麻豆传媒

Hospital-Based Medicine

News, opinions and meeting coverage in hospital-based medicine.

UVB Exposure May Boost Low Vitamin D

MIAMI BEACH -- Narrowband UVB therapy may be a better treatment for vitamin D deficiency than supplementation, Swedish researchers reported here.

Fatal Reactions Prompt Omontys Recall

All lots of the new anemia drug peginesatide (Omontys) have been recalled because of severe hypersensitivity reactions -- some fatal -- observed after the drug was approved last March.

FDA Warns About Codeine Following Tonsillectomy

Products that contain codeine should not be used for pain relief in children following tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy because of a possible risk of serious adverse events or death, the FDA said Wednesday.

Is Pot Smoking a Stroke Trigger?

HONOLULU -- Middle age stroke patients were twice as likely to be pot smokers than healthy middle age controls, researchers found.

ACE Inhibitors Linked to Hallucinations in Elderly

Elderly patients with memory problems who suddenly have visual hallucinations may need to stop taking ACE inhibitors, researchers suggested.

No Need for Skin Preps to Be Sterile, FDA Told

WASHINGTON -- Requiring that antiseptic skin preparation products be sterile is unnecessary and wouldn't lead to a dramatic drop in infections, speakers told the FDA Wednesday.

Cardio Notes: Stress Test Finds Heart Disease in Seniors

Researchers are taking a second look at the accuracy of treadmill exercise testing for women over 65. Also this week, the birth of a subspecialty for adults with congenital heart disease and leg artery stenting.

C. Difficile Inpatient Stays Long, Costly

LAS VEGAS -- Among the many factors that contribute to the burgeoning costs associated with Clostridium difficile infections are long hospital stays, particularly in intensive care units, and the need for multiple specialist consultations, a chart review determined.

ALS Drug Gets Review for VA Coverage

LAS VEGAS -- Riluzole (Rilutek) should remain on the Veterans Administration formulary as a treatment for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, despite having only modest benefits and considerable cost, a researcher said here.

FDA to Look at Tainted Skin Preps

Antiseptic skin preparation products can be contaminated by microbes, a problem the FDA will address at an upcoming public hearing.

Eating Before Lipid Test OK

It may not be necessary to fast before a routine cholesterol check, a large community-based population study suggested.

Drug Relieves Opioid-Induced Constipation

LAS VEGAS -- An investigational opioid antagonist provided effective and durable relief from opioid-induced constipation in patients with chronic pain without interfering with analgesia, a randomized trial showed.

Cardio Notes: Sex Improves with Stenting

Opening the arteries of those with stable coronary disease also opens the door to an improved sex life. Also this week, bariatric surgery helps remodel the heart.

Working with Weights May Help Stroke Rehab

Resistance training -- which is often overlooked in stroke rehab -- may help improve thinking and memory in stroke survivors, researchers found.

Low Preop Sodium Raises Mortality Risk

Preoperative hyponatremia significantly increased the risk of 30-day postsurgical mortality, a risk that extended across all subgroups of surgical patients, investigators reported.

Anatomy of an Epidemic: The Opioid Movie

The national clamor over abuse of prescription opioids is now at a fever pitch, but little has been said about what drove the boon in opioid prescriptions. This latest report from 麻豆传媒/ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analyzes a pivotal Oxycontin marketing video, it's impact and its aftermath.

Anemia a Risk with Low-Dose IVIG, Too

Even small doses of intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) can cause acute, severe anemia, researchers warned.

Lying Prone for Radiation Best for Breast Tx

Lying face down for radiation therapy lessens the amount of collateral damage to breast cancer patients' heart and lungs, researchers found.

Brain-Eating Amoeba Came From Faucet

The recent cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis represent the first reported instances of U.S. tap water harboring the amoeba that causes the fatal disease, according to CDC researchers.

Adult Lungs Can Sprout New Growth

The lungs may have greater capacity for regeneration in adults than thought, according to a case report of new growth after lung cancer resection.

