients More Time to Come Out of Coma
Physicians may be drawing conclusions too soon about survival outcomes of patients who suffered a cardiac arrest outside the hospital, according to new research. A study led by Bentley Bobrow, MD, professor at the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix and co-director of the Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center – Phoenix,… Continue reading Give Cardiac Patients More Time to Come Out of Coma
A Crucial Benefit of Testosterone Therapy
Older men using testosterone therapy were less likely to have complications that require them to go back to the hospital within a month of being discharged than men not using this therapy, according to a new study. The research was published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Using nationally representative Medicare linked data, the investigators, from the… Continue reading A Crucial Benefit of Testosterone Therapy
Is Remote Patient Monitoring Worth It?
Although there is increasing interest in remote monitoring of patients, UCLA researchers found that it doesn’t necessarily work better than conventional methods of doctor/patient interaction. The researchers discovered that combined health coaching and remote monitoring did not reduce all-cause 180-day hospital readmissions among heart failure patients, and did not have significant effects on 30-day hospital… Continue reading Is Remote Patient Monitoring Worth It?
Opioid Prescriptions Given to Patients Who Have Already Overdosed
Although the dangers of over-prescribing opioids are well known, patients who have been hospitalized after opioid overdoses are being given the same kind of medicine again, putting them at high risk of a second overdose. The findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, highlight the challenges faced by physicians to balance the known risks… Continue reading Opioid Prescriptions Given to Patients Who Have Already Overdosed
Hospital Practices Can Make Patients Sicker
Up to half of seriously ill patients are sickened further by avoidable and risky bouts of food and sleep deprivation, according to a Johns Hopkins surgeon and prominent patient safety. researcher is calling on hospitals to reform emergency room, surgical and other medical protocols that sicken up to half of already seriously ill patients —… Continue reading Hospital Practices Can Make Patients Sicker