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Hands only CPR effective: New guidelines

According to latest changes made to CPR guidelines rescuers need to start with hard, fast chest presses before giving mouth-to-mouth. The change is termed as “the simplest step first” for traditional CPR, said Dr Michael Sayre, an emergency doctor at Ohio State University Medical Centre and co-author of the guidelines issued by the American Heart Association.

17 Oct 2010

WSNA sues 4 hospitals for failing to provide nurses with rest and meal breaks

Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), representing more than 16,000 registered nurses in Washington State, has filed lawsuits against four hospitals around the state for failing to provide nurses with rest and meal breaks. Research confirms that nurses working long hours have decreased alertness and vigilance which can lead to an increase in medical errors and compromised patient care. WSNA has been working for several years to ensure that nurses receive full, uninterrupted breaks because that dedicated time to rest is critical in preventing fatigue and fatigue-related errors.

15 Oct 2010

Medtronic CoreValve System IDE for transcatheter aortic valve implantation receives FDA approval

Medtronic, Inc. today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conditional approval for its Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application and pivotal clinical trial protocol to begin evaluating the Medtronic CoreValve System for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

15 Oct 2010

UCSD certification for SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart to commence: SynCardia Systems

SynCardia Systems, Inc. announced today that the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), led by Stuart W. Jamieson, M.B., F.R.C.S. (photo), Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery, will begin certification to implant the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart. Efforts to bring the Total Artificial Heart to UCSD were led by world renowned heart surgeon Dr. Jack Copeland, who joined the faculty in July.

15 Oct 2010

Childhood obesity impacts musculoskeletal system

An epidemic of childhood obesity can have a devastating impact on a child's musculoskeletal system, the U.S. Bone and Joint Decade says. Extra weight stresses growing bones, causing pain and interfering with normal growth and development.

15 Oct 2010

Chest compression-only method of CPR better than standard CPR

Heart attack patients whose hearts have stopped beating and who receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from bystanders fare better if their resuscitators skip the rescue breaths and do only chest compression, according to a study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

15 Oct 2010

ISCO's new joint marketing venture to launch skin care products

International Stem Cell Corporation , and a new firm to be formed by John Mauldin announced today the formation of a new joint marketing venture to launch a line of skin care products developed by ISCO's wholly owned subsidiary, Lifeline Skin Care, Inc. Mauldin, a significant marketing talent, is president of Millennium Wave Investments and author of an economic letter that goes to over 1.5 million readers.

15 Oct 2010

MedSolutions, Corporate Research Group announce initial results from diagnostic accuracy program

MedSolutions and Corporate Research Group today announced initial results from a groundbreaking diagnostic accuracy program, which showed shortened hospital stays, reduced emergency room visits and lower overall medical costs among participants.

15 Oct 2010

NIST mini-sensors track human heartbeat

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the German national metrology institute have used NIST's miniature atom-based magnetic sensor to successfully track a human heartbeat, confirming the device's potential for biomedical applications.

15 Oct 2010

Proper dosing of beta blockers can save many lives after heart attack

For nearly 40 years a class of drugs known as beta blockers have been proven to increase patients' survival prospects following a heart attack by decreasing the cardiac workload and oxygen demand on the heart. In a breakthrough study released in the American Heart Journal, Northwestern Medicine cardiologist Jeffrey J. Goldberger found the majority of patients are frequently not receiving a large enough dose of these drugs, which can put their recovery from heart attacks and overall health into peril.

15 Oct 2010

Issuing first report on NTDS, WHO aims for 'complete control' by 2015

The WHO said on Thursday that it was aiming for 'complete control' by 2015 of tropical diseases that affect one billion impoverished people and kill an estimated 534,000 people each year, Agence France-Presse reports.

15 Oct 2010

Cheetah Medical launches new NICOM System with integrated Pulse Oximetry functionality in Europe

Cheetah Medical today announced the European launch of its new NICOM(R) System which offers an integrated Pulse Oximetry functionality (OxiMax(R) Covidien plc). In addition to core hemodynamic parameters including Cardiac Output (CO), Stroke Volume (SV), Noninvasive Blood Pressure (NIBP), Total Peripheral Resistance (TPR) and Stroke Volume Variation (SVV), the new system provides a new important parameter, Oxygen Delivery Index (DO2I).

15 Oct 2010

More minorities attending American medical schools

News outlets report on issues affecting the doctor workforce, including increased diversity at medical schools and questions about whether rural doctors will qualify for the Medicare payment bonus for primary care physicians.

15 Oct 2010

'Largest Medicare fraud scheme' busted

The Los Angeles Times: More than two dozen Los Angeles-area residents were arrested Wednesday "for their alleged roles in a nationwide scheme to bilk Medicare out of more than $160 million. The investigation, dubbed Diagnosis Dollars, resulted in the arrests of 52 people across the U.S. in what authorities described as 'the largest Medicare fraud scheme ever perpetrated by a single criminal enterprise.'"

15 Oct 2010

Study reveals copy number variants exclusive to obese children

A new study by pediatric researchers has added to the evidence that genes have a strong influence on childhood obesity.

15 Oct 2010

Costs for end-of-life care rising, hospice care may be an antidote

Health care costs at the end of life show no signs of leveling off, according to new research from the United States and Canada published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

15 Oct 2010

Lantheus announces Canadian launch of ABLAVAR injection

Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic medical imaging, today announced the Canadian launch of ABLAVAR (gadofosveset trisodium injection), a unique, injectable magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) blood pool imaging agent.

15 Oct 2010

BIOTRONIK announces European release of TI Trend Chart

BIOTRONIK SE Co. & KG, leading manufacturer of cardiovascular devices, has announced the European release of its Thoracic Impedance (TI) Trend Chart via its pioneering BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring technology and Lumax 540 implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) series.

15 Oct 2010

IOM Report: Food nutrition labels should be simple, on front

The food industry should provide simple, clearly-worded nutrition information on the front of food packages, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

15 Oct 2010

28% of health care workers in 'work risk' category will not get flu vaccine

A new Consumer Reports Health poll reveals a disconcerting proportion of "at risk" groups who will not get the flu vaccine this year. Of most concern, only 40% of Americans in the "work risk" category—meaning those who care for young children and those who work in residential nursing homes, hospitals, and other health care environments—said they would definitely get the vaccine this year, which combines the seasonal and the 2009 H1N1 (swine) flus, while 28% said they would definitely not get the vaccine.

14 Oct 2010