http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Massachusetts' healthcare reform didn't result in substantially more hospital use or higher costs, according to data presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-massachusetts-health-reform-didnt-hospital.html Health Thu, 16 May 2013 16:27:03 EST news287940416 Robot-assisted surgery to remove kidney cancers has seen a rapid increase in use, and has both replaced and proven safer than laparoscopic procedures for the same purpose, according to a study by the Vattikuti Urology Institute at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-robot-assisted-kidney-cancer-surgery-benefits.html Cancer Tue, 07 May 2013 18:30:01 EST news287161422 The volume of cases performed at an institution each year has a direct effect on the outcome of surgical procedures, and should always be considered when looking at the benefits of a technique, according to a team of researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-hospital-surgical-volume-procedures.html Cancer Sun, 05 May 2013 16:32:13 EST news286990327 Pediatric rotavirus vaccination also indirectly protects unvaccinated adults from the highly contagious cause of severe diarrhea and vomiting, suggests a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. The findings suggest pediatric immunization against the virus may be more cost effective than previously thought, given rotavirus-related health care costs among adults. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-vaccinating-children-rotavirus-indirectly-adults.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:01 EST news278184322 (HealthDay)—Introduction of a standardized sterile collection process for blood cultures can reduce peripheral blood culture contamination rates and hospital charges, according to research published online Dec. 3 in Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-standardized-blood-culture-contamination.html Pediatrics Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:41:46 EST news273861690 A study by researchers at Stanford University Medical Center has found that a popular weight-loss operation is safer and reduces hospital bills when done with minimally invasive techniques rather than open surgery, which requires a large abdominal incision. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-minimally-invasive-approach-weight-loss-surgery.html Surgery Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:00:06 EST news259249184 (HealthDay) -- Morbid obesity increases the risk of multiple complications in spinal fusion surgery, particularly in patients undergoing anterior cervical or posterior lumbar procedures, according to research published in the May 15 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-morbid-obesity-ups-complication-spinal.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 05 Jun 2012 04:50:01 EST news258086475 The expanded use of antiretrovirals, potent drugs used to treat retroviral infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has been linked to significant decreases in hospital mortality rates among severely ill HIV-positive(HIV+) patients nationwide, primarily due to a decrease in opportunistic infections, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University. Despite these encouraging data, the study also revealed that in this population, chronic diseases and bloodstream infections are on the rise. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-mortality-decrease-chronic-disease-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 23 May 2012 14:00:28 EST news256996506 Removing a child's ruptured appendix sooner rather than later significantly lowers hospital costs and charges, according to a recently published study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-crucial-appendectomies.html Pediatrics Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:50:03 EST news255003279 Patients with infective endocarditis involving implanted cardiac devices experience a high rate of complications such as valve infections, heart failure, and persistent bacteremia, and high in-hospital and 1-year mortality rates, particularly if there is valve involvement, according to a study in the April 25 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-heart-infection-involving-icd-high.html Cardiology Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:44:41 EST news254504670 Pediatric surgeons can lower health care costs if they remove a young patient's perforated appendix sooner rather than later, according to new study results published in the April issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-surgery-outcomes-children-perforated-appendicitis.html Surgery Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:03:43 EST news252586993 Because of care advances, more infants and children with previously lethal health problems are surviving. Many, however, are left with lifelong neurologic impairment. A Children's Hospital Boston study of more than 25 million pediatric hospitalizations in the U.S. now shows that neurologically impaired children, though still a relatively small part of the overall population, account for increasing hospital resources, particularly within children's hospitals. Their analysis, based on data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Kids' Inpatient Database (KID), was published online January 17th in PLoS Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-neurologically-impaired-children-hospitals.html Health Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:36:18 EST news246044170