Tattoos Replace Bracelets for Medical Alerts

PHILADELPHIA -- As more people with diabetes replace their medical alert bracelets with tattooed warnings, there might be a need for a standard design and body location, a researcher here said.

Facebook Status: Need Kidney

WASHINGTON -- Promoting living kidney donation on social networks could increase the organ donor pool, researchers said here.

Second Kidney Transplant Lasts as Long as First

WASHINGTON -- Patients who have a second kidney transplant may not be as bound for failure as once thought, researchers said here.

SocialMed: Drafting a Social Media Policy

As more hospitals and medical centers join Facebook and Twitter, developing a social media policy may be topping more agendas.

Most ICD Patients Die of Heart Failure

Patients with implantable defibrillators or resynchronization devices with defibrillator were most likely to die of heart failure or non-cardiac causes, not sudden death, a single-center study found.

'Visual Snow' Called Real, Not Drug Related

NEW ORLEANS -- A mysterious and troubling phenomenon called "visual snow" is a distinct syndrome that does not appear to stem from illicit drug use, nor is it a migraine aura, a researcher said here.

Brain Bleed Size Affects Therapy in Afib Patients

NEW ORLEANS -- The size of a brain bleed appears to determine which medications, if any, are given to atrial fibrillation patients after an intracerebral hemorrhage, a retrospective study showed.

Smoking Cuts Risk of Benign Brain Tumor

The risk of developing an acoustic neuroma was greatly reduced among male smokers, but not among those who take snuff, researchers reported.

OTC Bug Bite Remedies of Little Help

Treating simple bug bites isn't usually necessary and there's little evidence to support doing so, a review warned.

Persistent Pus in Ear May Signal Unusual TB

SAN DIEGO -- Ear involvement is a rare, but potentially devastating, manifestation of tuberculosis, as was shown in a case report presented here.

Abuse of OTC Drug Mimics Kidney Stones

SAN DIEGO -- Stone deposits caused by abuse of an over-the-counter drug used to treat excess mucus may mimic kidney disorders, a researcher said here.

Doctors Say 45 Common Tests 'Overused'

Nine specialty groups have listed tests and treatments that are frequently overused, such as antibiotics for sinus attacks and CT scans for low back pain, in the first phase of a long-term project.

Renal Function Key in C. Diff Therapy Choice

SAN DIEGO -- Patients with Clostridium difficile infection and underlying impaired renal function fared better with fidaxomicin treatment than with vancomycin, a researcher said here.

Extreme Obesity Adds More Risk in Hysterectomy

AUSTIN, Texas -- Increasingly severe obesity drives up complication rates after hysterectomy, and outcomes continually worsen with rising body mass index, according to results from a study reported here.

Cheney's Heart Makes Him a Million Dollar Man

Keeping former Vice President Dick Cheney's heart beating probably will cost the healthcare system at least a million dollars, cardiac transplantation experts told 麻豆传媒.

Antibiotic Clears Stubborn E. Coli

Patients in last spring's outbreak of severe Escherichia coli who were treated with azithromycin had a lower frequency of long-term infection, German investigators reported.

Hormones Out of Whack With Long Opioid Therapy

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Intractable pain patients on long-term, high doses of opioids should be screened for hormonal abnormalities, researchers said here.

Feds Finalize Next Stage of 'Meaningful Use' Guidelines

LAS VEGAS -- Doctors now have an extra nine months to prove to the federal government that they've accomplished the early stages of "meaningful use" of health information technology, National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari announced Thursday.

Possible ICD-10 Delay Rankles IT Industry

茂禄驴LAS VEGAS -- The possible delay in implementing the new ICD-10 coding system may make physicians happy, but the health information technology industry is not so thrilled.

Meaningful Use Tops IT Issues for Hospitals

茂禄驴LAS VEGAS -- Meeting federally mandated health information technology benchmarks will be a top priority for hospital IT departments over the next two years, according to survey results presented here.

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