Culture

Have you ever been "elbowed" by your bed partner because you were snoring? If yes, new research says you could have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Prior to polysomnography testing, researchers from the University of Saskatchewan asked 124 patients two questions: (1) Does your bed-partner ever poke or elbow you because you are snoring; and (2) Does your bed-partner ever poke or elbow you because you have stopped breathing?

Although continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is often used as therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), patient compliance with CPAP remains an issue. However, new research presented at CHEST 2012, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, shows that patients who meet with a respiratory therapist for a total of 2.5 hours within 30 days of initiating CPAP had significant compliance after 1 month of therapy.

NEW ORLEANS – "Off label" drugs are medications that have not been tested for safety or efficacy for a specific patient age or condition. New research presented Oct. 21 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans found that off-label treatments were ordered for 96 percent of all pediatric patients, and 100 percent of patients ages 13-17, in the intensive care unit of an urban children's hospital.

NEW ORLEANS – Compared to six years ago, the number of orthopedic surgeons willing to see a child with a broken arm who is covered by Medicaid has dropped 39 percent, and even children with private insurance may face obstacles in getting a timely appointment, according to research presented Oct. 21 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.

NEW ORLEANS – Robert Block, MD, FAAP, outgoing president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), will address attendees at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition Saturday, Oct. 20, at 10:40 a.m. during the opening plenary session at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Dr. Block will lead a discussion on the "soul of a pediatrician," and how a pediatrician's devotion and compassion for children must persist as the world of medicine changes around us.

Istanbul, Turkey – 20 October 2012: Women are more likely to die from a myocardial infarction than men, according to research presented at the Acute Cardiac Care Congress 2012. The gender gap in mortality was independent of patient characteristics, revascularisation delays and revascularisation modalities. Women also had longer treatment delays, less aggressive treatment, more complications and longer hospital stays. The study was presented by Dr Guillaume Leurent from the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in Rennes, France.

Istanbul, Turkey – 20 October 2012: The Acute Cardiac Care Congress 2012 is the first annual meeting of the newly launched Acute Cardiovascular Care Association (ACCA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). It takes place from 20 to 22 October in Istanbul, Turkey, at the Istanbul Lufti Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Centre (ICEC).

Istanbul, Turkey – 20 October 2012: Coronary angioplasty improves survival in all patients with out of hospital cardiac arrest, according to research presented at the Acute Cardiac Care Congress 2012. The study was presented by Dr Annamaria Nicolino from the Santa Corona General Hospital in Pietra Ligure, Italy.

DETROIT – A novel therapy that uses donated human stool to treat the deadly and contagiousC.diff infection is safe and highly effective, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

Researchers found that 43 of 49 patients recovered swiftly after treatment and had no adverse complications from C.diff three months later. Treatment is performed either through a nasogastric tube or colonscopy on an outpatient or inpatient basis.

DETROIT – The national practice guideline for treating MRSA-related pneumonia is seven to 21 days. A Henry Ford Hospital study found that effective treatment can be done in half the time.

Researchers found that 40 percent of patients were treated for eight to 13 days on a therapy of the antibiotics vancomycin or linezolid, and had the highest survival rate.

The Henry Ford study is believed to be the first to evaluate the length of treatment for MRSA-related pneumonia.

The death of a child is a tragic event for a family, bringing with it feelings of numbness, anger, guilt and denial. And, unfortunately, for many families, the loss becomes too much to bear.

A new study co-conducted by a researcher at Rochester Institute of Technology uncovers the strong connection between the death of a child and the mortality of the mother, regardless of cause of death, gender of the child, marital status, family size, income or education level of the mother.

San Diego, CA (October 19, 2012) – Research presented at IDWeek 2012™ concludes that despite advances in electronic medical records, mistakes are still commonly made in the prescription of antiretroviral medications for hospitalized HIV-positive patients. At the same time, a trio of studies suggests however, that electronic records in combination with increased clinical education can help to greatly decrease medical errors.

The latest data showing the amount of time devoted by Ukraine's state and private television channels to political parties has revealed a 2 to 1 disparity in the amount of news coverage.

Statistics released this week by electronic monitors covering the period from September 24th to October 14th revealed that Ukraine's anti-government opposition parties were covered in 264 news stories compared to 124 for the government and enjoyed a total of 5 hours and 38 minutes of air time, while the government parties had just 3 hours and 25 minutes.

Athens, Ga. – A national recession doesn't just affect Americans' wallets. It also impacts their travel to national parks, a new University of Georgia study has found.

– Our idea was to find a way to adapt these natural processes to nanofabrication. This led us to an incidental finding that a focused ion beam can locally induce bending with nanoscale resolution.

The technology has various applications in the fabrication of nanoscale devices. The structures are surprisingly resilient:¬ the team found them to be quite sturdy and robust under a variety of adverse conditions, such as electrostatic discharge and heating.