Catheter News and Research

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In medicine, a catheter is a tube that can be inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel. Catheters . In most uses, a catheter is a thin, flexible tube ("soft" catheter), though in some uses, it is a larger, solid ("hard") catheter. A catheter left inside the body, either temporarily or permanently, may be referred to as an indwelling catheter. A permanently inserted catheter may be referred to as a permcath.

New wireless monitoring system to track esophageal reflux

UT Southwestern Medical Center doctors and UT Arlington engineers have developed a wireless monitoring system that uses electrical impulses to track esophageal reflux.

30 May 2007

Hospitals that have better working conditions for nurses are safer for elderly intensive care unit patients

Hospital associated infections are the number six cause of death in the United States (CDC March 2007). Nurses, as the largest workforce in the nation's hospitals, are in a unique position to positively impact the safety of ICUs if systematic improvements to their working conditions can be made.

28 May 2007

Concentrated radio waves proide new approach to treating precancerous esophagus condition

The use of concentrated radio waves appears to be a safe and effective way to "burn" away abnormal cell growth in the esophagus that can be a precursor of cancer.

24 May 2007

Care received in chain-owned nursing homes generally not on par with care received in nonprofit and singly-owned nursing homes

Standard marketing and strategic planning practices can hurt patient care throughout a nursing home chain, but only if too much emphasis is placed on such administrative standards to the detriment of clinical and facility standards, a new study indicates.

22 May 2007

Minimally invasive treatment of chronic mesenteric ischemia

Using catheter techniques perfected in the arteries of the heart, interventional cardiologists are successfully treating chronic mesenteric ischemia, a condition akin to intestinal angina.

17 May 2007

Role of PCI and coronary artery bypass grafting for the treatment of patients with left main coronary artery disease

Coronary artery bypass surgery has been the preferred treatment for patients with a blockage in the left main coronary artery, the conduit that supplies blood to about two-thirds of the heart.

15 May 2007

Angioplasty better than drugs for preventing second heart attack

After suffering a heart attack many patients still have low blood flow to the heart tissue while experiencing no symptoms and new research suggests that angioplasty is more effective than drugs for preventing second heart attacks in this situation.

14 May 2007

Mending broken hearts

The causes of "broken heart syndrome" remain a mystery, but doctors will soon have an easier time recognizing and treating this rare, life-threatening condition, thanks to data being reported at the 30th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), May 9-12, 2007, in Orlando, FL.

11 May 2007

Catheter-based aortic valve replacement is set to take off

Twenty years ago, few interventional cardiologists could have imagined that during their professional careers it would be possible to replace a diseased aortic valve using catheter-based techniques, rather than open-chest surgery.

11 May 2007

Percutaneous aortic valve replacement safe

Catheter techniques are expanding into new territory, successfully aiding in the replacement of narrowed, calcified aortic valves in patients too sick to withstand open-chest surgery.

11 May 2007

Novel catheter technique for patching holes in the heart

A novel catheter technique for patching holes in the heart may make it possible for many patients to avoid surgery altogether and others to regain enough strength to safely undergo surgical repair at a later date, according to a study reported at the 30th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.

11 May 2007

CT angiography can replace digital subtraction angiography

CT angiography (CTA) alone is an effective, noninvasive means to detect peripheral vascular disease, according to a study conducted by researchers at Charite Campus Benjamin Franklin in Berlin, Germany.

8 May 2007

MDCT eliminates need for catheter angiography for aortic injury diagnosis

Contrast-enhanced 64-MDCT that definitively reveals acute trauma to the aorta does not need confirmation from invasive catheter angiography, which saves valuable time in treating patients in trauma centers, according to a new study by researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

8 May 2007

Custom stents hold microcapsules to treat diabetes

Johns Hopkins undergraduates have invented a device to improve cell therapy for diabetes patients by anchoring transplanted insulin-producing cells inside a major blood vessel.

7 May 2007

Mesoblast receives FDA clearance for heart attack stem cell trial

Australia's adult stem cell company, Mesoblast Limited has announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has cleared the Investigational New Drug Submission (IND) of its US-based sister company, Angioblast Systems Inc., to commence a Phase 2 clinical trial of its allogeneic, or 'off-the-shelf', adult stem cells for patients with heart attacks.

4 May 2007

WHO 9 point plan will protect patients from medical errors

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) health care errors affect one in every 10 patients around the world.

3 May 2007

New treatment Candida fungi - fewer side effects

A new treatment for Candida species of fungi which can cause thrush and sepsis (a life-threatening infection leading to fever, hypotension, and shock) has proven equally effective as the existing treatment in a drug trial.

26 Apr 2007

Outcomes of primary cryotherapy for prostate cancer

In the February 2007 issue of Urology, Dr. Ellis from the Urology Associates of North Texas reports on a large series of patients treated with primary cryotherapy for prostate cancer (CaP).

21 Apr 2007

Researchers want to learn if heart defect 'at heart' of some migraines

Researchers of the heart and headaches at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital are combining efforts to determine if a common heart defect may be the cause of some forms of migraine headaches.

21 Apr 2007

Risk and outcome similar for bypass surgery, drug-eluting stents

Drug-eluting stent therapy and bypass surgery for coronary artery disease have about the same risk for a major cardiac event within 30 days after the procedures, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 8th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

20 Apr 2007