http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Men are significantly more likely than women to need urgent hospital care, including readmission, within a month of being discharged, finds research in the online only journal BMJ Open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-men-women-urgent-hospital-discharge.html Health Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:30:02 EST news253981050 (Medical Xpress) -- A major study by researchers from the Universities of Otago and Oxford has found that overweight and obese middle-aged women are at much higher risk of developing potentially fatal blood clots than women who are a healthy weight. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-greater-blood-clot-heavier-middle-aged.html Cardiology Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:10:01 EST news253930185 Experts from Bristol and Nottingham are leading a major new national study to investigate whether intravenous antibiotics are effective in killing a common germ that causes dangerous complications in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-clinical-trial-success-cystic-fibrosis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:48:44 EST news252064114 Immediate skull reconstruction following trauma that penetrates or creates an indentation in the skull can aggravate brain damage inflicted by the initial injury, a study by a University of South Florida research team reports. Using a rat model for moderate and severe traumatic brain injury, the researchers also showed that a delay of just two days in the surgical repair of skull defects resulted in significantly less brain swelling and damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-skull-resconstruction-immediately-traumatic-brain.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:12:54 EST news251626364 People whose blood pressure drops rapidly when they move from lying down to standing, known as orthostatic hypotension, may have a higher risk of developing heart failure, according to research published in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-sudden-blood-pressure-position-linked.html Cardiology Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:00:03 EST news251376427 (HealthDay) -- Most California hospitals implement some policies to improve infection control for multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO), primarily methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but few policies are associated with lower MDRO rates, according to a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Infection Control. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-california-hospitals-infection.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sat, 17 Mar 2012 06:10:14 EST news251183404 Providing personal mobile computers to medical residents increases their efficiency, reduces delays in patient care and enhances continuity of care, according to a "research letter" in the March 12, 2012, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-personal-mobile-doctors-efficiency.html Other Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:00:04 EST news250779376 Women with chronic heart failure survive longer than their male counterparts, according to a large analysis of studies comprising data on more than 40,000 subjects. The analysis represents the largest assessment of gender and mortality risk in heart failure - and provides evidence which many randomised trials have failed to do because they have been dominated by male patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-death-heart-failure-women-men.html Cardiology Thu, 08 Mar 2012 04:20:01 EST news250401661 A large population-based study has found that lung function and obstructive airway diseases are strongly and independently associated with increased risk of heart failure. Importantly, say the investigators, this association was even evident in never-smokers and was still evident after adjustment for smoking status and number of years smoking. This, they add, indicates "that our results are not primarily confounded by smoking". http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-airflow-obstruction-lung-function-heart.html Cardiology Sat, 25 Feb 2012 03:00:01 EST news249305890 Medication errors are common in primary care but the number of mistakes could be reduced significantly if GPs introduced an in-house pharmacist-led intervention scheme. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-in-house-pharmacists-gps-errors-percent.html Medications Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:00:02 EST news248957279 The death rate from heart attack in England has halved in the last decade, claims a research paper published today in the British Medical Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-deaths-heart-halved-decade.html Cardiology Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:50:03 EST news246774192 A review of 16 prognostic indices used to predict risk of death in older adults in a variety of clinical settings, such as in nursing homes and hospitals, found that there is insufficient evidence to recommend the widespread use of these indices in clinical practice, according to a study in the January 11 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-accuracy-prognostic-tools-mortality-older.html Other Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:00:01 EST news245436485 A substantial proportion of emergency department eye care in Florida is reimbursed through Medicaid or paid for out of pocket by patients, and those findings may help in strategic planning as the debate over how best to implement the nation's new health care reform law progresses, according to a study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-payment-emergency-department-eye-florida.html Other Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:29:12 EST news245348939 A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that dust storms have an adverse effect on emergency hospital admission for chronic lung disease, often known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-storms-affect-subsequent-emergency-hospital.html Health Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:42:15 EST news242314927 New research from Scotland has shown that the rate of death in men and women hospitalised for chest pain unrelated to heart disease is higher in those with a history of psychiatric illness than without. