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Sedation before nerve block increases risk, not pain relief

New research suggests that sedating patients before a nerve block needed to diagnose or treat chronic pain increases costs, risks and unnecessary surgeries, and sedation does nothing to increase patient satisfaction or long-term pain control.

"Sedation doesn't help, but it does add expense and risk," says study leader Steven P. Cohen, M.D., a professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "In some places, every patient is being sedated. Our research shows it should be used very sparingly."

Doctors are missing chance to diagnose COPD in up to 85 percent of cases, study finds

A retrospective, 20-year study led by researchers at Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry shows that in up to 85 per cent of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) the underlying disease was being overlooked. Missed opportunities occur commonly in both primary and secondary care. The paper demonstrates the pointers to help GP to come to a earlier diagnosis. The findings are published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine today, Thursday 13th February 2014.

Many stroke patients on 'clot-busting' tPA may not need long stays in the ICU

A Johns Hopkins study of patients with ischemic stroke suggests that many of those who receive prompt hospital treatment with "clot-busting" tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) therapy can avoid lengthy, restrictive monitoring in an intensive care unit (ICU).

The study challenges the long-standing protocol that calls for intensive monitoring, mostly done in ICUs, for the first 24 hours after tPA infusion to catch bleeding in the brain, a side effect seen in 6 percent of patients treated with the medication.

Teledermatology app system offers efficiencies, reliably prioritizes inpatient consults

PHILADELPHIA - A new Penn Medicine study shows that remote consultations from dermatologists using a secure smart phone app are reliable at prioritizing care for hospitalized patients with skin conditions. Researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in JAMA Dermatology that this teledermatology process is reliable and can help deliver care more efficiently in busy academic hospitals and potentially in community hospital settings.

Hollywood failing to keep up with rapidly increasing diversity, UCLA study warns

When it comes to influential positions in the entertainment industry, minorities and women are represented at rates far below what would be expected given their percentage of the general population, according to a new study done at UCLA's Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.

In fact, the report shows, the proportion of female and minority actors, writers, directors and producers in films and TV ranges from just one-twelfth to one-half of their actual population percentage.

Use of mortality as measure of stroke care questioned

A new study disputes the effectiveness of mortality as a measure of the quality of care provided by hospitals to stroke patients. The paper – which was simultaneously presented today at the International Stroke Conference in San Diego and published in the journal Stroke – found that use of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders differ widely between hospitals and that this variation can significantly skew a hospital's quality "ranking" based on mortality.

4 years on, ICU Patients with kidney injury show high mortality & elevated urinary protein

In 4 years of follow up of 1464 participants in the randomized controlled trial Randomised Evaluation of Normal vs. Augmented Levels of RRT (RENAL) study, Martin Gallagher (The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, Australia) and colleagues found that patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) in an intensive care unit (ICU) who require renal replacement therapy (RRT; hemodialysis combined with hemofiltration) do not benefit from higher intensity RRT.

Study challenges a close link between recent weight gain and diabetes

It is a common notion that type 2 diabetes is precipitated by substantial progressive weight gain, but a study published this week in PLOS Medicine suggests that this might not be true.

Dorte Vistisen and Kristine Færch, from the Steno Diabetes Center in Gentofte, Denmark, and colleagues analyzed data from participants of the Whitehall II cohort, a group of London-based civil servants who have been followed for more than a decade, to see what changes in body weight and other parameters had occurred in people in the years before they were diagnosed with diabetes.

New imaging technique can diagnose common heart condition

CHICAGO --- A new imaging technique for measuring blood flow in the heart and vessels can diagnose a common congenital heart abnormality, bicuspid aortic valve, and may lead to better prediction of complications.

Hospital readmission rate varies following care at rehabilitation facility

Among rehabilitation facilities providing services to Medicare fee-for-service patients, 30-day hospital readmission rates vary, from about 6 percent for patients with lower extremity joint replacement to nearly 20 percent for patients with debility (weakness or feebleness), according to a study in the February 12 issue of JAMA.

UTMB study examines hospital readmission rates after inpatient rehabilitation

Nearly 12 percent of Medicare patients who receive inpatient rehabilitation following discharge from acute-care hospitalization are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days after discharge from the rehabilitation facility according to new research published in the Feb. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Before now, there was a lack of research on the frequency and causes of patients returning to hospital after rehabilitation.

RI Hospital: Cognitive behavioral therapy benefits patients with body dysmorphic disorder

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – In a recent study, researchers at Rhode Island Hospital found significant benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy as a treatment modality for patients with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). BDD is a common, often severe, and under-recognized body image disorder that affects an estimated 1.7 percent to 2.4 percent of the population. This study demonstrated significant improvement in patients' BDD symptoms and level of disability, as well as high levels of patient satisfaction with the treatment.

MIT robot may accelerate trials for stroke medications

The development of drugs to treat acute stroke or aid in stroke recovery is a multibillion-dollar endeavor that only rarely pays off in the form of government-approved pharmaceuticals. Drug companies spend years testing safety and dosage in the clinic, only to find in Phase III clinical efficacy trials that target compounds have little to no benefit. The lengthy process is inefficient, costly, and discouraging, says Hermano Igo Krebs, a principal research scientist in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Population bomb may be defused, but research reveals ticking household bomb

After decades of fretting about population explosion, scientists are pointing to a long-term hidden global menace.

The household. More specifically, the household explosion.

After committing a crime, guilt and shame predict re-offense

Within three years of being released from jail, two out of every three inmates in the US wind up behind bars again — a problem that contributes to the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. New research suggests that the degree to which inmates' express guilt or shame may provide an indicator of how likely they are to re-offend.

The findings show that inmates who feel guilt about specific behaviors are more likely to stay out of jail later on, whereas those that are inclined to feel shame about the self might not.