Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Critical Care for August 2010. 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.
Neonatal Mortality Risk Higher at Unspecialized Hospitals
TUESDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Very low-birth-weight (VLBW) and very preterm (VPT) infants born at hospitals without specialized neonatal care have higher mortality risks than those born at specialized level III hospitals, according to a meta-analysis published in the Sept. 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Costs of Vehicle-Related Injury Exceeded $99 Billion in 2005
TUESDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay News) -- In 2005, motor vehicle crashes in the United States resulted in more than 3.7 million deaths or injuries requiring medical care, as well as loss of productivity and medical costs reaching nearly $100 billion, according to research published in the August issue of Traffic Injury Prevention.
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AHA/ASA Stroke Program Likely Applicable Outside U.S.
MONDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With the Guidelines-Stroke program (GWTG-Stroke) may be useful for assessing and improving the quality of stroke care and outcomes outside the United States, according to research published online Aug. 30 in Circulation.
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Collar Preferable to Imaging in Unevaluable Trauma Patients
FRIDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Imaging tests used for cervical spine clearance in unevaluable trauma patients lack sensitivity and are not cost-effective compared with empirical immobilization by a semi-rigid collar, according to research published in the Aug. 15 issue of Spine.
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Physicians' Religious Views Linked to Care Decisions
THURSDAY, Aug. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Non-religious physicians are more likely than religious physicians to make decisions that could hasten the end of patients' lives, and are also more likely to discuss these types of decisions with patients, according to research published online Aug. 25 in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
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Most Low Weight Infants at 24 Weeks Gestational Age Live
TUESDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- The majority of low birth weight infants with a gestational age (GA) of 24 or more weeks survive, but this population continues to have high rates of morbidity, according to a report published online Aug. 23 in Pediatrics.
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MRSA Infection Risk Found Higher Among Illicit Drug Users
FRIDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who use illicit drugs are three times more likely to acquire USA300 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia than patients who don't use illicit drugs, according to a study conducted in veterans hospitals and reported in the September issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
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Early Palliative Care Beneficial in Metastatic Lung Cancer
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer, early palliative care is associated with longer survival and improvements in quality of life and mood, according to research published in the Aug. 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Simple Assessment Score May Predict Critical Care Needs
TUESDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- A prediction score based on out-of-hospital factors may be useful for stratifying non-trauma patients and predicting who will develop critical illness during hospitalization, according to research published in the Aug. 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Disclosing Medical Errors May Cut Malpractice Claims, Costs
TUESDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- A malpractice claims management system implemented in Michigan that mandates full disclosure of medical errors accompanied by a monetary offer to the patient has resulted in a reduced claims rate, fewer lawsuits, faster time to resolution of claims, and lower costs, according to a study in the Aug. 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Same-Day Discharge After PCI Safe for Some
TUESDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Patients carefully selected for elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may be able to safely return home the same day as the procedure, according to research published in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions.
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FDA: 6 French Engage Introducer Devices Recalled
MONDAY, Aug. 16 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has alerted health care providers of a class I recall of 6 French (6F) Engage Introducer devices, manufactured by St. Jude Medical, as affected devices have the potential to lead to a possibly fatal bleeding episode.
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Specialist Retrieval Teams May Increase Pediatric Survival
THURSDAY, Aug. 12 (HealthDay News) -- The use of specialist retrieval teams to move children from one hospital to another with a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) may result in reduced mortality for those children, according to research published online Aug. 12 in The Lancet.
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Earlier Weaning of Preterm Infants From Incubator Is Safe
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Transitioning moderately preterm infants from incubators to open cribs when the infants weigh as little as 1,600 g is safe and associated with earlier hospital discharge, according to a study published online Aug. 9 in Pediatrics.
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Coagulopathy Often Untreated in Brain Hemorrhage Patients
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News) -- In many patients with symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) associated with thrombolytic therapy for acute stroke, coagulopathy goes untreated, and often, patients experience continued bleeding after diagnosis, according to research published in the August issue of the Archives of Neurology.
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Patients, Doctors Often Have Communication Discrepancies
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Hospitalized patients and physicians may have differing beliefs regarding patients' knowledge and aspects of their care, suggesting a need for improved patient-physician communication, according to research published in the Aug. 9/23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Simplified Tool Assesses Death Risk in Pulmonary Embolism
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News) -- A simplified version of the Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) has clinical utility and prognostic accuracy that is similar to those of the original index, according to a study published in the Aug. 9/23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Health Care-Linked MRSA Rate Shows Recent Decline
TUESDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- In a recent four-year period, rates of invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections declined in patients thought to have hospital-onset infections and those thought to have health care-associated infections that began in the community, according to research published in the Aug. 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Some Vena Cava Filters Prone to Fracture, Embolization
TUESDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- There is a high rate of fracture and embolization with potentially devastating sequelae associated with two types of Bard filters, according to research published online Aug. 9 in the Archives of Internal Medicine. In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is recommending that physicians in care of patients with retrievable inferior vena cava filters consider removing the filters as soon as protection from pulmonary embolism is no longer necessary.
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Research Confirms Violence Linked to Shaking Infants
TUESDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Cases of infants referred for abusive head trauma (AHT) are usually, if not always, associated with extremely violent shaking, and shaking is repeated in more than half of cases, according to research published online Aug. 9 in Pediatrics.
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B Vitamins Do Not Prevent Vascular Events After Stroke
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Supplementation with folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 is safe but does not appear to reduce the incidence of major vascular events in patients who have experienced a recent stroke or transient ischemic attack, according to a study published online Aug. 4 in The Lancet Neurology.
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FDA: NeoProfen Recalled Due to Visible Particulate Matter
TUESDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has alerted health care professionals of a voluntary recall of two lots of Lundbeck Inc.'s ibuprofen lysine (NeoProfen) injection, as the product did not meet a visible particulate quality requirement.
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FDA: Nimodipine Should Never Be Administered Intravenously
TUESDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reminding health care professionals that nimodipine should never be administered intravenously but only given by mouth or through a feeding or nasogastric tube, as intravenous administration may lead to cardiac arrest, severe decreases in blood pressure, other cardiac adverse events, or death.
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Industry-Funded Clinical Trials Yield More Positive Outcomes
TUESDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Drug clinical trials supported by industry are more likely to produce favorable results than trials supported by government or nonprofit/nonfederal organizations, and they are less likely to be published within two years of the study being completed, according to research published in the Aug. 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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