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Study examines use of virtual reality to manage pain at pediatric hospital

Virtual reality has emerged into popular culture with an ever-widening array of applications including clinical use in a pediatric healthcare center.

7 Nov 2017

MTSA expands efforts to fight against national opioid epidemic

Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia announced it is expanding efforts to educate Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists on treatment options that reduce or eliminate the need for opioids during and after surgery.

13 Oct 2017

Epidural analgesics have no effect on the duration of the second stage of labor, study reveals

A study, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, indicated that epidural analgesia had no impact on the duration of the second stage of labor, fetal position during birth, prevalence of episiotomy, normal vaginal delivery rate, or any other fetal well-being measures investigated by researchers.

11 Oct 2017

Epidural medication has no effect on duration of labor, study shows

Epidural analgesia – a mix of anesthetics and narcotics delivered by catheter placed close to the nerves of the spine – is the most effective method of labor pain relief. In widespread use since the 1970s, epidurals have long been thought to slow the second stage of labor – defined as beginning when the cervix is completely dilated and ending when the baby is delivered.

10 Oct 2017

Research: Brief interventions in primary care clinic could cut patients’ risky drug use

New research finds that brief interventions in a primary care clinic can reduce patients' risky substance use by 4.5 days per month -- a 40 percent decline among the Latino patients surveyed -- compared with people who did not receive the brief intervention.

1 Sep 2017

Research on electrical nerve-block implant aims at treating asthma and heart failure

Biomedical engineering researchers at Case Western Reserve University are refining more than 15 years of work on an electrical nerve-block implant, focusing their next step on new applications related to treating asthma and heart failure.

29 Aug 2017

A long and winding road: Kicking heroin in an opioid ‘treatment desert’

Heather Menzel squirmed in her seat, unable to sleep on the Greyhound bus as it rolled through the early morning darkness toward Bakersfield, in California's Central Valley.

11 Aug 2017

Drug overdose deaths on the rise in Ohio

In light of the Ohio opioid epidemic, Advanced Recovery Systems, an integrated behavioral healthcare management company, recently opened an addiction and co-occurring mental health treatment facility in Groveport: The Recovery Village Columbus. Located 10 miles away from Columbus, this new facility opened on July 11, 2017 and is now accepting patients.

29 Jul 2017

Illegal diversion of opioids linked to cluster outbreak of Serratia marcescens bacteria

An illegal diversion of opioids by a hospital nurse tampering with syringes was responsible for a cluster outbreak of Serratia marcescens, a gram-negative bacteria, according to research published online today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

7 Jul 2017

Opioid use disorder rises with little being done to curb the menace says new study

A new study has found that more and more Americans are being diagnosed with opioid addiction and the numbers that receive treatment are still very few. This finding is consistent with earlier findings from Blue Cross Blue Shield when analyzing member data.

29 Jun 2017

Study finds link between new opioid use and increased risk of cardiac death in older adults with COPD

Older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder who recently started using opioids have an increased risk of coronary artery disease-related death compared to non-opioid users, researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have found.

29 Jun 2017

Medical responses to opioid addiction vary by state, analysis finds

Location, location, location. That mantra may apply even when it comes to how opioid addiction is treated.

12 Jun 2017

Johns Hopkins researchers find ways to curb common and deadly hospital-acquired infections

For some hospital patients, going on a ventilator is often the difference between life and death. About 800,000 hospital patients undergo mechanical ventilation each year in the United States due to a variety of illnesses or conditions, such as a brain injury, stroke or pneumonia.

23 May 2017

How physicians can prevent opioid abuse while providing adequate pain relief

Rather than being considered a miracle pill that magically takes away pain, prescription opioids are increasingly being seen as a precursor to heroin addiction and the cause of potentially deadly overdoses themselves.

19 Apr 2017

'Love hormone' could hold key to treating drug addicts, say experts

Experts say oxytocin, a key hormone made naturally by the brain, could hold the key to treating drug addicts and help them avoid relapse.

12 Apr 2017

Oxytocin system may be key target for developing medications to treat opioid addiction

A new review of published research indicates that the oxytocin system—a key player in social reward and stress regulation—is profoundly affected by opioid use.

5 Apr 2017

ASA encourages patients to take simple steps before surgery for safe outcomes

If surgery is in your future, it's never too early to prepare. Whether you're having an outpatient procedure or a major operation involving a hospital stay, the American Society of Anesthesiologists encourages you to take simple steps to be ready for the big day, starting with talking with your physician anesthesiologist, a vital member of your care team.

14 Mar 2017

SLU scientist examines potential biomarkers for pain linked to debilitating health conditions

With new funding from The Mayday Fund, a Saint Louis University researcher will leverage her discovery of a pain pathway to determine if either of two key molecules can be used as biomarkers for pain associated with four debilitating health conditions: chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, endometriosis, interstitial cystitis and vulvodynia.

16 Feb 2017

New position statement offers recommendations for physicians on prevention of diabetic neuropathy

An estimated 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes develop some form of diabetic neuropathy, or the chronic nerve damage diabetes causes, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

31 Jan 2017

Geisinger physicians report opioid therapy to be ineffective in treating chronic pain

A new study by a pair of Geisinger Health System physicians reports that the use of opioid therapy to treat chronic pain is not only ineffective, it can actually increase the likelihood of more harmful consequences, including death.

8 Dec 2016