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Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory for 2010 December focusses on tackling norovirus outbreaks

In early 2010, Pennsylvania nursing homes and hospitals reported an increased number of cases of gastrointestinal illness which are consistent with recurring outbreaks of the highly contagious norovirus and norovirus-like illnesses nationwide. With a new norovirus season approaching, the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority issues its 2010 December Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory with data analysis, guidance and success stories provided by Pennsylvania nursing homes for preventing and controlling the illness.

2 Dec 2010

OHA launches 2010 guidebook on leading practices in patient safety

The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) launched the 2010 Guidebook on Leading Practices in Patient Safety entitled "Advancing Patient Safety through Ideas and Innovations", during this year's HealthAchieve.

2 Dec 2010

St. Jude ICU honored with Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence for second consecutive year

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has been recognized for the second consecutive year with the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence given by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). In 2009, the St. Jude ICU became Tennessee's first ICU to win the honor.

2 Dec 2010

Mindray launches V Series patient monitoring system

Mindray Medical International Limited, a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices worldwide, today introduced the Mindray V Series patient monitoring system, an all new scalable platform that focuses on the clarity and continuity of data at a single point of care. The V Series solution is the result of research focused on identifying the unique challenges of critical care and other high acuity environments.

From Mindray 2 Dec 2010

Increased staffing enhances patient survival in medical ICU

In a first-of-its-kind study to measure the impact of the highest recommended specialist staffing levels in an intensive care unit, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that increased staffing by specially trained physicians and other health care professionals can enhance patient survival and enable patients to breathe sooner without assistance. The results of the study have been released online ahead of print in the journal Critical Care Medicine.

30 Nov 2010

QIAGEN to supply point-of-need molecular veterinary diagnostics for disease detection in emerging countries

QIAGEN has been selected to contribute to the fight against infectious diseases in animals in emerging countries by supplying an international pilot project associated with the United Nations with portable devices to perform ultra-fast molecular testing in the field.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 29 Nov 2010

Collective efforts in transplantation reduces risk of treatment-related complications in blood cancer

A decade of refinements in marrow and stem cell transplantation to treat blood cancers significantly reduced the risk of treatment-related complications and death, according to an institutional self-analysis of transplant-patient outcomes conducted at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

25 Nov 2010

Weather associated with trauma admissions

Every 5-C rise in maximum temperature pushes up the rate of hospital admissions for serious injuries among children, reveals one of the largest studies of its kind published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.

25 Nov 2010

GFAP levels predict brain injury, death in critically ill children on ECMO

Johns Hopkins Children's Center scientists have discovered that high blood levels of a protein commonly found in the central nervous system can predict brain injury and death in critically ill children on a form of life support called extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO.

23 Nov 2010

Stealth Peptides introduces Bendavia clinical candidate at AHA Scientific Sessions

Stealth Peptides, a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing innovative mitochondrial therapies for diseases with significant unmet medical needs, introduced its lead clinical candidate, Bendavia, a novel compound that targets the mitochondrion, at the 2010 American Heart Association's (AHA) Scientific Sessions, Resuscitation Science Symposium.

22 Nov 2010

NSW nurses to strike on Wednesday

NSW nurses are bent upon going on strike despite requests from Deputy Premiera and Minister for Health Carmel Tebbutt for them to re-enter negotiations. The strike is set to go ahead against the orders of the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).

21 Nov 2010

Eastern Virginia professor says average doctor may be toting new pocket-sized ultrasound machine

Since the Civil War, the stethoscope has been a standard tool of the trade for physicians. Soon, the average doctor may be toting another valuable diagnostic tool: a pocket-sized ultrasound machine.

20 Nov 2010

Abnormal levels of circulating auto-antibodies found in blood of COPD patients

Moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be an auto-immunity problem, according to researchers in Spain, who studied the presence of auto-antibodies in patients with COPD and compared them to levels of control subjects. They found that a significant number of patients with COPD had significant levels of auto-antibodies circulating in their blood, about 5 to 10 times the level in controls.

20 Nov 2010

Stromedix obtains license from UCSF for integrin αvβ5 antibody

Stromedix, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on innovative therapies for fibrosis and organ failure, announced today that it has exclusively licensed the rights to a monoclonal antibody to integrin αvβ5 from the University of California. This compound is the second Stromedix pipeline asset to be sourced from the laboratory of Dean Sheppard, M.D., at University of California, San Francisco.

19 Nov 2010

BMEYE ccNexfin receives FDA clearance

BMEYE B.V., the innovators of combined totally noninvasive, beat-to-beat blood pressure and cardiac output monitoring announces FDA clearance and the United States launch of the BMEYE ccNexfin-the first totally noninvasive cardiovascular monitor with blood pressure, cardiac output, and Masimo rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry measurements.

19 Nov 2010

AACN endorses intraosseous vascular access

Recognizing that IV use is not always optimal to provide patients with fluids and medications, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) recently endorsed a consensus paper that recommends intraosseous (IO) vascular access in a variety of healthcare settings.

17 Nov 2010

National Medical Center specialist wins best abstract for Outstanding Research Award in Pediatric Cardiology

David Wessel, MD, senior vice president for Hospital-Based Specialties at Children's National Medical Center, won the best abstract for Outstanding Research Award in Pediatric Cardiology by the American Heart Association's Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young.

17 Nov 2010

BIDMC, IPFnet to conduct clinical trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) will join the Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Clinical Research Network (IPFnet), a clinical research network sponsored by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to conduct randomized clinical trials to evaluate new and existing medications for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The network is made up of healthcare institutions from around the United States.

16 Nov 2010

New investigational drug is well tolerated in children with nmCF

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the publication of data from a Phase 2a clinical trial of ataluren in children with nonsense mutation cystic fibrosis (nmCF) in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

15 Nov 2010

Science and precedent do not support biosimilar approach for plasma protein therapies

The current science and experience does not support the safety and efficaciousness of a biosimilar pathway for plasma protein therapies. At a public hearing last week, the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) urged the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make patient safety its top priority by adopting a global approach in its evaluation of plasma protein therapies for the biosimilars process.

15 Nov 2010

Critical Care News and Research

Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory for 2010 December focusses on tackling norovirus outbreaks

OHA launches 2010 guidebook on leading practices in patient safety

St. Jude ICU honored with Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence for second consecutive year

Mindray launches V Series patient monitoring system

Increased staffing enhances patient survival in medical ICU

QIAGEN to supply point-of-need molecular veterinary diagnostics for disease detection in emerging countries

Collective efforts in transplantation reduces risk of treatment-related complications in blood cancer

Weather associated with trauma admissions

GFAP levels predict brain injury, death in critically ill children on ECMO

Stealth Peptides introduces Bendavia clinical candidate at AHA Scientific Sessions

NSW nurses to strike on Wednesday

Eastern Virginia professor says average doctor may be toting new pocket-sized ultrasound machine

Abnormal levels of circulating auto-antibodies found in blood of COPD patients

Stromedix obtains license from UCSF for integrin αvβ5 antibody

BMEYE ccNexfin receives FDA clearance

AACN endorses intraosseous vascular access

National Medical Center specialist wins best abstract for Outstanding Research Award in Pediatric Cardiology

BIDMC, IPFnet to conduct clinical trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

New investigational drug is well tolerated in children with nmCF

Science and precedent do not support biosimilar approach for plasma protein therapies

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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