Blood Substitute Safely Reduces Need for Transfusion Following Elective Surgery
A hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC-201, Biopure Corporation) appears to be a safe substitute for blood transfusion, according to results of a multinational, phase III clinical trial among patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery. However, the blood substitute may not be appropriate for high-risk patients and patients over the age of 80, the findings suggest.
Universal Truths Abide in Medicine, Even in Parallel Universes
Medicine is practiced differently around the world, and yet some aspects — especially the frustrations — are fairly universal. Where better can you experience the similarities and differences than in the blogging world, where clinicians share stories from their practices and their personal lives? Two physician bloggers, known as "Dr. Dino" and "Dr. Emer," provide […]
Quest Diagnostics and Google Empower Patients and Physicians to Share Diagnostic Test Results Online
MADISON, N.J., May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Patients and physicians have a new way to share diagnostic laboratory data online, thanks to Quest Diagnostics and Google Health, a product launched today by Google. More than 100,000 physicians in the U.S. who use Quest Diagnostics' family of Care360(TM) connectivity products will be able to securely provide diagnostic […]
ASA comments at FDA hearing on fospropofol
The ASA submitted formal comments and testified before the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee (ALSDAC) requesting that the labeling for fospropofol disodium injection 35 mg/ml (fospropofol) include a similar warning to that which is included on the label for propofol. Because fospropofol is a pro-drug of propofol and […]
Enterix Inc. Launches Its Point-of-Care Test for Colorectal Cancer Screening
Enterix Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), today announced the availability of the InSure(R) Quik F I T(TM) fecal immunochemical test, a point-of-care version of the company's lab-based InSure(R) FIT(TM) test, that provides physicians with the sensitivity and specificity of the laboratory-based InSure FIT test.
Concurrent Epidural and IV Opioids Safe for Pain in Children
Postoperative pain in children with cancer can be safely managed with simultaneous epidural and intravenous opioids, according to researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Review Addresses Strategies for Patient Adherence to Medications
A review published in the April 16 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews provides various methods of encouraging patients to adhere to their medications, but the reviewers suggest that there are significant limitations and that more research is needed.
Misdiagnoses Caused in Part by Overconfidence
Most of the time a medical diagnosis is on point. But misdiagnoses do occur, and an overly confident doctor may be partly to blame, a new review suggests.
U.S. Must Do More to Stem Hospital Infections: Report
The U.S. government could do far more to force hospitals to prevent infections that kill up to 99,000 people every year, according to a nonpartisan congressional report released on Wednesday. It recommended that regulators consider mandating certain core standards — from something as simple as hand-washing to more complex measures — and that the government […]
4-Item Assessment Provides Good Bedside Diagnosis of Delirium
A simple 4-item assessment reliably identifies delirium in hospitalized patients, investigators reported here at Hospital Medicine 2008, the Society of Hospital Medicine annual meeting. Delirium is often underrecognized and undertreated in hospitalized patients, although it is associated with poor outcomes, including longer length of stay and higher risk of mortality, which may be avoided through […]
