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Study reports ominous resurgence of silicosis

A new study appearing in the journal CHEST®, published by Elsevier, documents an increased incidence of silicosis, which progressed rapidly to massive pulmonary fibrosis in a significant proportion of patients who had previously worked artificial stone (AS), also called artificial quartz agglomerate or conglomerate, a popular new countertop material, despite the cessation of exposure after diagnosis.

18 Jun 2020

Pandemic upends the lives of people with disabilities — and of their caregivers

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Stacy Ellingen, 34, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, lost two of the three caregivers she depends on to dress, shower, eat and use the bathroom. The caregivers — both University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh students — returned to their parents’ homes when the university canceled in-person classes.

17 Jun 2020

Nasal swab tests miss low viral SARS-CoV-2

A recent study by researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, currently available on the preprint server medRxiv, demonstrates how nasal swab samples reliably detect patients infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that present with high viral loads, but may miss many patients with lower viral loads – questioning their role as a sole specimen for diagnostic purposes.

15 Jun 2020

Study finds self-swabbing tests for COVID-19 to be accurate and safe

Test samples collected by people who swabbed their own nasal passages yielded results for the COVID-19 virus that were as accurate as samples collected by a health care worker, according to a small study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

12 Jun 2020

COVID-19 batters a beloved Bay Area community health care center

A small band of volunteers started the Marin City Health and Wellness Center nearly two decades ago with a doctor and a retired social worker making house calls in public housing high-rises.

12 Jun 2020

Health workers resort to Etsy, learning Chinese, shady deals to find safety gear

A nursing home worker in New Jersey rendezvoused with "the parking lot guy" to cut a deal for gowns. A director of safety-net clinics in Florida learned basic Chinese and waited outside past midnight for a truck to arrive with tens of thousands of masks.

12 Jun 2020

Public health officials face wave of threats, pressure amid coronavirus response

Emily Brown was stretched thin. As the director of the Rio Grande County Public Health Department in rural Colorado, she was working 12- and 14-hour days, struggling to respond to the pandemic with only five full-time employees for more than 11,000 residents. Case counts were rising.

12 Jun 2020

Creative solutions may offer new opportunities to address the shortage of geriatricians

Geriatrics is the field of health care focused on care for older adults. Experts suggest that our current geriatrics workforce needs better prepared to care for the 5.7 million people living with dementia in this country.

12 Jun 2020

Study initiates hydroxychloroquine clinical trial to prevent COVID-19 in healthy people

Rush University Medical Center has opened enrollment for a new clinical trial investigating whether the drug hydroxychloroquine is better than a placebo in preventing COVID-19 infection in healthy people working in health care settings.

12 Jun 2020

Hydroxychloroquine not able to prevent development of COVID-19, UMN trial shows

Today, University of Minnesota Medical School researchers published the results from the first randomized clinical trial testing hydroxychloroquine for the post-exposure prevention of COVID-19.

4 Jun 2020

In hard-hit areas, COVID’s ripple effects strain mental health care systems

In late March, Marcell's girlfriend took him to the emergency room at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, about 11 miles south of Detroit.

4 Jun 2020

Hiring a diverse army to track COVID-19 amid reopening

As a contact tracer, Teresa Ayala-Castillo is sometimes asked whether herbal teas and Vicks VapoRub can treat COVID-19. These therapies aren't exactly official health guidance, but Ayala-Castillo isn't fazed. She listens and then suggests other ideas — like getting rest and drinking plenty of fluids.

2 Jun 2020

Study shows mental toll of being a frontline healthcare worker during COVID-19

They worked in hospitals hundreds of miles from the epicenter of COVID-19. Their city of 24 million people locked down hard enough, and did enough testing, that it only had a few hundred cases of the disease.

1 Jun 2020

SDSU researchers aim to develop intervention strategy to prevent LGBTQ youth suicide

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth and young adults, behind unintentional injury, with suicide attempts much higher among LGBTQ youth (23% to 45%) than their heterosexual and cisgender peers (5%).

1 Jun 2020

Expert warns that UK employers may face legal action over COVID-19 exposure

Employers across the UK could face legal action from employees who return to work and contract the COVID-19 virus, a leading health and safety expert has warned.

1 Jun 2020

For seniors, COVID-19 sets off a pandemic of despair

As states relax coronavirus restrictions, older adults are advised, in most cases, to keep sheltering in place. But for some, the burden of isolation and uncertainty is becoming hard to bear.

28 May 2020

Study: High level of anxiety is linked to depression

Led by King's College London in collaboration with the University of Zimbabwe and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and published in The Lancet's EClinicalMedicine journal, the research examined a group of people with depression in Zimbabwe and found that people are nearly three times more likely to suffer this illness long-term if they also have a high level of anxiety.

27 May 2020