http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A new federal law allowing young adults to remain on their parents' medical insurance until age 25 has shielded them, their families and hospitals from the full financial consequences of serious medical emergencies, according to a new RAND Corporation study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-health-reform-shields-young-adults.html Health Wed, 29 May 2013 17:40:15 EST news289067916 (Medical Xpress)—Patients with diabetes who are depressed are much more likely to develop episodes of dangerously low blood sugars, or hypoglycemia, than are those who are not depressed, a new study has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-depression-diabetics-severe-blood-sugar.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 24 May 2013 07:54:30 EST news288600853 Giving patients better access to primary health care could save nearly $4 billion a year in unnecessary emergency room visits for a single common complaint – urinary tract infections – according to a study by the Vattikuti Urology Institute at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-er-urinary-tract-infections-billion.html Health Mon, 06 May 2013 13:30:01 EST news287057228 A relatively common urinary tract disorder that can usually be managed in an outpatient setting is adding an estimated $238 million a year to the cost of emergency room visits in the U.S., according to two new studies from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-diagnosis-treatment-common-outpatient-disorder.html Health Sun, 05 May 2013 07:10:06 EST news286952417 Last summer Kelly Bruski went to the store with her sons to buy a birthday gift for her boyfriend. When the boys, now 6 and 9, chose a magnet desk-toy called Buckyballs, "I saw they were really picking out a gift for themselves," said Bruski, a sales rep in Crystal Lake, Ill. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-small-high-powered-magnets-hazardous-kids.html Pediatrics Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:50:02 EST news285411783 A study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University School of Medicine has found that nearly one quarter of patients may return to the emergency department within 30 days of being discharged from a hospitalization. None of these emergency room visits that do not lead to subsequent admission are included in calculating hospital readmission rates, which are a key focus of health care cost containment and quality improvement efforts. The findings are published in Annals of Emergency Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-quarter-patients-discharged-hospitals-ers.html Health Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:10:01 EST news285323461 By stimulating one part of the brain with laser light, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at UC San Francisco (UCSF) have shown that they can wipe away addictive behavior in rats – or conversely turn non-addicted rats into compulsive cocaine seekers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-laser-zaps-cocaine-addiction.html Neuroscience Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:24:07 EST news284214213 (Medical Xpress)—A group of doctors and public health experts are urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take immediate action to protect young people from the effects of caffeinated energy drinks. In a letter signed by 18 medical doctors and public health professors delivered to the FDA today (March 19), experts cite research that links consumption of highly caffeinated energy drinks to rapidly increasing numbers of emergency room visits and even deaths. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-fda-urged-curb-caffeine-energy.html Health Wed, 20 Mar 2013 07:22:54 EST news282982959 Heart failure patients who are moderately or severely depressed have four times the risk of dying and double the risk of having to go to the emergency room or be hospitalized compared to those who are not depressed, according to new research reported in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-heart-failure-patients-depression-death.html Cardiology Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:00:11 EST news282927280 Patients who experience chronic pain may experience improvement in symptoms if their primary care providers are specifically trained in multiple aspects of pain, including emotional consequences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-pain-primary.html Health Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:46:01 EST news281717154 Designer drugs are multiplying at a worrying rate and increasingly sending users to hospital, a UN-affiliated report said Tuesday, calling for international efforts to stem the spread of these substances. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-drugs-health.html Addiction Tue, 05 Mar 2013 06:27:37 EST news281687251 Hypoglycemia may be a much larger problem among patients with diabetes than is currently realized, according to a study of members of a diabetes-focused social network conducted by researchers in Boston Children's Hospital's Informatics Program (CHIP). The study shows how engaging patients in research through social networking may help augment traditional surveillance methods for public health research, while simultaneously offering opportunities to promote healthy behaviors among participants. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-social-networking-approach-health-hypoglycemia.html Diabetes Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:08 EST news279805431 (HealthDay)—Lead levels in young children in the United States have declined dramatically in recent decades, according to government figures released Friday. But the new report on the environment and children's health also found a rise in asthma among kids. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-kids-asthma-cases.html Health Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:10:01 EST news278355378 Following a hospitalization, patients face many challenges as they transition home. A new study of this vulnerable period published by Yale School of Medicine researchers in JAMA found that a substantial number of patients return to the emergency department soon after leaving the hospital, and, while such patients are not usually readmitted, the study raises concerns that many more patients require acute medical care after hospital discharge than previously recognized. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-emergency-room-redux-patients-hospitalization.html Health Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:00:12 EST news278091137 A new U.S. government survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled nationwide during the past four years, the same period in which the supercharged drink industry has surged in popularity in convenience stores, bars and on college campuses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-er-tied-energy.html Health Wed, 16 Jan 2013 05:26:51 EST news277536399 (HealthDay)—In Chicago, a hospital employee describes the emergency department as "knee-deep in flu and pneumonia cases." