People with a past history of just a single skin infection may be three times more likely to develop a painful, costly — and potentially deadly — surgical site infection (SSI) when they have an operation, according to new Johns Hopkins research.
Adverse drug reactions are a major issue that cause harm, are costly and restrict treatment options for patients and the development of new drugs. A groundbreaking finding by researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology could lead to a new way to dramatically improve drug safety by identifying drugs at risk to cause potentially fatal genetic-linked hypersensitivity reactions before their use in man.
• An infection called peritonitis commonly arises in the weeks before many patients on peritoneal dialysis die. • More studies are needed to determine whether peritonitis causes premature death in dialysis patients. 10% to 20% of dialysis patients receive peritoneal dialysis.
Critically ill patients were more likely to die if they were taking the most commonly prescribed antidepressants when they were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), according to a new study.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Critical Care Societies Collaborative announces awards recognizing 12 hospitals and healthcare facilities for efforts to prevent — and eventually eliminate — healthcare-associated infections.
In-hospital mortality for ICU patients is often used as a quality measure, but discharge practices may bias results in a way that disadvantages large academic hospitals, according to a recently conducted study.
Nighttime intensivist physician staffing in intensive care units (ICUs) with a low-intensity daytime staffing model is associated with reduced mortality, according to a new study.
Oncology nurses in the outpatient setting face constant challenges in the management of patient care, as many cancer patients receive therapies known to cause allergic reactions or hypersensitivity. When such emergencies arise, oncology nurses need to quickly, competently and safely manage these specific needs. In order to address such a scenario, nurses at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey have developed a teaching method to make mock situations more closely resemble real emergency events.
Wheelchair-dependent patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) are reporting higher rates of wheelchair breakdowns requiring repairs, according to a study in American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (AJPM&R).
New paper gives hospitals tips for emulating the Michigan Claims Management Model -- which 7 Massachusetts hospitals just announced they will do.
Successful safety efforts from aviation provide critical lessons for addressing the "crisis of waste and harm" in the U.S. healthcare system, according to a special article, “An NTSB for Healthcare – Learning from Innovation: Debate and Innovate or Capitulate,” in the April issue Journal of Patient Safety. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Citing the lack of clear guidelines for ordering blood transfusions during surgery, Johns Hopkins researchers say a new study confirms there is still wide variation in the use of transfusions and frequent use of transfused blood in patients who don’t need it.
If you’re seeking an outside expert to comment on an upcoming (embargoed) study suggesting a link between dental x-rays and brain tumors, Keith L. Black, M.D., Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical center is available. He hasn't had a dental x-ray in 20+ years.
Hospitals that adopt strategies to reduce errors and meet government requirements face an initial tradeoff between improved clinical quality and a decline in the quality of individual patients’ experiences.
In one of the largest studies of its kind, a consortium of investigators from 13 countries led the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in the U.S. and the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium in Europe, found that nurses who reported better working conditions in hospitals and less likelihood of leaving also had patients who were more satisfied with their hospital stay and rated their hospitals more highly. The study was released today in the current issue of the prestigious British Medical Journal.
Only 21 states require public reporting of hospital data on surgical site infections and, even when disclosure is mandated, the information is often not easily accessible to patients who could use it to make decisions about their medical care, according to new Johns Hopkins research.
More than 80 percent of anesthesiologists have been involved in a catastrophic event involving death or injury to a patient during surgery, suggests a survey study in the March issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).
U of Utah mathematicians developed calculus equations to make it easier for doctors to save Tylenol overdose patients by quickly estimating how much painkiller they took, when they consumed it and whether they will require a liver transplant to survive.
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that multiple exposures to anesthesia at a young age are associated with higher rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The increasing use of home oxygen over the past decade has increased the number of patients suffering from burn injuries that the Burn Center at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has treated.
More than 100,000 implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are implanted in the United States annually, fully a quarter of those are generator replacements simply because the battery is depleted. But are all those replacements necessary and should they actually be performed?
A new study in the February issue of Anesthesiology found that the type of lipid emulsion used to reverse toxicity of local anesthetics may make a difference in effectiveness of the reversal.
The use of antimicrobial impregnated scrubs combined with good hand hygiene is effective in reducing the burden of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) on healthcare workers’ apparel and may potentially play a role in decreasing the risk of MRSA transmission to patients, according to a new study from Virginia Commonwealth University researchers.
A new Practice Alert™ from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses stresses the use of pre- and post-catheterization assessments to gauge proper catheter use and to monitor early signs of infection.
Georgia Tech and CDC researchers have developed a new laboratory test that can rapidly identify the bacterium responsible for staph infections. The test uses mass spectrometry to quantify the number of Staphylococcus aureus organisms in a large number of samples in just a few hours.
