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As COVID testing soars, wait times for results jump to a week — or more

Elliot Truslow went to a CVS drugstore on June 15 in Tucson, Arizona, to get tested for the coronavirus. The drive-thru nasal swab test took less than 15 minutes.

9 Jul 2020

Researchers identify factor that regulates the abnormal growth of heart

The human heart is like a sponge, able to expand and grow, increasing its capacity to take up blood. In theory, an enlarged heart can also squeeze out more blood, with more power, than an average-sized heart. But in reality, for most people, this growth - known as cardiac hypertrophy - is abnormal and signals trouble.

9 Jul 2020

COVID-19 screening chatbots can ease burden on medical providers

COVID-19 has placed tremendous pressure on health care systems, not only for critical care but also from an anxious public looking for answers.

9 Jul 2020

Research shows Black individuals are twice as likely to test positive for COVID-19

Results of an analysis published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society found that Black individuals were twice as likely as White individuals to test positive for COVID-19.

9 Jul 2020

Health care providers should increase access to nature, indicates study

While access to nature is an established social determinant of health with clear benefits to physical, mental, and social health, it does not receive as must attention by health care providers or health systems as other social concerns, according to a new piece by a Penn Medicine physician published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

9 Jul 2020

Amid surge, hospitals hesitate to cancel nonemergency surgeries

Three months ago, the nation watched as COVID-19 patients overwhelmed New York City's intensive care units, forcing some of its hospitals to convert cafeterias into wards and pitch tents in parking lots.

9 Jul 2020

Measuring the medical impact of COVID-19

The Great Chinese Famine (1959-1962) was probably the greatest man-made disaster in history resulting in tens of millions of deaths.

9 Jul 2020

Law enforcement and community partnership screen children for PTSD

The Child Trauma Response Team, innovative policy, and community-based organization partnership demonstrated success at screening and treating children for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) immediately following incidents of intimate partner violence, according to a Rutgers-led study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

9 Jul 2020

Shingles vaccination rate soars but leaves many behind

Worried about the high cost of the copayment for the shingles vaccine, Jacky Felder, a Medicare beneficiary, opted against getting immunized last year.

9 Jul 2020

Ozone gas can provide a safe means to disinfect personal protective equipment

A new study shows that ozone gas, a highly reactive chemical composed of three oxygen atoms, could provide a safe means for disinfecting certain types of personal protective equipment that are in high demand for shielding health care personnel from Covid-19.

9 Jul 2020

Study provides evidence on non-invasive diagnostic procedures for people with suspected CHD

The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) used an evidence map to investigate to what extent informative evidence exists on the benefit and harm of the diagnostic procedures "non-invasive computed tomography angiography" (CTA) and "stress MRI" in people with suspected coronary heart disease (CHD).

9 Jul 2020

Community development initiative reduced rates of high-cost care, study finds

More than a decade into the community development initiative called Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families, the 30-block Southern Orchards neighborhood on Columbus, Ohio's South Side had clear, notable improvement. Home vacancy fell from 30% to under 6%.

8 Jul 2020

Electronic interventions more effective than face to face psychotherapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy delivered electronically to treat people with depression is more effective than face to face, suggests an evidence review led by McMaster University.

8 Jul 2020

Researchers propose novel approach to limit life-threatening complications related to COVID-19

Patients with severe COVID-19 frequently experience a life-threatening immune reaction, sometimes called a cytokine storm, which can lead to respiratory failure, organ damage and potentially death.

8 Jul 2020

HCV testing and treatment at federally qualified health centers can be cost-fffective

New research from Boston Medical Center shows that routine Hepatitis C (HCV) testing at federally qualified health centers improves diagnosis rates and health outcomes for people with HCV infections in the United States, and is cost-effective.

8 Jul 2020

Columbia behavioral scientist uses data science to confront healthcare inequality

Kai Ruggeri's research has one overriding objective: to improve the well-being of populations by confronting inequality.

8 Jul 2020

A biomaterial vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 - quick and scalable

A recent 'tour-de-force' research endeavor, led by scientists from Harvard University, explored the propensity of a biomaterial vaccine based on mesoporous silica rods to spawn highly protective humoral responses against relevant antigens of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

8 Jul 2020

Study aims to more accurately define methods for measuring delirium severity

In a study published in the journal Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorder, researchers reported on their effort to improve and validate tools used to assess the severity of a condition called delirium, an acute confusional state often experienced by older hospitalized patients.

8 Jul 2020

School's food offerings and physical activity environment associated with lower BMI for students

Students at elementary and secondary schools that offer healthier food offerings and more opportunities for physical activities have a healthier body mass index, according to Rutgers researchers.

8 Jul 2020

Brigham experts develop reusable N95 mask alternative

With N95 masks in short supply, a team of bioengineers and clinical experts from Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been developing a new, sustainable solution for health care workers to provide protection during the pandemic.

8 Jul 2020