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Risk for patients contracting pneumonia increases threefold when treated with pantoprazole: Study

A popular stomach-acid reducer used to prevent stress ulcers in critically ill patients needing breathing machine support increases the risk of those patients contracting pneumonia threefold, according to researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

15 Sep 2009

Phase IIa trial results of panobacumab released

Kenta Biotech has presented positive Phase IIa results of its lead drug candidate, panobacumab (KBPA101), showing it is safe and well tolerated in patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The compound, a fully human IgM monoclonal antibody, has the potential to reduce mortality rates.

14 Sep 2009

$2.4M approved for LHIN's Urgent Priorities and Aging at Home initiatives

At its meeting on August 26 2009, the South West LHIN Board approved a total of $2.4M for 2009/10 in one-time and base funding as part of its Urgent Priorities and Aging at Home initiatives. These initiatives and projects support the priorities identified in the LHIN's Integrated Health Service Plan (IHSP) and will help to address health care pressures within the South West LHIN.

5 Sep 2009

Teleflex Medical's OSMO removes water from the expiratory limb of breathing circuit during mechanical ventilation

Teleflex Medical has announced the introduction of OSMO, a universal solution that allows for maintenance free water removal from the expiratory limb of the breathing circuit during mechanical ventilation.

31 Aug 2009

Covidien introduces Leak Compensation software for Puritan Bennett 840 ventilator

Covidien (NYSE: COV), a leading global supplier of healthcare products, today announced the global launch of its Leak Compensation software option for the Puritan Bennett 840™ ventilator. This new feature will provide a ventilation solution in high-leak environments, particularly in non-invasive ventilation where air leaks associated with the use of masks, nasal prongs, and nasal pillows are common.

24 Aug 2009

$1.1 million funds will help make critical enhancements to Integrated Medical Systems' MedEx 1000 system

Integrated Medical Systems, Inc., a medical technology systems integrator transforming critical care, announced that it has received $1.1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense for additional enhancements of the company's MedEx 1000(TM) "suitcase" intensive care unit (ICU).

24 Aug 2009

Proposed Federal budget cuts will put seniors at risk

The Health Facilities Association of Maryland (HFAM) today brought together U.S. Representative Frank Kratovil (MD-1) and residents, workers and leaders from the Salisbury Rehabilitation and Nursing Center to personalize the pending effects of a proposed $32 billion federal cut to Medicare.

20 Aug 2009

Gentium reports results from phase 3 trial of defibrotide for severe veno-occlusive disease

Gentium S.p.A. has announced top-line results from a historically controlled, multicenter, open label, Phase III trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 25 mg/kg/day of Defibrotide for the treatment of severe veno-occlusive disease (sVOD) in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) patients.

19 Aug 2009

Integrated Medical Systems receives U.S. Army order for "suitcase" intensive care unit

Integrated Medical Systems, Inc., a medical technology systems integrator transforming critical care, announced that it has received a commitment for approximately $3.25 million in funding from the U.S. Army's Medical Research Material Command for acquisition and ongoing development of the company's MedEx 1000(TM) "suitcase" intensive care unit (ICU).

11 Aug 2009

Doctors' opinions not always welcome in end-of-life medical choices

Some caregivers of critical care patients prefer doctors to keep their opinions on life support decisions to themselves, according to new research that challenges long-held beliefs in the critical care community.

10 Aug 2009

New online tool to help nurses prevent the 10 "Never Events"

Elsevier, a world leader in healthcare and medical publishing and online solutions, today announced the availability of a new online tool within Mosby's Nursing Consult designed to help nurses prevent the 10 "Never Events" identified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in an October 2008 fact sheet.

10 Aug 2009

Covidien receives FDA clearance for new ventilator leak compensation software

Covidien has announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Leak Compensation software feature for the Puritan Bennett 840 ventilator system. This option provides continuous levels of mechanical ventilation to patients requiring respiratory support, regardless of the level of gas leakage that might occur in the circuit or past a patient interface device in the clinical setting.

6 Aug 2009

New system may allow use of xenon to protect newborn brain

Breathing xenon gas can help protect the infant brain from damage caused by oxygen deprivation, but the xenon's high cost and scarcity has precluded its widespread use.

27 Jul 2009

Swine flu pandemic could overwhelm critical care beds in England, especially children’s units

Experts in intensive care and anaesthesia have predicted that the current swine flu pandemic could overwhelm critical care beds and ventilators in England, with hospitals on the South East Coast, and in the South West, East of England and East Midlands, being worst hit.

24 Jul 2009

Medical staff cut down on hospital-acquired infections

CNN reports on Alfonso Torress-Cook and his efforts to eliminate fatal infections at Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, California: "Torress-Cook is part of a growing movement in medicine that no longer accepts hospital-acquired infections as inevitable complications. Every year, such infections sicken 1.7 million and kill 99,000 people in the United States."

12 Jul 2009

Severe obesity brings greater risks of health problems during medical procedures

Healthcare providers must carefully consider the unique risk factors related to severe obesity in patients undergoing all types of surgery, according to an American Heart Association scientific advisory published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

15 Jun 2009

Boy born with half a heart survives and thrives

Rhonda Ellison was six months pregnant when she and her husband, James Gaines, got the kind of news all parents dread going into an ultrasound: something was wrong with their baby. They needed to go to the Children's Heart Center at Golisano Children's Hospital.

27 May 2009

Nervous system may be culprit in Pompe disease

Brain may win out over brawn as the primary cause of breathing problems in children with a severe form of muscular dystrophy known as Pompe disease.

25 May 2009

Risk factors identified for ventilator-associated pneumonia

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the main cause of nosocomial infection in patients undergoing major heart surgery.

29 Apr 2009

Exercise therapy benefits ICU patients

An exercise program developed at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center aimed at helping patients in the medical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) maintain physical conditioning is a featured 'Innovation Profile' on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Web site.

23 Mar 2009