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Most problems with catheter use stem from poor physician-nurse communication

Indwelling devices like catheters cause roughly 25% of hospital infections, but ongoing efforts to reduce catheter use and misuse haven't succeeded as much as health care workers would like.

2 Jul 2019

New target identified for treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

An article published in Experimental Biology and Medicine (Volume 244, Issue 9, June 2019) (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1535370219843827) identifies a new target for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

29 Jun 2019

Scientists suggest possible cell-based therapy for premature infants with rare lung condition

Researchers suggest a possible cell-based therapy to stimulate lung development in fragile premature infants who suffer from a rare condition called Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, which in the most severe cases can lead to lifelong breathing problems and even death.

27 Jun 2019

Researchers survey orthopedic providers to understand factors that drive opioid prescribing practices

Orthopedic surgeons are the third-highest physician prescribers of opioids, writing more than 6 million prescriptions a year.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 27 Jun 2019

Measuring blood protein levels in diabetic patients to predict risk of stroke

Having diabetes is a risk factor for many other health conditions, including stroke.

26 Jun 2019

Scientists pinpoint cause of fatal respiratory disorder that turns babies' lips and skin blue

Scientists used a gene editing method called CRISPR/Cas9 to generate mice that faithfully mimic a fatal respiratory disorder in newborn infants that turns their lips and skin blue. The new laboratory model allowed researchers to pinpoint the ailment's cause and develop a potential and desperately needed nanoparticle-based treatment.

19 Jun 2019

Miracle machine makes heroic rescues — and leaves patients in limbo

The latest miracle machine in modern medicine — whose use has skyrocketed in recent years — is saving people from the brink of death: adults whose lungs have been ravaged by the flu; a trucker who was trapped underwater in a crash; a man whose heart had stopped working for an astonishing seven hours.

18 Jun 2019

Research sheds light on ‘black box’ of inpatient opioid use

People who receive opioids for the first time while hospitalized have double the risk of continuing to receive opioids for months after discharge compared with their hospitalized peers who are not given opioids, according to research led by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

18 Jun 2019

Factors influencing critical care doctors to withdraw life support for patients with brain injury

Decisions to withdraw life support treatments in critically ill patients with severe brain injury are complicated, are based on many factors, and are usually made by critical care physicians and families in the intensive care unit.

17 Jun 2019

Chemicals produced by gut microbiome could help identify children at risk of organ failure

Chemicals produced by healthy bacteria could be used to assess the health of the gut microbiome and help identify critically-ill children at greatest risk of organ failure, a study published in Critical Care Medicine has found.

14 Jun 2019

New study finds almost 400 established medical practices that don’t work

A new study set out to explore what does and does not work in the field of modern medical practice, and came up with 396 reported reversals of previously accepted medical practice over the last few decades.

12 Jun 2019

New tool seeks to predict postoperative delirium severity in older adults

A new tool seeks to predict the severity of patients' postoperative delirium and help practitioners more effectively care for patients as they recover from surgery.

11 Jun 2019

Rapid fluid removal from patients with failing kidneys linked to increased risk of death

The faster fluid is removed using continuous dialysis from patients with failing kidneys, the higher the likelihood they will die in the next several months, according to a study published today in JAMA Network Open by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers.

8 Jun 2019

E-cigarette vaping with nicotine appears to impair mucus clearance

E-cigarette vaping with nicotine appears to hamper mucus clearance from the airways, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

7 Jun 2019

UA physician-scientist receives grant to study sleep apnea and heart health

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common condition that has been associated with increased mortality, especially in individuals who have cardiac arrhythmia. A University of Arizona physician-scientist has received a grant to try to find out why.

6 Jun 2019

Countries' essential medicines lists differ from one another and WHO's model list, study finds

Countries' essential medicines lists vary from one another and from the World Health Organization's model list, pointing to a potential need for greater care in selecting medicines that best meet the health care priorities of a population, suggests a study led by Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital.

3 Jun 2019

New statement highlights occupational burden of non-cancerous lung diseases

More than 1 in 10 people with a range of non-cancerous lung diseases may be sick as a result of inhaling vapors, gas, dust or fumes at work, according to a joint American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society statement published in the ATS’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

3 Jun 2019

A final comfort: ‘Palliative transport’ brings dying children home

Anne Brescia sat beside her only child, Anthony, as he lay unconscious in a hospital bed at age 16. Just a few months before, he was competing in a swim meet; now cancer was destroying his brain. Brescia couldn’t save her son. But she was determined to bring him home.

28 May 2019

Piedmont Atlanta first in Georgia to offer new treatment option for people with emphysema

Piedmont Atlanta Hospital is the first in the state of Georgia to offer a new minimally invasive treatment for emphysema, a severe form of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

24 May 2019

Reversibly paralyzing, heavily sedating hospitalized patients do not improve outcomes

Reversibly paralyzing and heavily sedating hospitalized patients with severe breathing problems do not improve outcomes in most cases, according to a National Institutes of Health-sponsored clinical trial conducted at dozens of North American hospitals and led by clinician-scientists at the University of Pittsburgh and University of Colorado schools of medicine.

20 May 2019