Many medical tests that once required sending samples to a laboratory and waiting for results can now be rapidly performed at the patient's bedside. As these point-of-care testing (POCT) technologies are increasingly integrated into patient care, careful attention is needed to protect patient safety and avoid medical errors, according to this month's special issue of Point of Care: The Journal of Near-Patient Testing & Technology. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
FDA-Initiated International Consortium of Orthopaedic Registries (ICOR) will work to develop an infrastructure for enhanced safety monitoring.
Sending thorough and timely reports to nursing homes when a patient is discharged from the hospital could help promote patient safety during the early days after a hospitalization.
New research shows that using a liberal blood transfusion strategy in post-operative hip-surgery patients did not appear to improve patients’ recoveries or reduce the rate of death, suggesting therefore, that utilizing a restrictive transfusion approach would be appropriate patient care and conserve blood.
A new University of Michigan Health System and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System study shows a no-payment rule may not be enough to encourage hospitals to combat hospital-acquired infections. Prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections lags behind practices to prevent other hospital-acquired infections, but there are actions patients can take to stay safe.
From diabetes to children’s heart transplants, UofMhealth.org/quality provides unbiased report on quality, safety and patient ratings.
Medical errors during hospital stays make headlines, but far more common are problems that occur after patients — especially older ones — go home. Little research has focused on the critical weeks after discharge, and none has focused on rural patients — until now.
Investigators from Hospital for Special Surgery have identified factors that are associated with an increased risk of in-hospital falls after total hip or knee replacement surgery. The study may help hospitals design interventions to reduce falls in at-risk populations.
Physician practices and pharmacies generally view electronic prescribing as an important tool, but both groups face barriers to realizing the technology’s full benefit.
Two-drug combination may alleviate radiation sickness in people.
The timing of surgical procedures—afternoon versus morning or Friday versus Monday—doesn't affect the risk of death after surgery, concludes a study in the December issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).
The United States is facing ongoing shortages of several critical anesthesia medications—shortages with potentially serious effects on patient care and safety, according to a special article in the December issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).
Older adults receiving home health care may be taking a drug that is unsafe or ineffective for someone their age. In fact, nearly 40 percent of seniors receiving medical care from a home health agency are taking at least one prescription medication that is considered potentially inappropriate to seniors, a new study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine has revealed.
A safe working environment for nurses is also a safe environment for the patients in their care, according to a new study led by public health researchers at Drexel University. Researchers found that safety climate was associated with both patient and nurse injuries, suggesting that patient and nurse safety may be linked outcomes.
An international research team led by Dr. Cindy Leissinger of Tulane University School of Medicine, along with Dr. Alessandro Gringeri from the University of Milan, has found that a drug commonly used to treat bleeding events in people with a type of severe hemophilia can also be used to prevent such events from happening in the first place.
A special section of the November issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS), presents new research, updates, and commentaries about possible toxic effects of anesthetics and sedatives in infants and young children. The IARS is a key partner in the SmartTots initiative, dedicated to finding scientific answers to these urgent public health concerns.
A new DNA test may make it much simpler to identify patients at risk of malignant hyperthermia (MH)—a rare but life-threatening complication of exposure to common anesthetics reports the November issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).
Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially life-threatening inherited disorder of muscle. Patients who are at risk for MH usually have no outward signs of muscle problems. However, when exposed to certain commonly used general anesthetics they may develop very high body temperature, increased heart rate and muscle breakdown. If not recognized and treated promptly MH may be fatal.
Antibiotics May Not Be Only Cause of Community-Acquired Clostridium difficile Infection and Nursing Home Residence May Allow for “On-Admission” Prediction Model of Disease Severity, according to the results of two separate studies released today.
Research presented at the 2011 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.
Electronic health records can potentially save billions of dollars in health care costs and increase patient safety, but have considerable risks to individual privacy in the United States, more so than the European Union.
Bullying and other types of disruptive behavior in health care settings are common problems that can negatively affect patient care. An approach incorporating emancipatory education and community-building provides a way of addressing "horizontal violence" between nurses, according to a paper in the November issue of Advances in Nursing Science. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
Raman spectroscopy technique may lead to more effective treatment for patients with staph infections.
New research suggests that some patients develop a potentially deadly blood infection from their implanted cardiac devices because bacterial cells in their bodies have gene mutations that allow them to stick to the devices.
By following a few basic rules for handling central venous catheters, nurses and doctors at a group of children's hospitals have, in three years, prevented nearly a thousand infections and saved more than a hundred children's lives and millions of dollars, according to a study by investigators at Johns Hopkins Children's Center and elsewhere
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