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Treating appendicitis by laparoscopic surgery may not be worth the cost

New research published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons suggests that a traditional, "open" appendectomy may be preferable to a less-invasive laparoscopic appendectomy for the majority of patients with acute appendicitis, contrary to recent trends.

3 Feb 2009

Laparoscopic central pancreatectomy

This minimally invasive procedure, pioneering in Spain, has been developed by a team of surgeons at the University Hospital of Navarra, which brings together the greatest experience worldwide in this technique.

3 Feb 2009

New test predicts how breast cancer patients respond to chemotherapy

Researchers at the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics and the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research in Molecular Oncology in Lausanne have developed a new test to predict how breast cancer patients respond to chemotherapy, which could help change how treatment is delivered in the future.

3 Feb 2009

Seniors in Medicare's doughnut hole decrease use of meds

Beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part D who reached a gap in health care coverage known as the "doughnut hole" were much less likely to use prescription drugs than those with an employer-based plan, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study.

3 Feb 2009

Resting pulse predicts heart attacks in women

A simple measurement of resting pulse predicts coronary events in women independently of physical activity and common risk factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, finds a study published on bmj.com.

3 Feb 2009

Discovery of new cause of ozone wheezing and potential treatments

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, and Duke University have discovered a cause of airway irritation and wheezing after exposure to ozone, a common urban air pollutant.

3 Feb 2009

$Older adults who experience osteoporotic fracture have increased risk of death for 5-10 years$

Older adults who experience osteoporotic fracture have increased risk of death for 5-10 years

Women and men age 60 years or older who have a low-trauma osteoporotic fracture have an increased risk of death for the following 5 to 10 years, compared to the general population, and those who experience another fracture increase their risk of death further for an additional 5 years, according to a study in the February 4 issue of JAMA.

3 Feb 2009

High-tech hospitals see fewer complications, lower costs

Texas hospitals using health information technologies had fewer complications, lower mortality rates and lower costs, a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has found.

3 Feb 2009

At last a male contraceptive jab!

At last a male contraceptive jab has been developed and is all set to be trialled - and Sydney men will be the first guinea pigs!

3 Feb 2009

Divorce, antidepressants, or weight gain/loss can add years to your face

Your mother's wrinkles - or lack there of, may not be the best predictor of how you'll age. In fact, a new study claims just the opposite.

3 Feb 2009

Dialysis patients residing at higher altitude have lower rate of death

Compared to dialysis patients living near sea level, dialysis patients living at an altitude higher than 4,000 feet have a 12-15 percent lower rate of death, according to a study in the February 4 issue of JAMA.

3 Feb 2009

Study finds vitamin use is highest in children who don't need them

A study by UC Davis researchers published in the February 2009 issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine has found that most of the healthy children and teenagers in the United States who are taking daily vitamin and mineral supplements probably don't need them.

2 Feb 2009

Researchers design re-engineered hospital discharge program to reduce rehospitalization

Researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have designed a process to minimize discharge failures.

2 Feb 2009

PET/CT may improve prognosis for patients with inflammatory breast cancer

In the largest study to date to evaluate fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in the initial staging of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), researchers were able to identify the precise location and extent of metastasis (spread of disease), offering the potential for a better prognosis for patients with this rare, but aggressive form of breast cancer.

2 Feb 2009