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Researchers improve delivery of health care for pediatric patients

Having a young child scheduled for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scan to diagnose a potentially serious condition can be worrying for parents.

11 May 2006

Claims that medicine is rife with malpractice lawsuits 'overblown'

According to new research, contrary to public perception, people who file lawsuits against doctors accusing them of medical mistakes rarely do so frivolously, and those who do submit trivial claims as a rule receive no payout.

11 May 2006

Study examines antidepressant therapies for pregnant women

The glossy images of pregnancy often show a woman radiant with happiness. "There is a belief that pregnancy is a state of bliss," said Rachel Manber, PhD. "That's not necessarily the case."

11 May 2006

Usual practices in surgical site preparation do not reduce infections

Antiseptic cleansing and body hair removal do not reduce surgical site infections, investigators report in two new reviews of studies of these common preoperative practices.

11 May 2006

Intrauterine device as satisfactory as surgery for treating heavy menstrual bleeding

For women who experience heavy periods, surgery is more effective than oral or intrauterine medication in reducing volume of bleeding at one year, according to a systematic review of studies.

11 May 2006

Apartment dwellers face higher injury risk

Compared to people who live in detached or single-family homes, apartment dwellers experience substantially higher rates of injury, according to a new study from Wales.

11 May 2006

Debate over medical malpractice litigation continues

The Senate is expected to vote soon on legislation to impose a federal cap on noneconomic damages in malpractice suits, following on similar bills that passed the House of Representatives but stalled in the Senate last year.

10 May 2006

Human factors/ergonomics professionals are improving health care

The latest issue of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society contains a special section describing ways in which human factors/ergonomics professionals are improving health care.

10 May 2006

When it comes to mothers and babies, top spot to be is Sweden

According to a report by the U.S. charity Save the Children, Scandinavian countries lead the stakes when it comes to the top countries to be a mother, while Australia along with the Netherlands ties for 7th place and countries in sub-Saharan Africa dominate the bottom tier.

10 May 2006

Impact of optional regulations on heart attack treatment

People who have heart attacks are about 15 percent less likely to be treated with bypass surgery or angioplasty within the first few days of the incident in states with certificate of need (CON) regulatory programs.

10 May 2006

Generosity of health insurance plans varies widely by state

Employees in the smallest firms (1-9 workers) pay an average 18% more in health insurance premiums than those in the largest firms (1,000+ workers), when actuarial value - the percentage of total medical expenses paid by a health plan - is taken into account, a new Commonwealth Fund-supported study finds.

10 May 2006

300,000 U.S. schoolchildren diagnosed with autism

According to researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, the first-ever national estimate of the prevalence of autism in the United States has found that the disorder affects up to one in every 175 school-age children.

9 May 2006

Doctors widely prescribe drugs without adequate scrutiny

In choosing which drugs to prescribe, doctors often select medications for patients despite a lack of conclusive medical evidence of their effects and safety, according to a new study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

9 May 2006

Off-label prescribing common, often not backed by data

A study of office-based physicians in the United States suggests that about one-fifth of medications are prescribed to treat conditions for which they are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and that nearly three-fourths of those uses lack strong scientific support, according to an article in the May 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

9 May 2006

Treatment with intravenous and oral antiviral medications may help relieve nerve pain related to shingles

A small trial suggests that treatment with intravenous and oral antiviral medications may reduce the nerve pain that occurs following shingles, according to a study posted online today that will appear in the July 2006 print issue of Archives of Neurology.

9 May 2006

Many pregnant not tested for HIV

Despite state laws requiring that every pregnant woman be offered HIV testing multiple times during pregnancy, about 20 percent of women reach their third trimester without it, according to a review of Florida women from 2003-04, researchers say.

9 May 2006

Chancroid vaccine may help control HIV in Africa

HIV plagues more than 25 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organization, and efforts to develop a vaccine against the virus have achieved limited success.

8 May 2006

Patients have high expectations about breast cancer screening mammography

A substantial proportion of women have beliefs about their personal risk of breast cancer, and expectations about the performance of mammography that are abnormally high or unrealistic, according to a survey conducted at University of Michigan Health Systems in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

4 May 2006

Underage and abusive drinkers very profitable for the alcohol industry

According to new research in the U.S. the underage drinking market is making the alcohol industry a neat $23 billion a year and that figure represents 17.5 percent of all money spent on alcohol in the U.S. annually.

3 May 2006

African American men have fewer, less severe coronary obstructions than white males

While African American men are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, they paradoxically have fewer cases of coronary obstruction than clinically similar white men, according to a new national study led by a Medical College of Wisconsin researcher.

3 May 2006