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Aggressive Behaviour Risk Assessment Tool can reduce violence in clinical settings

Using a specially designed risk assessment tool within 24 hours of admission was an effective way of identifying which hospital patients in medical and surgical units would become violent. Researchers studied more than 2,000 patients admitted to an acute care hospital over a five-month period. As well as identify the traits that were most likely to lead to violence, they found that a disproportionate number of elderly patients and males became violent.

20 Oct 2011

JAMA study: Heart failure hospitalization rates fall

The rate of hospital admissions for elderly patients in the U.S. fell by nearly 30 percent in the past decade, based on an analysis of Medicare data. This finding, being published today, is viewed as progress against cardiovascular disease and the costs associated with this illness.

20 Oct 2011

Rituximab may alleviate chronic fatigue syndrome through B-lymphocyte depletion

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) may be alleviated by the anti-cancer drug Rituximab, suggesting that the source of the disease could lie in the immune system, according to a new study published Oct. 19 in the online journal PLoS ONE.

20 Oct 2011

Scientists discover complex cell mechanism that becomes an obstacle for radiation effectiveness

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and CIC bioGUNE discover a complex cell mechanism activated by a protein —HOXB9— that becomes an obstacle for radiation effectiveness.

20 Oct 2011

Advances in yttrium-90 radioembolization for liver cancer

Finding innovative, minimally invasive ways to treat liver cancer-and being able to tailor that treatment individually to patients-are hallmarks of interventional radiologists. Advances in yttrium-90 (Y-90) radioembolization for liver cancer, a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, are reported in studies in the October Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.

20 Oct 2011

BRA Day to promote awareness on breast reconstruction surgery

Only seven per cent of female breast cancer patients opt for breast reconstruction surgery. Dr. Melinda Musgrave is determined to find out why.

20 Oct 2011

Winter health and safety tips

Winter is a special time for celebration. It should also be a time for added caution if you or someone in your family is an older adult. It is the season for falls, slips on icy streets, and other dangers that can be especially harmful for older adults. "Something as simple as a fall can be devastating for older men and women," says Dr. Evelyn Granieri, director of the Division of Geriatrics at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Hospital. "Before the cold weather arrives, it is important to prepare."

20 Oct 2011

RCSI study: Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency more prevalent in Ireland

Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Beaumont Hospital, and Trinity College Dublin have conducted a study which has found that Ireland has one of the highest incidences in the world of a genetic condition that causes severe hereditary emphysema.

20 Oct 2011

Regenstrief president to receive 2011 Morris F. Collen Award from AMIA

William M. Tierney, M.D., president and CEO of the Regenstrief Institute, will receive the 2011 Morris F. Collen Award from AMIA, the largest international professional biomedical informatics association, at the opening plenary session of AMIA's 35th Annual Symposium on Biomedical and Health Informatics in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 23.

20 Oct 2011

Pesticides, pollutants increase risk of spina bifida and anencephaly in rural China

Pesticides and pollutants are related to an alarming 450 percent increase in the risk of spina bifida and anencephaly in rural China, according to scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Peking University.

20 Oct 2011

UofL, Frazier Rehab to establish Spinal Cord Injury Model System

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education has awarded researchers at Frazier Rehab Institute and the University of Louisville $2.2 million for five years to establish a Spinal Cord Injury Model System.

20 Oct 2011

Breastfeeding during minor procedures mitigates pain in preterm neonates

Poorly managed pain in the neonatal intensive care unit has serious short- and long-term consequences, causing physiological and behavioral instability in preterm infants and long-term changes in their pain sensitivity, stress arousal systems, and developing brains. In a study published in the November issue of PAIN-, researchers report that breastfeeding during minor procedures mitigated pain in preterm neonates with mature breastfeeding behaviors.

19 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 19, 2011

Now on Kaiser Health News' blog, Capsules, Marilyn Werber Serafini reports: "Medicare might fare better than other health care programs if the congressional super committee fails to agree on a deficit-reduction package and automatic cuts kick in, but even 2 percent is a big problem when it comes on top of other recent hits, warn Rick Pollack, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, and Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans."

19 Oct 2011

PACBIS tool may help identify pre-surgical behaviors in parents, children

A clinical study presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2011 highlighted a behavioral assessment tool that may help anesthesia providers identify pre-surgical behaviors in parents and children that lead to maladaptive behaviors in children after surgery.

19 Oct 2011

AAGL to showcase innovative surgical approaches, teaching tools at 40th Global Congress

Technology has radically changed the way surgeons practice medicine, and nowhere is this more evident than in the field of gynecologic endoscopy. AAGL, the oldest professional organization devoted to teaching minimally invasive treatment for women's health problems, will showcase a number of innovative surgical approaches and teaching tools among the hundreds of postgraduate courses and practice labs offered at its annual Global Congress, November 6-11, 2011 at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, FL.

19 Oct 2011

CDC: Visits to emergency rooms on the rise

Visits to hospital emergency departments increased to an all-time high of 136 million in 2009, according to new estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

19 Oct 2011

American Academy of Pediatrics expands guidelines on safe sleep for babies

Since the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended all babies should be placed on their backs to sleep in 1992, deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome have declined dramatically. But sleep-related deaths from other causes, including suffocation, entrapment and asphyxia, have increased.

19 Oct 2011

Scott & White to create internships for doctoral psychology students

Scott & White Healthcare in Temple is one of three sites chosen for a $1.6 million initiative to create internships for doctoral psychology students that will help alleviate mental health workforce shortages in Texas.

19 Oct 2011

Topical corticosteroids show promise against bacterial corneal ulcers

A UCSF study gives hope to those suffering from severe cases of bacterial corneal ulcers, which can lead to blindness if left untreated. The use of topical corticosteroids in a randomized controlled trial was found to be neither beneficial nor harmful in the overall patient population in the study. However, it helped patients who had more serious forms of bacterial corneal ulcers, according to UCSF researchers.

19 Oct 2011

African-Americans donate exclusively to family members for living kidney transplants

Family matters, especially when it comes to African-Americans and living kidney donation. In a study conducted at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, researchers found that African-Americans donate almost exclusively to family members for living kidney transplants, as compared to Caucasians.

19 Oct 2011