News

© freshidea - Fotolia.com

Touted for safety, ease and patient convenience, peripherally inserted central catheters have become many clinicians' go-to for IV delivery of antibiotics, nutrition, chemotherapy, and other medications. But compared to other central venous catheters (CVCs), these commonly-used catheters (known as PICCs) more than double the risk of dangerous blood clots – especially among patients who are critically ill or who have cancer, according to a new University of Michigan Health System study published in The Lancet.

Among intensive care unit patients receiving acute ventilatory support for respiratory failure, use of patient-preferred music resulted in greater reduction in anxiety and sedation frequency and intensity compared with usual care, according to a study published online by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American Thoracic Society international conference.

© sudok1 - Fotolia.com

The decision to limit life support in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) appears to be significantly influenced by physician practices and/or the culture of the hospital, suggests new findings from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference on May 21.

Children with sleep apnea syndrome who have their tonsils and adenoids removed sleep better, are less restless and impulsive, and report a generally better quality of life, finds a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health. However, the study found cognitive abilities did not improve compared with children who did not have surgery, and researchers say the findings don't mean surgery is an automatic first choice.

Regardless of pain, social class or age, a woman is more likely to be prescribed pain-relieving drugs. A study published in Gaceta Sanitaria (Spanish health scientific journal) affirms that this phenomenon is influenced by socioeconomic inequality between genders in the Autonomous Community in which the patient resides.

In Deutschland kommen jährlich 200 bis 400 Menschen durch Brandunfälle zu Tode. Die Häufigkeit hat sich damit während der letzten drei Jahrzehnte halbiert, berichtet Dr. Guido Kaiser (Universitätsklinik Göttingen) in Journal für Anästhesie und Intensivbehandlung. Fast alle Brände mit Todesopfern werden in Privatwohnungen registriert.

© Kwest - Fotolia.com

Men who are heavy drinkers and homeless for long periods of time have 400 times the number of head injuries as the general population, according to a new study by researchers who said they were shocked by their findings.

© James Steidl - Fotolia.com

When the brain's primary "learning center" is damaged, complex new neural circuits arise to compensate for the lost function, say life scientists from UCLA and Australia who have pinpointed the regions of the brain involved in creating those alternate pathways — often far from the damaged site.

Vijaya Knight M.D., Ph.D., National Jewish Health in Denver, is pictured working with blood vials. A growing number of patients are learning they are allergic to the metal used in knee or hip implants or to the bone cement used in surgery. A new study by National Jewish Health is touting the benefits of a blood test to help avoid painful complications. (National Jewish Health)

Imagine what Paula Spurlock must have been going through. Shortly after having a hip replaced in 2011, the trouble started. "I had horrible itching, really bad migraines and intense pain throughout my body," she said. "I couldn't take it. Every single thing in me itched."

Nurses will use extreme measures to save patients and their parents. But they’d prefer less aggressive life-preserving methods for themselves, according to an international survey on nurses’ end-of-life preferences.