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-flu-cases-severe-season.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 04 Jan 2013 10:12:26 EST news276516740 New research from PolicyLab at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia shows that one of the nation's largest programs providing home visitation support for at-risk mothers and children may not be as successful in reducing early childhood injuries as it was in earlier evaluations. The researchers evaluated the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) over seven years of widespread implementation in Pennsylvania and found that children served by the program had no fewer injuries than children in comparable families not enrolled in the program—and in some less serious cases, had higher injury rates. The results of the study are published in the current issue of Maternal Child Health Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-home-first-time-moms-struggling-injuries.html Health Wed, 12 Dec 2012 09:41:13 EST news274527667 Seniors in long-term care experienced a significant reduction in emergency room visits and depression when receiving palliative care services, according to a recent collaborative study by researchers at Hebrew SeniorLife's Hebrew Rehabilitation Center (HRC) and Institute for Aging Research, both affiliated with Harvard Medical School (HMS). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-palliative-outcomes-seniors.html Health Mon, 10 Dec 2012 11:52:06 EST news274362719 In the first study to compare mental health-related emergency department (ED) visits between children with and without autism spectrum disorders (ASD), researchers found that ED visits are nine times more likely to be for psychiatric reasons if a child has an ASD diagnosis. Published in the journal Pediatric Emergency Care (Epub ahead of print), the study found externalizing symptoms, such as severe behaviors tied to aggression, were the leading cause of ED visits among children with ASD. Importantly, the likelihood of a psychiatric ED visit was higher if a child carried private health insurance rather than medical assistance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-children-autism-emergency-room-psychiatric.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:31:20 EST news273774523 Diabetic patients who suffer from a common complication of diabetes called gastroparesis may find that chronic electrical stimulation (ES) at specific acupuncture points could relieve gastroparesis symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, early satiety, abdominal fullness, upper abdominal pain and bloating, according to study results unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-chronic-electrical-acupressure-relieve-stomach.html Diabetes Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:29:05 EST news270116913 People suffering from asthma or other chronic lung problems are typically only able to get a measure of their lung function at the doctor's office a few times a year by blowing into a specialized piece of equipment. More frequent testing at home could detect problems earlier, potentially avoiding emergency room visits and hospitalization. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-app-lung-health-smartphone.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:50:49 EST news267180632 The largest study of patients with severe asthma to date, published in the Lancet special issue on respiratory medicine, shows that those treated with the monoclonal antibody mepolizumab experienced an almost 50 percent reduction in severe exacerbations, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations compared with patients given placebo. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-mepolizumab-halves-exacerbations-patients-severe.html Immunology Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:30:01 EST news264345938 Loyola University Medical Center researchers are reporting one of the first studies to examine how patients and families are soliciting living kidney donors on Facebook. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-patients-facebook-solicit-kidney-donations.html Other Wed, 23 May 2012 13:24:19 EST news256998251 Orthopedic spine surgery may be more effective than non-surgical treatment for low back disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-surgery-conditions.html Surgery Fri, 18 May 2012 08:50:01 EST news256548756 Unintentional poisonings from medicines cause more emergency room visits for young children each year than do car accidents. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-grandparents-prescription-medicines-children-easily.html Health Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:10:02 EST news253804182 One in four HIV patients was found to have been sexually abused as a child, according to a two-year Duke University study of more than 600 HIV patients. Traumatic childhood experiences were also linked to worse health outcomes among these patients, who are aged 20 to 71. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-quarter-adults-hiv-abused-children.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:31:12 EST news250943467 A study of a controversial housing project that allows chronically homeless people with severe alcohol problems to drink in their apartments found that during their first two years in the building residents cut their heavy drinking by 35 percent. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-homeless-heavy-drinkers-imbibe-housing.html Health Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:00:03 EST news246209108 Emily Marchant had a can of Red Bull at her elbow as she went over an assignment in a Harper College library carrel. She is a long-standing fan of the beverage, she said, usually drinking one a day when she needs a boost. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-federal-er-highly-caffeinated-tenfold.html Health Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:00:06 EST news242492168 (Medical Xpress) -- Vaccinating infants against rotavirus has resulted in dramatic decreases in health care use and treatment costs for diarrhea-related illness in U.S. infants and young children, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study is published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-rotavirus-vaccination-large-decreases-health.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:58:26 EST news235927888 Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have found that climate change may lead to more asthma-related health problems in children, and more emergency room (ER) visits in the next decade. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-future-climate-asthma-children.html Health Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:36:31 EST news233922971