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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

Study explains why several clinical trials of treatments for sepsis have been failed

Much like cancer, sepsis isn't simply one condition but rather many conditions that could benefit from different treatments, according to the results of a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study involving more than 60,000 patients.

20 May 2019

Researchers highlight the need for increased mental health care for smokers with COPD

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have published new information that stresses the need for increased mental health care for current and former smokers, especially those who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

9 May 2019

UA-led public health initiative increases survival rates of severe TBI victims

The implementation of a massive, statewide public health initiative led by University of Arizona researchers and involving 21,000 prehospital care patients has doubled the survival rate of severe traumatic brain injury victims and tripled the survival rate among those who were intubated.

8 May 2019

Diabetes complications rise sharply in the U.S. as teenagers transition to adulthood, but not in Canada

Hospitalizations for a feared complication of diabetes, diabetic ketoacidosis, rise sharply as adolescents transition to adulthood in the U.S, but not in Canada, according to a new study published May 8 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. DKA can generally be prevented with regular use of insulin.

8 May 2019

Transplanting gut bacteria from stress-vulnerable rats alters behavior, brain inflammation in recipient

Scientists have shown that transplanting gut bacteria, from an animal that is vulnerable to social stress to a non-stressed animal, can cause vulnerable behavior in the recipient.

7 May 2019

Eisenhower Health first in Southern California to offer new lung valve treatment for COPD/emphysema

Eisenhower Health is the first hospital in Southern California to offer a new lung valve treatment for patients with severe COPD/emphysema.

25 Apr 2019

UAB receives $17 million grant to explore immune cells in inaccessible tissues of the human body

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers will receive $17.8 million in federal funding to attack a key "knowledge gap" in human immunology -- how the B cells and antibody-secreting cells that reside in tissues and organs differ from those found in blood.

23 Apr 2019