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Lactated Ringer’s safety caution in cardiac arrest

Prehospital intravenous loading with lactated Ringer’s solution may reduce the chances for survival with good neurologic outcome among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, an observational study suggests.

6 Mar 2013

UK’s health performance declining compared with 14 EU countries over past 20 years

Six decades of universal free health care, the introduction of widespread public health initiatives (eg, tobacco control, cancer screening, and immunisation), and substantial increases in health expenditure have failed to improve the UK’s health outcomes or longevity ranking against the average of 14 other original members of the European Union, Australia, Canada, Norway, and the USA (EU15+) over the past 20 years.

6 Mar 2013

Across the nation, C-section rates show wide variation

C-sections, a very common operating room procedure, can boost the cost of delivery from about $9,000 for a vaginal birth to $13,000.

6 Mar 2013

Air pollution and heart attacks: an interview with Dr Cathryn Tonne, LSHTM

Air is polluted when it contains any extraneous entity in sufficient quantities to adversely affect the environment or the health of people exposed to it.

6 Mar 2013

National Jewish Health receives U.S. patent for POPG and related compounds

Dennis Voelker, PhD, professor of medicine at National Jewish Health, has been awarded a U.S. patent (#8,367,643) for various lipids and related compounds that can inhibit inflammation and infection in the lungs, especially those caused by influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

5 Mar 2013

Classification aids high nipple surgery decision-making

Surgeons have devised a system to help determine the severity of high nipple-areola complex in patients after cosmetic or reconstructive breast surgery.

5 Mar 2013

Left-sided brain injury increases infection risk

Patients with a left-sided brain injury are more likely to develop hospital-acquired infections than those with right-sided injury, show study findings.

5 Mar 2013

Increased pneumonia rates after Japan earthquake

Significantly increased rates of pneumonia and related deaths were seen after the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami in Tohoku, Japan, report researchers.

5 Mar 2013

Nursing home patients with pneumonia may need viral screening

Viral testing should be carried out among all older individuals who have been admitted to hospital for nursing home-acquired pneumonia, recommend researchers.

5 Mar 2013

Two asthma medications combined in one inhaler more effective than recommended treatment

Two large randomised trials published to coincide with the launch of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine provide compelling new evidence that using two types of common asthma medications combined in one inhaler for both preventive and rescue treatment (Single inhaler Maintenance and Reliever Therapy; SMART) is more effective at reducing attacks than guideline-based treatment in adults whose asthma is not well controlled, and is safe and well tolerated.

5 Mar 2013

Carbohydrate-rich diet during pregnancy may predict RSV severity in infants

An important predictor of the severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants may be what their mothers ate during pregnancy, according to a Vanderbilt study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

5 Mar 2013

Researchers identify smoking gun for environmental exposures to affect future generations

Grandmother's cigarette smoking could be responsible for her grandchild's asthma, and the recent discovery of this multi-generational transmission of disease suggests the environmental factors experienced today could determine the health of family members for generations to come, two Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) lead researchers write in the March edition of Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

5 Mar 2013

Shortage of TDP-43 protein causes muscle wasting and stunted nerve cells

A shortage of a protein called TDP-43 caused muscle wasting and stunted nerve cells. This finding supports the idea that malfunction of this protein plays a decisive role in ALS and FTD. The study is published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA" (PNAS).

3 Mar 2013

Kallikrein gene variants modulate OSCC development

Polymorphisms in the kallikrein7 and kallikrein10 genes are associated with the development and progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma, a study in Taiwanese men indicates.

1 Mar 2013

Team-based geriatric inpatient consultation benefits unclear

Comprehensive geriatric assessment of inpatients on nongeriatric wards may be of limited benefit when delivered via a team rather than a ward, conclude the authors of a meta-analysis.

1 Mar 2013

CPOE systems ‘cut drug errors by half’

The use of computerized provider order entry systems in US hospitals approximately halves the number of medication errors, research shows.

1 Mar 2013

Amoxicillin effectiveness: an interview with Prof Paul Little, University of Southampton

Amoxicillin is a broad spectrum penicillin, and in the UK is one of the most frequently used antibiotics. It is commonly used either on its own or, where there are particular concerns about resistance, in combination as Co-amoxiclav (as Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid) which extends its anti-bacterial spectrum.

1 Mar 2013

Pivotal study of olesoxime in Spinal Muscular Atrophy receives positive interim review

Trophos SA, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics from discovery to clinical validation for under-served medical needs in neurology and cardiology, announced the completion of the interim analysis of the pivotal efficacy study of olesoxime in the rare neurodegenerative condition Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

1 Mar 2013

Exposure to BPA may increase risk of asthma in young children

Researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health are the first to report an association between early childhood exposure to the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) and an elevated risk for asthma in young children. BPA is a component of some plastics and is found in food can liners and store receipts.

1 Mar 2013

GLP-1 pancreatitis concerns justified

Study results have raised further concerns over a link between pancreatitis and the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based therapies for patients with Type 2 diabetes.

28 Feb 2013