Catheters News and Research

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Chemical found in medical devices impairs heart function

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that a chemical commonly used in the production of such medical plastic devices as intravenous (IV) bags and catheters can impair heart function in rats.

3 May 2009

Radiation device in the breast reduces complications for early stage breast cancer patients

A new study shows that the SAVI™ applicator, a small, expandable device inserted inside the breast to deliver partial breast irradiation, carries a low infection risk, a potential complication of such devices.

23 Apr 2009

Knowledge unlocks key to healthier options for dialysis patients

Kidney disease patients who are educated about dialysis are more likely to undergo a standard but under-utilized dialysis-related procedure than less knowledgeable patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

23 Apr 2009

South Australian hospital battles to contain superbug VRE

The cancer ward at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) in South Australia is currently battling to cope with an antibiotic-resistant bacteria called Vanocomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), a form of bacteria which lives in the gut.

16 Apr 2009

Research could lead to new non-antibiotic drugs to counter hospital infections

Lack of an adequate amount of the mineral phosphate can turn a common bacterium into a killer, according to research to be published in the April 14, 2009, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

9 Apr 2009

MRI-based method holds promise for predicting treatment outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation

University of Utah researchers have found that delayed-enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (DE-MRI) holds promise for predicting treatment outcomes and measuring disease progression for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a little known heart rhythm disorder that affects more than 3.5 million Americans and causes more than 66,000 deaths a year.

8 Apr 2009

New streamlined triage system for "brain attack"

Taking a page out of the playbook developed by cardiologists nearly two decades ago to promote the warning signs and swift treatment for heart attacks, a multidisciplinary team of stroke experts at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have created a new streamlined triage system at Strong Memorial Hospital's Emergency Department (ED) to provide rapid evaluation and specialized treatments to "brain attack," or stroke, patients.

1 Apr 2009

Experimental Parkinson's therapy may have robust weight-loss effect

A growth factor used in clinical experiments to rescue dying brain cells in Parkinson patients may cause unwanted weight loss if delivered to specific areas of the brain, according to University of Florida researchers in the March online edition of Molecular Therapy.

24 Mar 2009

Anti-microbial catheter to cut infection risk for dialysis patients

Medical experts at The University of Nottingham have shown that an innovative anti-microbial catheter could vastly improve treatment and the quality of life for many community-based dialysis patients.

24 Mar 2009

Interventional radiology makes complicated C-sections safer

Innovative, interventional radiology treatments are making childbirth safer for women who have C-sections that are complicated by massive bleeding and for those who suffer from the pregnancy condition of "invasive" placenta.

11 Mar 2009

Diagnostic errors: The new focus of patient safety experts

Johns Hopkins patient safety experts say it's high time for diagnostic errors to get the same attention from medical institutions and caregivers as drug-prescribing errors, wrong-site surgeries and hospital-acquired infections.

11 Mar 2009

Glass-fiber-reinforced plastic guide wires allow surgeons to insert catheters without X-rays

Have the patient's coronary vessels, heart valves or myocardial muscle changed abnormally?

10 Mar 2009

FDA approves first ablation catheters for the treatment of atrial fibrillatio

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first ablation catheters for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (uncoordinated contractions of the upper heart chambers), one of the most common types of arrhythmias-or abnormal heart rhythms--affecting more than two million Americans.

8 Feb 2009

Next generation intermittent urinary catheters

Rochester Medical Corporation (NASDAQ:ROCM) today announced the introduction of Magic3(TM), its new line of intermittent urinary catheters.

18 Dec 2008

Blocking mechanism found for antibiotic resistance in bacteria

It's as simple as A, T, G, C. Northwestern University scientists have exploited the Watson-Crick base pairing of DNA to provide a defensive tool that could be used to fight the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria -- one of the world's most pressing public health problems.

18 Dec 2008

Breast cancer treatment offers better outcome to women with implants

Women with early-stage breast cancer who have undergone breast augmentation may be treated successfully with a partial-breast radiation treatment called brachytherapy, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

1 Dec 2008

Scientists create synthetic Heparin in more varieties

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have learned to customize a key human enzyme responsible for producing heparin, opening the door to a more effective synthetic anticoagulant as well as treatments for other conditions.

25 Nov 2008

Medicine, math and engineering combine to reveal how sepsis and less severe infections occur

It's a leading cause of death, but no one knows for sure how and why it happens. It's a major source of health care costs, adding days or weeks to the hospital stays and lost work time of millions of people. But no one fully understands how best to fight it.

11 Nov 2008

California Pacific Medical Center opens pediatric ER

California Pacific Medical Center is opening the first Emergency Department in San Francisco designed specifically to treat and meet the needs of children ages birth to 18 and their families.

6 Nov 2008

Medicare stops paying for 10 reasonably preventable medical errors

Medicare starting Wednesday will no longer pay hospitals for additional care resulting from "reasonably preventable" errors, the New York Times reports.

5 Oct 2008