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Fast way of spotting multidrug resistant bacteria could help stop outbreaks in hospitals

A type of bacterium widely found on our skin and in the environment has now become a major threat in hospitals where it can cause serious infections, such as pneumonia in severely ill patients.

27 Nov 2007

HPA statement on recent media interest in Pseudomonas infections

There has been some recent media interest in Pseudomonas infections.

21 Nov 2007

Rapid response teams in children's hospitals reduce risk of death, cardiac arrests

A children's hospital that added a rapid response medical team for patients not in the intensive care unit saw an 18 percent decrease in the death rate, and about a 70 percent decline in the rate of cardiac and respiratory arrests, according to a study in the November 21 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

21 Nov 2007

Physical therapy in intensive care reduce hospital stays

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) cites the results of the first study to show the effectiveness of early physical therapy for patients in a medical intensive care unit (ICU).

19 Nov 2007

University of Sydney leads the way in hospital technology

But a new electronic system developed by the University's School of Information Technologies and introduced at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) is designed to lead to better patient care, fewer hospital errors and allow researchers to search thousands of medical records.

19 Nov 2007

Nasty new cold virus claims lives across the U.S.

A nasty new version of the virus which causes the common cold is spreading across the United States.

15 Nov 2007

Revolutionary surgical procedure for a type of decapitation

A revolutionary surgical procedure by a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center has helped restore almost complete function to a patient who suffered a virtual decapitation.

6 Nov 2007

Patients denied admission to intensive care because of doctors' pessimism

Doctors are overly pessimistic about the chances of survival for patients with COPD related attacks and, as a result, some patients may be denied admission to hospital for vital help, according to a study published on bmj.com.

2 Nov 2007

Elective Caesareans put mums and babes at risk of death

According to a new British study women who opt for non-emergency Caesareans double their risk of dying or developing severe complications following the procedure.

31 Oct 2007

The risks linked to caesarean births

Women having a non-emergency caesarean birth have double the risk of illness or even death compared to a vaginal birth, according to a study from Latin America published on bmj.com.

31 Oct 2007

What is a critical lab value? it depends, Hopkins researchers find

When it comes to lab tests, interpreting the clinical importance of an out-of-range result depends on how much experience a physician has, suggests research from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

28 Oct 2007

Physical therapy in ICU can reduce hospital stays

The results of the first study to show the effectiveness of early physical therapy in a medical intensive care unit (ICU) were presented by a researcher from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center at the national meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in Chicago.

24 Oct 2007

Study looks at sepsis and purpura in children

While survival rates for sepsis have increased over the past two decades, children under four and those in adolescence remain highly susceptible to the condition.

18 Oct 2007

Potential health benefits of fish oil in baby formula

Scientists report in the November 2007 issue of the Journal of Lipid Research that adding long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids - typically found in fish oil - to baby formula may help infants better regulate their blood sugar and make more proteins in their muscle cells.

12 Oct 2007

M-POSSUM evaluation system improves accuracy and effectiveness of the original system

Based on POSSUM, a system suggested by some British scholars more than 10 years ago, a team led by Dr. Lian-An Ding has established the M-POSSUM evaluation system with the aim of improving the accuracy and effectiveness of the original system.

10 Oct 2007

Research highlights importance of adopting current adult pneumococcal vaccination guidelines

Among patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia, those who had previously received the pneumococcal vaccine had a lower risk of death and admission to the intensive care unit than patients who were not vaccinated, according to a report in the Oct. 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Oct 2007