http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. More than a third of stroke patients don't get to the hospital by ambulance, even though that's the fastest way to get there, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-emergencies-dont-ems.html Cardiology Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:10:06 EST news286480861 Stroke patients are three times more likely to receive clot-busting medication if treated at a certified stroke center, according to a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-certified-centers-clot-busting-drugs.html Cardiology Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:00:06 EST news283522772 (HealthDay)—Patients undergoing inpatient lumbar discectomy have significantly higher overall complication rates than those treated as outpatients, according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-complications-inpatient-lumbar-discectomy.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:00:01 EST news279204240 Experts from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia were among the leaders of two large national studies showing that extending CPR longer than previously thought useful saves lives in both children and adults. The research teams analyzed impact of duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in patients who suffered cardiac arrest while hospitalized. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-longer-cpr-survival-children-adults.html Cardiology Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:00:08 EST news277986076 Resuscitation, cell regeneration, a new high blood pressure treatment and developments in devices for treating stroke are among the key scientific findings that make up this year's top cardiovascular and stroke research identified by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-advances-heart-disease.html Cardiology Tue, 18 Dec 2012 07:01:55 EST news275036426 A study of postdischarge (PD) complications after general surgery procedures found that overall, 16.7 percent of patients experienced a complication and 41.5 percent of complications occurred PD, according to a report published in the November issue of Archives of Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-postdischarge-complications-surgery.html Surgery Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:00:05 EST news272562292 New comprehensive guidelines for the pre- operative care of the nation's elderly patients have been issued by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Geriatrics Society (AGS). The joint guidelines—published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons—apply to every patient who is 65 years and older as defined by Medicare regulations. The guidelines are the culmination of two years of research and analysis by a multidisciplinary expert panel representing the ACS and AGS, as well as by expert representatives from a range of medical specialties. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-landmark-guidelines-optimal-quality-geriatric.html Surgery Thu, 27 Sep 2012 09:30:01 EST news267956992 An observational study of nearly 1 million patients who underwent surgery suggests that preoperative hyponatremia (an electrolyte disorder in which sodium levels in the blood are low) was associated with an increased risk of complications and death within 30 days of surgery, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-links-hyponatremia-death-complications-surgery.html Surgery Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:00:03 EST news266501246 Postoperative complications are the most significant independent risk factor leading to 30-day hospital readmissions among general surgery patients, according to a new exploratory study published in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-surgeons-postoperative-complications-posing-strongest.html Surgery Tue, 28 Aug 2012 01:00:01 EST news265309052 Obese patients who need to have their appendixes removed fare better after a minimally invasive surgical procedure rather than an open operation, according to a new study published in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-obese-appendectomy-patients-complications-minimally.html Surgery Wed, 27 Jun 2012 01:00:01 EST news259948283 A University of Michigan Health System study examined who's having outpatient surgery in the U.S. today, and showed 1 in 84 highest-risk patients suffers a dangerous blood clot after surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-outpatient-surgery-patients-blood-clots.html Surgery Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:31:37 EST news254496690 The American Heart Association has launched the online-only open-access Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease (JAHA) -- packed with free peer-reviewed research on heart disease and stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-american-heart-association-free-access-online.html Cardiology Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:00:02 EST news249046992 Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, have successfully created and implemented an emergency general surgery registry (EGSR) that will advance the science of acute surgical care by allowing surgeons to track and improve surgical patient outcomes, create performance metrics, conduct valid research and ensure quality care for all emergency general surgery (EGS) patients. The registry, featured in a study published in the February 2012 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, was modeled after the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) and components of the ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP). It is the first registry of its kind to establish ICD-9 codes (International Classification of Diseases) that help to define and evaluate EGS patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-database-aims-emergency-surgery-outcomes.html Other Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:40:01 EST news247749992 A new study published online today in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons finds hospitals participating in a regional collaborative of the American College of Surgeon's National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®), achieved substantial improvements in surgical outcomes, such as reducing the rates of acute renal failure and surgical site infections. The collaborative also saved $2,197,543 per 10,000 general and vascular surgery cases when comparing results from 2010 with results from 2009. ACS NSQIP is the leading nationally validated, risk-adjusted, outcomes-based program to measure and improve the quality of surgical care in the private sector. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-regional-surgical-quality-collaborative-significantly.html Other Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:25:02 EST news246547493 Body Mass Index (BMI) appears to be associated with 30-day mortality risk following surgical procedures, and patients with a BMI of less than 23.1 appear to be at highest risk of death, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-body-mass-index-short-term-mortality.html Other Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:00:14 EST news241102813 Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) undergoing surgery may be more likely to develop deep vein thrombosis (DVT; blood clot in a deep vein in the thigh or leg) or pulmonary embolism (PE; blood clot in blood vessels in the lungs) following surgical procedures, according to a study published Online First by Archives of Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-patients-inflammatory-bowel-disease-post-operative.html Inflammatory disorders Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:34:23 EST news238088039 In the last 20 years, due to diagnostic and surgical advances, more and more patients have become appropriate candidates for spine surgery, and the number of these procedures performed has risen significantly. While medical experts acknowledge the potential benefits of spine surgery, they also understand that complications can reduce the success in the short and long term. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-factors-complications-spine-surgery.html Other Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:05:30 EST news235821464