BY LINDSEY TANNER DEC. 22, 2014 4:00 PM EST CHICAGO (AP) — Doctors joke that if you’re going to have a heart attack, the safest place would be at a big national gathering of heart specialists. But a new study suggests some older hospitalized heart patients may fare better when these doctors aren’t around. Survival […]
Cautions against the practice go unheeded by nonpsychiatrists. by John Gever Managing Editor, MedPage Today About one in 12 older Americans were prescribed benzodiazepines in 2008, and one-third of those individuals took them for long periods — and much of this use was probably inappropriate, researchers said. Analysis of a large prescription database for 2008 […]
The Spine Journal December 1, 2014 Volume 14, Issue 12, Pages 2854–2860 Jacob A. Miller, BS Abstract Background context C5 palsy is a debilitating postoperative complication of cervical decompression surgery. Although the prognosis is typically good, patients may be unable to perform basic activities of daily living, resulting in a decreased quality of life. No […]
Alexander M. Castellino, PhD December 11, 2014 National guidelines from associations such as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the American Urological Association recommend that men with a life expectancy of less than 10 years who have prostate cancer not be aggressively treated with radiation or surgery. Despite these recommendations, the Urologic Diseases in […]
Caroline Cassels December 11, 2014 The antipsychotic ziprasidone (Geodon, Pfizer Inc) and its generic counterparts have been linked to a rare but potentially fatal skin reaction, prompting the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to add a new warning to the drug’s label. Known as DRESS (drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic syndromes), this serious condition can start […]
Painkiller Tramadol Linked to Low Blood Sugar Study finds the drug may be riskier than expected By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Dec. 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) — The narcotic painkiller tramadol (Ultram) seems to be associated with an increased risk of dangerously low blood sugar, Canadian researchers report. Tramadol is a narcotic drug whose […]
Frontline Medical News, 2014 Nov 17, A Karon Story Source Taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for 14 days more than doubled the risk of serious bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation, and it increased the risk of thromboembolism by 36%, according to a report published online Nov. 17 in Annals of Internal Medicine. Risk of serious […]
Published: Nov 20, 2014 By Kate Johnson , Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Action Points Note that these studies were published abstracts and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. BOSTON — Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is rare in patients taking the […]
Frontline Medical News, 2014 Nov 17, A Karon Taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for 14 days more than doubled the risk of serious bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation, and it increased the risk of thromboembolism by 36%, according to a report published online Nov. 17 in Annals of Internal Medicine. Risk of serious bleeding and […]
A Texas doctor and five owners of home health-care agencies were arrested recently on charges that they fraudulently billed Medicare and Medicaid nearly $375 million in what authorities described as the largest case of its kind. It’s the kind of physician oversight that could bankrupt a nation. The doctor, Jacques Roy, 54, of Rockwall, was […]
Use of often prescribed drugs against arthritis and pain increases the risk of dying from a stroke. This is the conclusion of a major new registry study involving more than 100,000 patients. 2014.11.13 | LOTTE FISKER JØRGENSEN It is older versions of COX-2 inhibitors, which are now linked to increased risk of dying from a […]
Susan Candiotti and Alan Duke, CNN Updated 9:26 PM EST, Tue November 11, 2014 CNN The cardiac arrest leading to Joan Rivers’ death happened as the comedian’s personal doctor began performing a biopsy on her vocal cords, a source close to the death investigation told CNN. A staff member at Manhattan’s Yorkville Endoscopy clinic told […]
By Mary Ann Roser American-Statesman Staff After a seven-day trial, a Houston jury convicted Dr. Dennis B. Barson Jr., 44, of Austin, and his clinic administrator, Dario Juarez, 54, of Beeville, of conspiracy and health care fraud after they billed Medicare $2.1 million over a two-month period, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced Wednesday evening. Co-defendant […]
HOUSTON — When it comes to what happens behind the pharmacy counter, some industry insiders say the public has no clue. “Wrong patient names, wrong drug, wrong directions,” said Texas pharmacist Bill Bradshaw, remembering the errors like a litany. “It’s scary,” he said. “I have gone home and said a prayer asking God to please […]
Diana Phillips October 23, 2014 Medication errors occurred in 696,937 nonhospitalized children 6 years of age and younger between 2002 and 2012, and more than a quarter of the episodes were documented in children younger than 1 year, according to a studypublished online October 20 in Pediatrics. The number of incidents translates into a medication error occurring […]
Public Trust in Physicians — U.S. Medicine in International Perspective Robert J. Blendon, Sc.D., John M. Benson, M.A., and Joachim O. Hero, M.P.H. N Engl J Med 2014; 371:1570-1572October 23, 2014DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1407373 The U.S. health care reform process is entering a new phase, its emphasis shifting from expanding health coverage to improving our systems for […]
Medscape Medical News Clinician Unaware of Central Line in 20% of Inpatients Veronica Hackethal, MD October 21, 2014 About 20% of clinicians at various levels of training were unaware of the placement of a central line in their hospitalized patients, according to a study published in the October 21 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. “[T]his is […]
By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK | Mon Oct 20, 2014 12:33am EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) – Roughly every eight minutes from 2002 through 2012, a child in the U.S. experienced a medication mistake, according to a new study of calls to poison control hotlines. The number and rate of reported medication mistakes rose during […]
Caroline Helwick October 16, 2014 NEW ORLEANS — The number of malpractice claims related to chronic pain management is increasing, and many involve permanent disabling injury or death, according to a closed-claims analysis presented here at the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2014 Annual Meeting. “Malpractice claims associated with chronic pain have increased in number and severity over […]
Larry Hand October 15, 2014 It will take a dramatic shift in attitudes and culture for physicians and patients to address the problem of medical overtesting and overtreatment, two physicians argue in an article published onlineOctober 14 in the BMJ. Jerome R. Hoffman, MD, and Hernal K. Kanzaria, MD, from the Emergency Medicine Center at the University […]