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Link between norovirus outbreaks and excess hospitalization and mortality in nursing homes

In a study that included more than 300 Medicare-certified nursing homes, rates of hospitalization and death were substantially increased during outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis vs. non-outbreak periods, according to a study appearing in the October 24/31 issue of JAMA.

19 Oct 2012

Simple strategies can make big difference in maternal mortality

Aissata Sall Yade, a communications assistant for the Senegal Urban Reproductive Health Initiative, part of IntraHealth International, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog about Aissatou Dia Fall, a head midwife at Senegal's Gallo Dia Health Center in Yeumbeul, and her efforts to improve access to health care for women in the community.

19 Oct 2012

Examining how issue of abortion portrayed in Kenyan Constitution

In an opinion piece in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog, David Olson, a global health communications consultant who worked as a communications adviser to the Reproductive Health and Rights Alliance in Kenya earlier this year, describes how "abortion rights [in the country] have been liberalized in certain cases in a Constitution approved in a public referendum two years ago."

19 Oct 2012

Study identifies new risk factors for bladder cancer

Low depressive symptoms and a longer telomere length are compelling factors that contribute to a prolonged life for bladder cancer patients according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

19 Oct 2012

Daily sedation interruption does not benefit critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients

For critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation, daily sedation interruption did not reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation or appear to offer any benefit to patients, and may have increased both sedation and analgesic use and nurse workload, according to a study appearing in JAMA.

19 Oct 2012

Long-term multivitamin use associated with prevention of cancer in middle-aged and older men

In a randomized trial that included nearly 15,000 male physicians, long-term daily multivitamin use resulted in a modest but statistically significant reduction in cancer after more than a decade of treatment and follow-up, according to a study appearing in JAMA.

19 Oct 2012

Personalized medicine research strikes early for heart genes

A landmark paper identifying genetic signatures that predict which patients will respond to a life-saving drug for treating congestive heart failure has been published by a research team co-led by Stephen B. Liggett, MD, of the University of South Florida.

18 Oct 2012

Genetic clues for responders to heart failure drug identified

Researchers have identified genetic signatures that predict which patients respond to the beta blocker bucindolol.

18 Oct 2012

Global anti-tuberculosis campaign now ‘at a crossroads’

Tuberculosis care and control has improved dramatically over the last two decades, but numbers of cases and deaths are still high and multidrug resistant-TB is an under-reported and ever-increasing problem, suggest findings from the World Health Organization Global TB Report 2012.

18 Oct 2012

Chloride-restrictive intravenous strategy may decrease incidence of AKI among critically ill patients

In a pilot study assessing the effect of different levels of chloride in intravenous fluids administered to critically ill patients in an intensive care unit, restricting the amount of chloride administration was associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of acute kidney injury and the use of renal replacement therapy, according to a study in the October 17 issue of JAMA.

17 Oct 2012

Universal tumor testing superior to selective strategy in identifying Lynch syndrome among CRC patients

In a comparison of strategies to identify individuals with Lynch syndrome, the most common form of hereditary colorectal cancer (CRC), caused by mutations in certain genes (DNA mismatch repair [MMR] genes), universal tumor MMR testing among certain CRC patients had a greater sensitivity for the identification of Lynch syndrome compared with multiple alternative strategies, although the diagnostic improvement was modest, according to a study in the October 17 issue of JAMA.

17 Oct 2012

Prescription pain medication abuse on the rise among current generation of adolescents

A new study by the University of Colorado Denver reveals that today's adolescents are abusing prescription pain medications like vicodin, valium and oxycontin at a rate 40 percent higher than previous generations.

17 Oct 2012

High nurse workloads may affect postsurgical outcomes of older minorities

Older black patients are three times more likely than older white patients to suffer poorer outcomes after surgery, including death, when cared for by nurses with higher workloads, reports research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

17 Oct 2012

Public-private partnership will promote handwashing to help reduce child mortality in Africa

Though the number of children dying of preventable and treatable diseases worldwide has dropped significantly since 1990, there is "realistic hope for much more" progress, particularly if "improved hygiene and sanitation ... play a key role in the next stage," Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, write in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

17 Oct 2012

UK HealthCare's Gill Heart Institute cardiologists perform TAVR procedures

Interventional cardiologists at UK HealthCare's Gill Heart Institute have successfully performed the facility's first two transcatheter aortic valve replacements.

17 Oct 2012

Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care releases new diabetes screening guidelines

Routine screening for type 2 diabetes in adults at low and moderate risk is not recommended, although it is recommended for people at high and very high risk of the disease, state new diabetes screening guidelines published in CMAJ.

17 Oct 2012

Sitting on a cardiac timebomb

People who sit for long periods of time have an increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, and mortality, even if they undertake the recommended amount of exercise each day, say researchers.

16 Oct 2012

Sleep deprivation reduces aggression, testosterone in men

Sleep deprivation is associated with a reduction in reactive aggression and testosterone levels in men, Canadian study findings show.

16 Oct 2012

Political, community support critical to improving maternal mortality in Afghanistan

"Ten years ago, I took my first role as a midwife in a refugee camp in Iran. ... The situation for women and children was terrible -- the maternal mortality rate was among the worst in the world," Sabera Turkmani, president of Afghan Midwives Association, writes in this Al Jazeera opinion piece.

16 Oct 2012

Fit elderly NSCLC patients should be considered for salvage targeted therapy

Until there are more validated biomarkers to direct treatment decisions, many physicians use patient age to decide what therapy to give their patients. Literature data report that older patients often go undertreated because of concerns for limited tolerance to toxic therapies.

16 Oct 2012

Mortality News and Research

Link between norovirus outbreaks and excess hospitalization and mortality in nursing homes

Simple strategies can make big difference in maternal mortality

Examining how issue of abortion portrayed in Kenyan Constitution

Study identifies new risk factors for bladder cancer

Daily sedation interruption does not benefit critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients

Long-term multivitamin use associated with prevention of cancer in middle-aged and older men

Personalized medicine research strikes early for heart genes

Genetic clues for responders to heart failure drug identified

Global anti-tuberculosis campaign now ‘at a crossroads’

Chloride-restrictive intravenous strategy may decrease incidence of AKI among critically ill patients

Universal tumor testing superior to selective strategy in identifying Lynch syndrome among CRC patients

Prescription pain medication abuse on the rise among current generation of adolescents

High nurse workloads may affect postsurgical outcomes of older minorities

Public-private partnership will promote handwashing to help reduce child mortality in Africa

UK HealthCare's Gill Heart Institute cardiologists perform TAVR procedures

Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care releases new diabetes screening guidelines

Sitting on a cardiac timebomb

Sleep deprivation reduces aggression, testosterone in men

Political, community support critical to improving maternal mortality in Afghanistan

Fit elderly NSCLC patients should be considered for salvage targeted therapy

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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