Respiratory News and Research

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Lessons learned from transfusion refusal

Jehovah’s Witness patients who refuse blood transfusions during cardiac surgery are not at risk for surgical complications or long-term mortality compared with non-Witnesses who receive transfusions, report US researchers.

10 Jul 2012

Sleep studies essential before bariatric surgery

Obstructive sleep apnea frequently goes undiagnosed in obese patients who undergo bariatric surgery, show findings from a US study.

10 Jul 2012

Women unaware of TOLAC delivery option

Study findings suggest that women eligible for trial of labor after a cesarean know little about their options for mode of delivery, with many leaving the decision up to their physician.

10 Jul 2012

Physicians and e-prescribing systems do not align

Hospital physician prescribers frequently do not use shortcut functions in electronic prescribing systems, leading to inefficiency and revealing possible misalignment with users’ prescribing behaviors, report Australian researchers.

10 Jul 2012

Postoperative delirium has lasting cognitive consequences

Patients may take a long time to recover from the cognitive impact of cardiac surgery if they develop postoperative delirium, research shows.

10 Jul 2012

Laparoscopic appendectomy preferable for obese patients

Obese patients with appendicitis have fewer postoperative complications, a shorter stay in hospital, and shorter operative times when treated with laparoscopic appendectomy rather than open appendectomy, study findings show.

10 Jul 2012

Photodynamic therapy promising after failed chemo for ESCC

Photodynamic therapy is a potentially curative and tolerable salvage treatment option for patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma when chemoradiotherapy has failed, report researchers.

10 Jul 2012

Poor vaccine uptake blamed for polio rise in Pakistan, Afghanistan

The number of cases of poliomyelitis per year in Pakistan and Afghanistan has more than doubled since 2006 despite improvements in available vaccine efficacy, show study findings in The Lancet.

10 Jul 2012

Effective ketoprofen dose identified for pig endotoxins

Compared with tap water, treatment with ketoprofen significantly reduces the rectal temperature and total clinical scores among pigs challenged with the Escherichia coli endotoxin, report researchers.

10 Jul 2012

Racial differences in hospice use revealed

Study results show that while hospice use by Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure increased in the USA over the period 2000 through 2008, non-White patients were less likely to enroll than their White counterparts.

10 Jul 2012

Diaphragm muscles show osteopathic training potential

Osteopathic manipulative intervention to obtain functional equilibrium of the diaphragm increases lower esophageal sphincter pressure in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, researchers have found.

10 Jul 2012

COPD still affects treatment received after heart attack

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease receive less aggressive treatment after hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction than those without the lung condition, US study results show.

10 Jul 2012

Enterovirus blamed for some deaths of Cambodian children; Officials continue to investigate mysterious respiratory illness

"Lab tests have confirmed that a virulent strain of hand, foot and mouth disease known as [enterovirus-71 (EV-71)] is to blame for some of the 59 cases of mysterious illness among children in Cambodia reviewed since April, including 52 deaths, according to a joint statement from the World Health Organization and Cambodian Health Ministry," the Associated Press reports, noting that "the numbers were lowered from the initial report of 62 cases."

10 Jul 2012

Read-through molecule improves muscle function in DMD

A compound that results in a read-through on nonsense mutations in messenger RNA restores dystrophin expression in an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, research shows.

9 Jul 2012

Complete subperichondrial rhinoplasty: A good tip for a good tip

A new and unconventional rhinoplasty technique minimizes soft tissue disruption, reducing bruising, edema, and numbness and making for a more speedy appearance of the final result, say researchers.

9 Jul 2012

Prediction tool indicates prognosis after cardiac arrest

US researchers report the development of a prediction tool that could help determine neurologic prognosis after in-hospital cardiac arrest.

9 Jul 2012

Alcoholic hepatitis linked to hepatitis C risk

Hepatitis C virus is more common in patients with alcoholic hepatitis than the general population, but infections may be going undetected, US data show.

9 Jul 2012

Childbearing may reduce mortality in later life

All-cause mortality rates fall progressively among women aged 60–76 years the more children they have borne, show Australian study results.

9 Jul 2012

Special surface coating for stents to keep them in place

If a person's windpipe is constricted, an operation in which the surgeon inserts a stent to enlarge the trachea is often the only way to relieve their respiratory distress. But this grid-like implant can slip out of position, closing off the windpipe altogether. Researchers are working on a special surface coating for the stents to keep them in place.

9 Jul 2012

Health officials working to identify respiratory illness responsible for deaths of more than 60 Cambodian children

WHO and Cambodian health officials are investigating "the source of an unidentified illness" -- characterized by high fevers, severe respiratory problems, "and in some cases neurological symptoms" -- that has killed more than 60 children in the country since April, NPR's health blog "Shots" reports (Hensley, 7/5). "

7 Jul 2012