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Using buprenorphine to treat opioid-dependent pregnant women may result in healthier babies

Using buprenorphine instead of methadone — the current standard of care — to treat opioid-dependent pregnant women may result in healthier babies, suggests new findings from an international team led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published in the Dec. 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

10 Dec 2010

Trauma surgeon co-authors call to action to establish pediatric trauma research network

Jeffrey S. Upperman, MD, director of the Trauma Program at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, has co-authored a call to action for filling a significant gap in pediatric public health care and seeks federal oversight to establish the framework for a pediatric applied trauma research network (PATRN). This call to action was published simultaneously in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery and the Journal of Trauma.

9 Dec 2010

Lung transplant saves economist from near-lethal bout of swine flu

According to the critical care experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital who treated him, Allen Bagents, 24, of Arlington, Va., is the least likely person anyone ever expects to get sick, let alone suffer a six-week, potentially fatal bout with the swine flu, better known as H1N1 influenza.

8 Dec 2010

Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota installs Toshiba's Infinix CC-i system and MAQUET OR table

To advance its ability to provide patients with the highest quality of care and increase the collaboration between pediatric surgical and interventional doctors, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota recently installed Toshiba America Medical System's InfinixTM CC-i cardiac imaging system and the MAQUET OR table to form its new hybrid operating room (OR) suite.

8 Dec 2010

OPRN collects samples from infants, mothers and fathers to reduce preterm birth complications

Every year, more than 50,000 babies are born premature in the United States. Despite the notable advances in neonatal care, these premature infants often suffer from preterm birth complications - the single largest cause of infant mortality. In order to better understand preterm birth, Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC) have partnered to form the Ohio Perinatal Research Network (OPRN).

8 Dec 2010

UC researchers launch clinical trial to study post-stroke brain injury

The largest clinical trial of therapeutic brain cooling after stroke has launched, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. This study looks at whether hypothermia can safely be used in elderly stroke patients.

8 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 7, 2010

In today's headlines, Senate leaders appear to be nearing a one-year deal on Medicare's physician pay problem.

7 Dec 2010

HHS, U.S. Treasury Department recognize Integrated Medical Systems' technolgy

The medical technology developed by Integrated Medical Systems, Inc., has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Treasury Department as a "qualified therapeutic discovery." The designation earns the company a grant to off-set its development efforts. The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project designation and grant is provided for under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

6 Dec 2010

Study confirms importance of EEG as diagnostic tool in ICU

Bleeding in and around the brain (cerebral hemorrhage, including intra-cerebral hemorrhage, subdural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage among other forms), from whatever cause (stroke, ruptured aneurysm, stroke, tumor, trauma, etc) can be very irritating to the electrical cells of the brain and affect how these cells transmit signals. If cells become very irritated and/or hyperactive, seizures can occur.

6 Dec 2010

Patients with H1N1 flu die due to over-reactive immune response: Research

On November 19, Jason Martin returned to the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the first time since he nearly died there during last year's H1N1 flu pandemic. The tall and burly Warren County, TN, ambulance worker - a 30-year-old, father of three young children - broke down and hugged some of the nurses he recognized.

6 Dec 2010

Merck plans to acquire SmartCells

Today pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co., Inc. announced it will acquire SmartCells, Inc., a private biotech developing a glucose-responsive insulin whose proof-of-concept preclinical trials were partially funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

4 Dec 2010

Loyola nurses honored

Loyola University Health System revenue specialist Judy Williams, RN, CEN, TNS, recently took on a nontraditional nursing role, which resulted in a significant cost savings for the organization. Williams oversees fiscal responsibility for the Emergency Department. In this position, she has identified opportunities to overcome billing obstacles through intradepartmental collaboration and nurse education on proper documentation for reimbursement.

3 Dec 2010

Johns Hopkins patient-safety tools help reduce lethal bloodstream infections

Using a widely heralded Johns Hopkins checklist and other patient-safety tools, intensive care units across the state of Michigan reduced the rate of potentially lethal bloodstream infections to near zero.

3 Dec 2010

BMEYE signs licensing agreement with PULSION Medical Systems

BMEYE's Breakthrough Totally Noninvasive Blood Pressure and Cardiac Output Technology Will be Incorporated Into PULSION's Next Generation Patient Monitors

3 Dec 2010

Study finds nursing home residents carry MRSA infection

A study published in the January 2011 issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology finds that a high percentage of nursing home residents carry Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and suggests that some nursing homes could be doing more to prevent the spread of the bacteria, which can lead to hard-to-treat infections.

2 Dec 2010

St. Jude ICU honored with Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence for second consecutive year

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has been recognized for the second consecutive year with the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence given by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). In 2009, the St. Jude ICU became Tennessee's first ICU to win the honor.

2 Dec 2010

Booster dose needed to protect preterm infants against invasive pneumococcal disease

A new study suggests that preterm infants may not be fully protected against invasitve pneumococcal disease under the current United Kingdom immunization schedule. The findings are reported in the November issue of the journal Clinical and Vaccine Immunology.

2 Dec 2010

Sleep plays a crucial role in post-infarction remission

The heart and the brain appear to be even more closely connected than previously imagined. The damaging effects of myocardial infarction are apparently not confined to the heart, but also affect the brain.

2 Dec 2010

Vets compare VA hospitals online; Government doctors may face pay freeze

Government Health IT: The Veterans Affairs Department's Hospital Compare website, www.hospitalcompare.va.gov, is "providing online tools so veterans can compare how well the VA's 153 hospitals perform, with the ultimate goal of spurring further improvements at those facilities." Veterans and their families can go online to compare the "relative strengths" and weaknesses of VA hospitals, ranked by color codes.

1 Dec 2010

Increased staffing enhances patient survival in medical ICU

In a first-of-its-kind study to measure the impact of the highest recommended specialist staffing levels in an intensive care unit, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that increased staffing by specially trained physicians and other health care professionals can enhance patient survival and enable patients to breathe sooner without assistance. The results of the study have been released online ahead of print in the journal Critical Care Medicine.

30 Nov 2010