Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Anesthesiology for January 2013. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Early Palliative Care in Lung CA Focuses on Coping, Symptoms
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Early palliative care (PC) clinic visits, integrated with standard oncologic care for patients with metastatic lung cancer, emphasize symptom management, coping, and psychosocial aspects of illness, according to research published online Jan. 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Physicians Commonly Report Unsafe Hospital Workloads
TUESDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians say they often face unsafe hospital workloads, according to a study published online Jan. 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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In STEMI, Diabetes Linked to Worse Long-Term Outcomes
TUESDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- In patients undergoing primary angioplasty for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), diabetes is associated with worse long-term outcomes, including mortality, reinfarction, stent thrombosis, and target vessel revascularization (TVR), according to research published online Dec. 28 in Diabetes Care.
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Brain Scans Show Doctors Empathize With Patients
TUESDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians who empathize with a patient in pain and feel relief when the patient receives effective treatment show activity in brain regions associated with pain relief and reward, according to a study published online Jan. 29 in Molecular Psychiatry.
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FDA Panel Votes for Tougher Restrictions on Hydrocodone
FRIDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel met Thursday and Friday to discuss the fate of certain painkillers that contain the opioid known as hydrocodone, concluding in a vote in favor of moving hydrocodone combination products into the more restrictive Schedule II category of controlled substances.
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Care Transition Initiative Decreases Rehospitalizations
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Communities instituting quality improvement initiatives for care transitions see significant declines in the rate of 30-day rehospitalizations and hospitalizations, according to a study published in the Jan. 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Large Teaching Hospitals Face More Readmission Penalties
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Large hospitals, teaching hospitals, and safety-net hospitals (SNHs) are more likely than other hospitals to be penalized under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), according to a research letter published in the Jan. 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Efforts Failed to Up Primary Care, Rural Resident Training
FRIDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) -- The 2005 redistribution of graduate medical education (GME) funds did little to train more residents in primary care and in rural areas, according to a study published in the January issue of Health Affairs.
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Checklists Up Performance in Operating-Room Crises
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Using checklists during operating-room crises can improve surgical care, according to a study published in the Jan. 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Family Docs Are Early Adopters of Electronic Health Records
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Family practice physicians are adopting electronic health record (EHR) systems at a fast pace, with 68 percent using an EHR system by 2011, and 80 percent expected to be users by 2013, according to research published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
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Even Brief Interruptions Dramatically Increase Errors
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Even momentary interruptions of two to four seconds can significantly affect a person's ability to accurately complete a task requiring considerable thought, according to research published online Jan. 7 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
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Certain Online Behaviors of Docs Warrant Investigation
MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- There is high consensus among state medical boards regarding the likelihood of probable investigations for certain online behaviors, according to a study published in the Jan. 15 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Top Five Issues for Docs and Patients Identified for 2013
MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- The top five issues that will impact physicians and patients in 2013 have been identified, according to a report published Dec. 10 by The Physicians Foundation.
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National U.S. Health Care Spending Relatively Stable
FRIDAY, Jan. 11 (HealthDay News) -- The growth in national U.S. health care spending was relatively stable in 2011, but growth in personal health care spending accelerated, according to a study published in the January issue of Health Affairs.
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Rate of Non-Medical Use of Rx Pain Meds 4.6 Percent
THURSDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDay News) -- The rate of non-medical use of prescription pain relievers in the past year among individuals aged 12 years and older is estimated at 4.6 percent nationally, with considerable variation between states, according to a study published online Jan. 8 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
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SPIRIT 2013 Clinical Trial Protocol Guidelines Issued
THURSDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDay News) -- A panel of experts, including trial investigators, trial coordinators, and representatives from ethics and regulatory agencies, has developed the Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) 2013 guidelines for the minimum content of a clinical trial, according to a statement published online Jan. 8 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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FDA: Draft Guidance Issued on Abuse-Deterrent Opioids
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 9 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a draft guidance document to assist the pharmaceutical industry in developing new formulations of opioid drugs with abuse-deterrent properties.
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Acetaminophen Cuts Post-Op Morphine Use in Infants
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 9 (HealthDay News) -- For infants undergoing major surgery, intermittent use of intravenous acetaminophen is associated with a significant reduction in morphine requirements over 48 hours, according to a study published in the Jan. 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Pain Starting at Delivery Is Rare Six, 12 Months Later
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Pain beginning at delivery is rarely reported six to 12 months after delivery; and the postpartum period seems to protect from chronic hypersensitivity to peripheral nerve injury in rats, according to two studies published in the January issue of Anesthesiology.
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Health Care Use Dropped Among All During Recession
TUESDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Health care use declined significantly among all races and ethnicities during the recession from 2007 to 2009, with the only ethnic disparity being fewer physician visits by Hispanics compared with whites, according to a study published online Jan. 7 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Shared Savings May Promote Care Coordination Entity Use
MONDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Use of shared savings could encourage individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid to enroll in state-designed care coordination entities (CCEs), according to a perspective piece published online Jan. 2 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Association Between Health Care Cost, Quality Inconsistent
THURSDAY, Jan. 3 (HealthDay News) -- The direction of the association between health care cost and quality is unclear, with inconsistent evidence indicating positive, negative, mixed, and indeterminate associations, according to a review published in the Jan. 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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House Joins Senate to Avert Medicare Cuts
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The House of Representatives settled on an 11th-hour agreement late Tuesday night that has averted the widespread tax increases and spending cuts that would have gone into effect January 1. This agreement occurred 21 hours after the U.S. Senate did its part to steer the country clear of the "fiscal cliff."
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