Culture

BOSTON - A number of states - including Massachusetts and New York - mandate public reporting of mortality outcomes following certain cardiac procedures. While such reporting was originally intended to increase transparency and improve quality of care, a new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the University of Washington has shown that public reporting may in fact disincentivize physicians from offering potentially lifesaving treatment to patients who are at the greatest risk of mortality and poor outcomes.

Boston--Stroke patients who go directly to an endovascular center could receive treatment 99 minutes earlier, according to a new study presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery's (SNIS) 13th Annual Meeting.

New research suggests that an electroencephalogram (EEG) could be a strong indicator of the level of awareness of patients in a vegetative state after a severe brain injury.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has repeatedly shown that a significant minority of patients diagnosed as in the vegetative state are actually aware, but unable to show it reliably with their behaviour.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It's a Catch-22 with potentially deadly consequences: People trying to overcome addiction can't get treatment for their pain, because the most powerful pain medicines also carry an addiction risk.

And so their pain continues to get in the way of their addiction recovery - or they seek pain relief in the same addictive substances they're trying to avoid.

A new study of patients who survive the once-nearly fatal Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) finds their subsequent quality of life has more to do with lifestyle factors than how sick they were in the hospital.

Critical care researchers from Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City studied 616 patients who were treated for ARDS to determine what factors played the most significant role in their quality of life six months following discharge from the hospital.

Eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration are among the leading causes of irreversible vision loss and blindness worldwide. Currently, gene therapy can be administered to treat these conditions -- but this requires an injection. Now researchers report in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces a new way to deliver the treatment topically, without a needle.

New research provides some of the first evidence that medications taken by millions of American children to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) offer long-term benefits.

Philadelphia, PA, July 27, 2016 - Patients suffering the classic type of heart attack, ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), are recommended to undergo reperfusion therapy immediately to restore blood flow to the heart. However, not all STEMI patients receive this potentially life-saving treatment. In a study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, researchers found that patients who did not receive reperfusion treatment had a 30-day mortality rate three to four times higher than patients who did.

(Edmonton, AB) Groundbreaking research from the University of Alberta and McGill University has opened the door towards the future prevention of cardiac fibrosis--a condition leading to heart failure for which there is currently no treatment.

One-third of bike crashes in Toronto's downtown involved the city's streetcar tracks, according to a new study out of UBC and Ryerson University that suggests that separated bike routes could reduce risk to cyclists.

The findings could help inform planning decisions in cities building or expanding light-rail systems similar to Toronto's streetcar network including Surrey, Hamilton, Ottawa, Seattle and Portland.

Baby boomers, adults born between 1945 and 1965, are five times more likely to have been exposed to the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force recommend that all patients in that age group get tested.

Philadelphia, PA, July 26, 2016 - Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) has been particularly difficult to treat, or even describe, with definitions and terminology still under debate within the medical community. The number of patients hospitalized with HFpEF is now comparable to those with traditional heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and is projected to exceed that of HFrEF within the next few years. Therefore, it has become even more important to characterize the typical HFpEF patient and uncover factors that influence poor outcomes.

The bacteria that live in dental plaque and contribute to tooth decay often resist traditional antimicrobial treatment, as they can "hide" within a sticky biofilm matrix, a glue-like polymer scaffold.

An infusion of stem cells could help restore proper drainage for fluid-clogged eyes at risk for glaucoma. That's the upshot of a study led by a Veterans Affairs and University of Iowa team.

Researchers have found that Medicaid expansion increased Medicaid enrollment among people who received liver transplants funded by commercial insurance. The findings are published inLiver Transplantation.