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Albumin may prove a predictor for pneumonia outcomes

Researchers say that assessing serum albumin levels within 24 hours of admission could be a good prognostic marker of community-acquired pneumonia.

21 Jan 2013

Research roundup: Ameliorating physician shortages; Patients' perceptions of bias

The authors note that there is a consensus "that the current shortage of primary care physicians will worsen over the next ten years as the nation's population grows and ages and as insurance coverage expands as a result of the Affordable Care Act." They examine whether workplace changes will impact that assessment.

19 Jan 2013

ECLS system supports flu patients in their recovery from severe respiratory problems

In recent weeks the intensive critical care units at University Health Network's Toronto General Hospital have used Extra Corporeal Lung Support (ECLS) to support five influenza (flu) patients in their recovery from severe respiratory problems.

19 Jan 2013

Study to determine prevalence of abnormal anal cytology and HPV in at-risk women

A basic connection of statistics lead a researcher at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island to question whether women should be screened for anal cancer during a regular visit to the gynecologist, and what technique is most effective.

18 Jan 2013

Many mothers of newborns in NICUs lack privacy to breastfeed

Many mothers of newborns in neonatal intensive care units have difficulty finding private, quiet places in the hospital to express milk, according to a new study from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University.

17 Jan 2013

Preterm infants with slower growth have delayed development in the cerebral cortex

Preterm infants who grow more slowly as they approached what would have been their due dates also have slower development in an area of the brain called the cerebral cortex, report Canadian researchers in a new study published today in Science Translational Medicine.

17 Jan 2013

Emergency departments drained of resources for elderly

Plans are needed to accommodate the growing demands on emergency departments to provide suitable care for older individuals in the USA, say researchers.

15 Jan 2013

Monitor white blood cell count in pertussis infants

Researchers say that taking early and repeat white blood cell counts could help determine which children with pertussis are at highest risk for death.

14 Jan 2013

Taking early and repeated WBC is critical in determining infants at high risk of pertussis

A study released today from the upcoming issue of the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS) found that taking early and repeated white blood cell counts (WBC) is critical in determining whether infants have pertussis and which of those children are at highest risk of death from the disease.

11 Jan 2013

New scoring system can help clinicians better identify non-ICU patients at risk for GI bleeding

Critically ill patients in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) are routinely prescribed acid-suppressive medications to reduce their risk of developing stress ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding, both of which can result from being in a stressful environment and from being intubated. Over the years, this routine practice has often been extended to patients outside the ICU, despite a lack of evidence that this population is at significant risk of these complications.

9 Jan 2013

SNSF-funded professor to receive 2012 National Latsis Prize

On 10 January 2013, Jacques Fellay will receive the National Latsis Prize 2012 at the Rathaus in Berne. The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is awarding the Prize to the SNSF-funded professor at EPF Lausanne in recognition of his work on the human genome and its defence mechanisms against viral diseases such as AIDS.

8 Jan 2013

Extended involvement maximizes gains from rapid response teams

An intensivist-led, multidisciplinary rapid-response team with extended involvement in patient care yields multiple benefits, say researchers.

8 Jan 2013

Merck’s resubmission of the NDA for suggammadex sodium injection accepted for review by the FDA

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the resubmission of the New Drug Application (NDA) for sugammadex sodium injection has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Merck expects the FDA’s review to be completed in the first half of 2013.

7 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: 'Class war' over Medicare funding; GOP needs courage to cut entitlements in debt fight

Failure to curb our deficits and reform unsustainable entitlement spending means passing greater debt burdens on to future generations. Democrats and Republicans have the opportunity to reverse this trend and claim credit. ... Sadly, the deal struck this week in Congress maintains the trend of $1 trillion deficits for at least another year while continuing to ensure that federal health care spending a generation from now will be untenable.

7 Jan 2013

Clinical approach to swallowing of foreign bodies

It is a well known fact that children often swallow things. Children aged 6 months to 6 years are most often affected, but even adults sometimes end up with a foreign body stuck in their throats-and not only there.

29 Dec 2012

MEDNAX acquires South Oakland Anesthesia Associates

MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of South Oakland Anesthesia Associates, P.C., a physician group practice that provides anesthesia care and pain management services at three hospitals, four ambulatory surgery centers, one eye center, and four pain management centers throughout Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties in Michigan.

21 Dec 2012

NFKB gene variations could play a key role in helping to determine survival rate of sepsis patients

A study in the January 2013 issue of Anesthesiology offers evidence that variations in what is called the NFKB gene could play an important role in helping to determine the survival rate of patients who acquire sepsis, a condition in which the body is overwhelmed by infection, and which is the leading cause of death in hospitals.

21 Dec 2012

Mother–infant pairs admitted to ICU have poor outcomes

Mother–baby pairs with co-admission to intensive care units after delivery are more likely to experience separation due to interfacility transfer, and have higher mortality rates, than pairs in which either mothers or babies are admitted, show study results.

17 Dec 2012

Three critical illness factors independently associated with increased risk of dementia

Older people often worry about dementia and while some risks are known, for example alcoholism or stroke, the effects of illness are less clear. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care looks at illness requiring hospitalization and treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) and finds that infection or severe sepsis, neurological dysfunction, such as delirium, or acute dialysis are all independently associated with an increased risk of a subsequent diagnosis of dementia.