Mortality News and Research

RSS

Vaginal delivery for preterm vertex babies not as risky as thought

Vaginal delivery for early preterm infants who have a vertex presentation does not have a significant negative impact on neonatal mortality compared with cesarean delivery, research suggests.

10 Aug 2012

Anemia prevention in pregnancy: an interview with Juan Pablo Peña-Rosas, WHO

Anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells in the body is lower than normal or these have lower amounts of haemoglobin, a protein that is involved in the oxygen exchange of the body.

10 Aug 2012

Researchers urge shakeup to laparoscopic cholecystectomy timing

The tradition of delaying laparoscopic cholecystectomy after hospital admission for mild gallstone pancreatitis may be unnecessary, say the authors of a US study.

9 Aug 2012

Dabigatran ‘still effective in obese’

The oral direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran is an effective thromboprophylactic therapy for patients undergoing total hip or knee replacement regardless of their body mass index, researchers assert.

9 Aug 2012

Recurrences of ovarian cancer can be detected earlier and more accurately with PET/CT

Due to the lack of studies, there is currently no proof that patients with ovarian cancer can benefit from positron emission tomography (PET) alone or in combination with computed tomography (CT). As regards diagnostic accuracy, in certain cases, recurrences can be detected earlier and more accurately with PET or PET/CT than with conventional imaging techniques.

9 Aug 2012

Herceptin® could potentially be delivered via a standard injection

A new method of delivering a commonly used breast cancer drug could result in considerably less time spent in hospital for some women undergoing breast cancer treatment, according to the results of a Phase 3 trial published Online First in The Lancet Oncology.

9 Aug 2012

University of Nevada researcher to optimize new rapid test for melioidosis

A new rapid test to diagnose melioidosis, a difficult infection to treat - and classified as a biothreat by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - is being optimized and tested by University of Nevada School of Medicine researcher David AuCoin.

9 Aug 2012

High BMI linked to poor outcomes after prostatectomy and ADT

Men initiating androgen deprivation therapy after radical prostatectomy are more likely to experience poor outcomes if they are overweight or obese, report researchers.

8 Aug 2012

Study examines trends in serum lipid concentrations among U.S. children and adolescents

In a study involving more than 16,000 U.S. children and adolescents, there has been a decrease in average total cholesterol levels over the past 2 decades, although almost 1 in 10 had elevated total cholesterol in 2007-2010, according to a study in the August 8 issue of JAMA.

8 Aug 2012

Study compares mortality rates among RA patients treated with individual TNF inhibitors

New research confirms no significant difference in the rates of death among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were exposed to one of several TNF inhibitors used to treat RA, adalimumab (Humira), etanercept (Enbrel), and infliximab (Remicade).

8 Aug 2012

Normal-weight adults with new-onset diabetes have higher mortality rate

American adults of a normal weight with new-onset diabetes die at a higher rate than overweight/obese adults with the same disease, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.

8 Aug 2012

Children with negative TB skin test at high risk for mortality

Children with clinical signs of tuberculosis but with a negative tuberculin skin test result should not have treatment delayed, suggest study findings showing that false-negatives are common and associated with high mortality.

7 Aug 2012

Frailty may explain early dialysis initiation and mortality link

A high prevalence of frailty among patients starting dialysis may help to explain why early dialysis initiation in chronic kidney disease is associated with a reported increase in mortality, say US researchers.

7 Aug 2012

Health worker training program in Tanzania's Kigoma Region reducing maternal mortality rate

Inter Press Service reports on the successful efforts of Tanzania's Kigoma Region "to train assistant medical officers to conduct life-saving c-sections at its rural health centers," allowing pregnant women with complications to deliver at more local facilities instead of having to travel to regional or district hospitals. Tanzania's maternal mortality rate is high, at 578 deaths for every 100,000 live births, IPS notes.

7 Aug 2012

Underinsured CVD patients die sooner, irrespective of race

Insurance status is a better predictor of survival after a serious cardiac event than race, and may help explain racial disparities in health outcomes for cardiovascular disease. A new study by Derek Ng, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US, and his team shows that race is not linked to an increased risk of death but being underinsured is a strong predictor of death among those admitted into hospital with a serious cardiac event.

7 Aug 2012

Assumptions about liver transplant wait-list mortality challenged

The majority of liver patients who die on, or are removed from, the transplant wait-list have declined an offer of transplant, show the findings of an American study.

6 Aug 2012

Cardiovascular risk present across chronic rheumatic diseases

Patients across the spectrum of rheumatic diseases, not just those with rheumatoid arthritis, have a significantly increased prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors compared with the general population, the results of a Dutch study indicate.

6 Aug 2012

Manning ICU with 24-hour specialist staff does not improve long-term survival

Having round-the-clock rather than on-demand presence of an intensivist does not increase intensive care unit patients’ long-term survival rates, report US researchers.

6 Aug 2012

Older adults with head trauma over a weekend more likely to die

A Johns Hopkins review of more than 38,000 patient records finds that older adults who sustain substantial head trauma over a weekend are significantly more likely to die from their injuries than those similarly hurt and hospitalized Monday through Friday, even if their injuries are less severe and they have fewer other illnesses than their weekday counterparts.

6 Aug 2012