News Tips for Wednesday, Nov. 12

>From the American Heart Association's 70th Scientific Sessions Nov. 9-12, 1997, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida

8:30 a.m. -- #3133 -- Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), shocking devices that restore normal heart rhythm, can be life-saving where people are particularly vulnerable -- in the air. AEDs also may enable airliners to avoid futile and costly diversions when stricken passengers can't be resuscitated. During a 65-month test, Qantas Airways used AEDs in 27 in-flight emergencies. Of six people with ventricular fibrillation, a usually fatal runaway heartbeat, two survived and their planes landed without incident. In 18 of 21 other cases when AEDs failed to revive people whose hearts had stopped, clearly futile flight diversions were avoided. Survival rates equaled those of other programs, while costly delays were averted. John Geddes, U. of Manitoba, Canada: 204-787-1818.

9 a.m. -- #3290 -- Automation comes to the diagnostic lab: Scientists in Iowa report they've developed an automated method for sorting out "soft" plaque from "hard" forms of the artery-clogging material. Being able to tell from ultrasound images whether plaque is of softer cellular makeup or a potentially more troublesome fibrous, calcified form will speed informed treatment decisions, say scientists. Computerized image analysis based on texture and pattern recognition does the trick. Soft and hard plaques were correctly identified in 89 percent of regions checked, based on comparisons evaluated by an expert observer. Milan Sonka, University of Iowa, Iowa City: 319-335-6052.

9-10:30 a.m. -- #3145 (poster) -- For hospitals performing balloon angioplasty to reopen clogged heart arteries, more procedures mean fewer problems. In a review of 84,054 cases, the death rate in 1994 among angioplasty patients who had heart attacks was 5.5 percent in hospitals performing fewer than 201 angioplasties annually, vs. 3.5 percent in hospitals doing over 400 of the balloon procedures during the year. Angioplasty recipients in lower-volume hospitals were more likely to need emergency bypass surgery. James L. Ritchie, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle: 206-764-2008.

9-10:30 a.m. -- # 3464 (poster) -- Doc, watch what you say during surgery: Your patients may remember what they heard. Twenty-five individuals with heart disease agreed before undergoing general anesthesia to take part in a test of unconscious auditory "processing." During surgery, each heard an audiotape that repeated 15 "highly associated" word-pairs. In interviews four days later, patients recognized more correct than incorrect target words during a free-association session (reflecting "implicit" memory) but not in a recognition ("explicit" memory) segment. Researchers say their data show that patients "are able to reinforce associations between words" based on what they overheard while snoozing on the operating table. John D. Madigan, Columbia U., New York City: 212-305-8951.

9-10:30 a.m. -- #3450 (poster) -- How well is "managed care" managing patients with acute stroke? Minnesota researchers studied 1,914 stroke survivors' records and found 69 percent of HMO members received specialty care, compared to 81 percent of non-HMO patients. After adjusting for factors that may have affected the finding, researchers say older HMO enrollees were less likely to be put in a neurology ward or get neurological consultation while in the hospital. Those receiving specialty care were less likely to develop complications. Maureen Smith, U. of Minnesota, Minneapolis: 612-626-8576.

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