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-prior-hospitalization-mental-illness-death.html Cardiology Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:20:44 EST news241928429 Repeatedly taking slightly too much paracetamol over time can cause a dangerous overdose that is difficult to spot, but puts the person at danger of dying. Patients may not come to hospital reporting the overdose, but because they feel unwell. This clinical situation needs to be recognized and treated rapidly because these patients are at even greater danger than people who take single overdoses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-paracetamol-ingestion-slightly-fatal-.html Medications Wed, 23 Nov 2011 04:02:47 EST news241243137 Patients with chronic conditions are likely to change their preferences for receiving emergency procedures in the event of cardiac arrest, according to new findings. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-decisions-life-sustaining-treatment.html Other Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:31:44 EST news236230291 An association has been found between infection associated with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) and increases in mortality and hospital care costs, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine. The article is part of the journal's Health Care Reform series. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-cardiovascular-implantable-electronic-device-related-infections.html Cardiology Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:51:49 EST news235065096 The number of children hospitalized for skin and soft-tissue infections, most due to community-acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), has more than doubled since 2000, a study by researchers at UC Davis and elsewhere has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-hospitalizations-due-skin-soft-tissue-infections.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:23:14 EST news232795385 In patients with acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), blood loss from greater use of phlebotomy (blood drawn for diagnostic testing) appears to be independently associated with the development of hospital-acquired anemia (HAA), according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Less Is More series. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-blood-loss-lab-hospital-acquired-anemia.html Other Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:30:01 EST news232030996 A team from the University of Sheffield's School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) has developed a new index to measure hospital mortality rates that has been accepted for use by the Department of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-hospital-mortality-index-uk.html Health Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:18:09 EST news226837050 Long emergency department waiting times are associated with an increased risk of hospital admission or death within seven days among non-admitted patients, finds a study published in the British Medical Journal today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-emergency-linked-adverse-events.html Health Thu, 02 Jun 2011 06:44:40 EST news226215868 (Medical Xpress) -- As the elderly population of West Virginia increases, the number of patients with dementia who will require hospital admission for trauma will also increase as this population is at a higher risk of falls and injury. A recent study by the West Virginia University Department of Emergency Medicine shows that when these traumas occur, family members and healthcare providers must answer difficult questions in regard to the future care of the dementia patient. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-trauma-dementia-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 26 May 2011 08:48:09 EST news225618305 A new study led by the University of Leicester has concluded that being able to see the GP of your choice in a doctor's surgery helps to reduce emergency hospital admissions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-patients-doctor-emergency-hospital-admission.html Health Tue, 17 May 2011 10:04:17 EST news224845440 The six-minute walking distance test (6MWD), a test that measures a patient's ability to tolerate exercise and physical activity, is an effective tool for understanding disease severity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a three-year global study of patients with COPD sponsored by drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-distance-accurate-indicator-disease-severity.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 16 May 2011 05:03:43 EST news224740996 Hospital patients with pneumonia may be at risk of experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, often with few or no warning signs, according to research from the University of Chicago Medical Center under the auspices of the American Heart Association's Get with the Guidelines project. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-pneumonia-patients-in-hospital-cardiac.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 15 May 2011 11:22:55 EST news224677350 A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that adult patients admitted to the hospital with pneumonia are more likely to die if they have Vitamin D deficiency. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-vitamin-d-deficiency-pneumonia-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 10 May 2011 10:07:13 EST news224240792 Drospirenone, the top-selling oral contraceptive marketed as Yaz or Yasmin in the U.S. and Canada, doesn't carry any more risk of gall bladder disease than the older generation of birth control pills, despite claims by some consumers and lawyers in both countries, according to a new study by University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Mahyar Etminan. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-oral-contraceptive-safe-gall-bladder.html Medications Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:31:16 EST news222348658 Surgical approaches that reduce incision size and recovery time from thyroid surgery work well in children, physician-scientists report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-minimally-invasive-thyroid-surgery-effective.html Cancer Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:40:01 EST news221909456