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Hypothermia does not improve result in patients with severe bacterial meningitis

Bruno Mourvillier, M.D., of the Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, and colleagues conducted a study to examine whether treatment with hypothermia would improve the functional outcome of comatose patients with bacterial meningitis compared with standard care.

9 Oct 2013

Reduced mortality rates in TBI patients linked to increased adherence to guidelines

Researchers found a significant reduction in the number of deaths of patients hospitalized in New York State with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) between 2001 and 2009.

9 Oct 2013

Recent study confirms healing properties of liquorice in lung surgery patients

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), liquorice is regarded as a "panacea". A recent study by the University Department of Anaesthetics, General Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy at the MedUni Vienna has now, for the first time, scientifically confirmed the healing properties of this natural substance.

9 Oct 2013

Use of gloves, gowns by health care workers for ICU patient contact does not reduce MRSA infection

The wearing of gloves and gowns by health care workers for all intensive care unit (ICU) patient contact did not reduce the rate of acquisition of a combination of the bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), although there was a lower risk of MRSA acquisition alone, according to a study published online by JAMA.

7 Oct 2013

Universal Gown And Glove Use By Health-Care Workers In ICU Reduces MRSA 40 Percent

Healthcare workers' use of disposable gowns and gloves upon entering all patient rooms on an intensive care unit (ICU), versus only in rooms on standard isolation protocol, helped reduce patient acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by approximately 40 percent, according to new research co-led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Yale New Haven Health System Center for Healthcare Solutions.

5 Oct 2013

Dying heart cells are kept alive with spikes of oxygen

In a study published in published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, a Dartmouth researcher found that dying heart cells are kept alive with spikes of oxygen.

5 Oct 2013

Penn brain trauma experts provide latest data, guidelines from Neurocritical Care Society Meeting

A team of experts in neurocritical care, engineering, and informatics, with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, have devised a new way to detect

4 Oct 2013

'Early-term' babies more likely to experience higher risk for adverse health outcomes

Babies considered "early-term," born at 37 or 38 weeks after a mother's last menstrual period, may look as healthy as full-term babies born at 39-41 weeks, but a new study published by University at Buffalo physicians in JAMA Pediatrics has found that many of them are not.

3 Oct 2013

Antimicrobial usage causes vancomycin-resistant enterococci outbreaks in Greek NICU

Administration of antibiotics may have caused successive outbreaks of vancomycin-resistant enterococci in a Greek neonatal intensive care unit, according to a study in the October issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

2 Oct 2013

Early-term births associated with higher neonatal morbidity, shows study

Early-term births (37 to 38 weeks gestation) are associated with higher neonatal morbidity (illness) and with more neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or neonatology service admissions than term births (39 to 41 weeks gestation), according to a study by Shaon Sengupta, M.D., M.P.H., now of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and formerly of the University at Buffalo, N.Y., and colleagues.

1 Oct 2013

NIH award strengthens pioneering work in cystic fibrosis at Dartmouth's School of Medicine

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $5.9 million grant to support an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Lung Biology Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

1 Oct 2013

Patients treated by ID physicians less likely to die in hospital

In a first-of-its-kind study to evaluate the impact of a medical specialty on patient outcomes, researchers found that hospitalized patients with severe infections such as meningitis and Clostridium difficile are significantly less likely to die if they receive care from an infectious diseases specialist. The study, which analyzed nearly 130,000 Medicare patient cases, is now available online and will be published in the December 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

30 Sep 2013

Dextrose gel could treat neonatal hypoglycemia

A cheap and easy-to-administer dextrose gel should be used to treat low blood sugars in newborns (neonatal hypoglycaemia), a common problem that affects up to 15% of otherwise healthy babies, and a preventable cause of brain damage, according to new research published in The Lancet.

27 Sep 2013

Johns Hopkins receives $7.3M contract to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia

The Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality has been awarded a three-year, $7.3 million contract from the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality to bring its proven checklist for reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia — the most lethal of all hospital-acquired infections — to hospitals nationwide.

25 Sep 2013

Researchers identify molecular pathway linking ICU ventilation to brain damage

At least 30 percent of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) suffer some form of mental dysfunction as reflected in anxiety, depression, and especially delirium. In mechanically-ventilated ICU patients, the incidence of delirium is particularly high, about 80 percent, and may be due in part to damage in the hippocampus, though how ventilation is increasing the risk of damage and mental impairment has remained elusive.

25 Sep 2013

Pretravel consultations, malaria preventive medications save money for travelers to West Africa

Not only do U.S. travelers to West Africa who consult health providers before they leave and take prescribed preventive medications substantially reduce their risk of contracting malaria, they also reduce costs to their health insurance providers and, in most cases, to themselves.

24 Sep 2013

Bipolar suicide characteristics found

Italian researchers have identified clinical and psychologic characteristics that could help predict the risk for suicide in patients with bipolar disorder.

19 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 19, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about future health spending projections from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Actuaries as well as the latest on the upcoming House vote on a stopgap funding measure that would also defund the health law.

19 Sep 2013

Midwifery care costs less and just as safe as standard maternity care

Continued care from a named midwife throughout pregnancy, birth, and after the baby is born (caseload midwifery) is just as safe as standard maternity care (shared between different midwives and medical practitioners) for all women irrespective of risk, and is significantly cheaper, according to new research published in The Lancet.

19 Sep 2013

Caseload midwifery care is feasible for women of all risk types

A world-first University of Sydney randomised controlled trial comparing continuity of midwifery care throughout pregnancy with standard public hospital care found that caseload midwifery reduced interventions in birth and reduced costs.

17 Sep 2013

Intensive Care News and Research

Hypothermia does not improve result in patients with severe bacterial meningitis

Reduced mortality rates in TBI patients linked to increased adherence to guidelines

Recent study confirms healing properties of liquorice in lung surgery patients

Use of gloves, gowns by health care workers for ICU patient contact does not reduce MRSA infection

Universal Gown And Glove Use By Health-Care Workers In ICU Reduces MRSA 40 Percent

Dying heart cells are kept alive with spikes of oxygen

Penn brain trauma experts provide latest data, guidelines from Neurocritical Care Society Meeting

'Early-term' babies more likely to experience higher risk for adverse health outcomes

Antimicrobial usage causes vancomycin-resistant enterococci outbreaks in Greek NICU

Early-term births associated with higher neonatal morbidity, shows study

NIH award strengthens pioneering work in cystic fibrosis at Dartmouth's School of Medicine

Patients treated by ID physicians less likely to die in hospital

Dextrose gel could treat neonatal hypoglycemia

Johns Hopkins receives $7.3M contract to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia

Researchers identify molecular pathway linking ICU ventilation to brain damage

Pretravel consultations, malaria preventive medications save money for travelers to West Africa

Bipolar suicide characteristics found

First Edition: September 19, 2013

Midwifery care costs less and just as safe as standard maternity care

Caseload midwifery care is feasible for women of all risk types

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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