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Nursing

News, opinions and meeting coverage in nursing.

In AKI, Dialysis Works Better With Higher Creatinine

For patients with acute kidney injury, dialysis is associated with better survival among those with higher creatinine levels, but higher mortality for those with lower levels, researchers found.

Higher BMI May Be Better for Older Adults

Adults over 65 at the high end of the healthy body mass index range were at lower risk of mortality, and those at the low end were at highest risk, according to a recent meta-analysis.

Top 5 Reasons Cardiologists Get Sued

Problems with diagnosis -- failing to make one, making the wrong one, or taking too long to get to one -- lead the list of reasons behind cardiology-related lawsuits, revealed closed claims data from a medical malpractice insurer.

Environmental Factors Tied to Autism Clusters

An analysis of an insurance claims database of 100 million patients has found clustering of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in counties across the U.S.

Bupivacaine Formula Cuts Narcotic Use

NEW ORLEANS -- A long-lasting formulation of the analgesic bupivacaine (Exparel) can do as good a job reducing post-surgical pain among knee replacement patients as continuous femoral nerve blocks, researchers said here.

FDA Approves Headband Device for Migraine

A headband delivering electrical nerve stimulation can prevent onset of migraine headaches and can be marketed for that purpose in the U.S., the FDA said Tuesday.

Parent's Death Has Long-Term Effect on Kids' Grades

The death of a mother or father in childhood was associated with lower grades and school failure in adolescence, but the effect was less pronounced when such things as mental health were taken into account, researchers found.

Stroke Rounds: Early Surgery Looks Safe After tPA

Performing carotid endarterectomy or stenting in patients who were recently treated with thrombolytic therapy for an acute stroke appeared to be safe, an observational study showed.

Can Antibiotics Trigger Arrhythmias?

Azithromycin and levofloxacin were both associated with elevated risks of death and serious cardiac arrhythmias during standard lengths of prescription, a study of mostly male military veterans showed.

ICD-10 Follies: Watch Where You're Walking

Yes, there's a code for that. To mark the forthcoming move to the ICD-10 coding system, 番茄社区 is spotlighting some of those thousands of new codes that might just be getting a bit too granular.

A Cure for Chlamydia Arthritis?

Increased understanding of the biology and survival tactics of Chlamydia trachomatis is suggesting that the post-infectious chronic arthritis experienced by many patients may actually be curable.

Patch May Be Safer Peanut Allergy Therapy

SAN DIEGO -- A skin patch offered peanut-allergy immunotherapy without risk of systemic reactions but also with questionable efficacy, a pilot trial showed.

5 Ways Doctors Can Use Data Analytics

Data analytics takes claims data, a providers' electronic health record, and any of piece of information available to help physicians become more aware of the patients they're treating. Here are five ways the technology can help meet payers' demands for higher-quality, higher-value care.

CT Appears Safe in Patients With Pacemakers, ICDs

Patients with cardiac rhythm management devices showed no clinically significant major or minor events related to computed tomography imaging over a 10-year period at two large-volume care centers, researchers reported.

ICD-10 Follies: Struck by an Orca

Yes, there's a code for that. To mark the forthcoming move to the ICD-10 coding system, 番茄社区 is spotlighting some of those thousands of new codes that might just be getting a bit too granular.

Which Bullets Are Safe in an MRI?

Don't go ballistic -- only steel bullets will cause problems in MRI, says a study of 39 kinds of the projectiles.

ICD-10 Follies: The Birds

Yes, there's a code for that. To mark the forthcoming move to the ICD-10 coding system, 番茄社区 is spotlighting some of those thousands of new codes that might just be getting a bit too granular.

Rituxan Offers Little Help for Sjogren's

Treatment for primary Sjogren's syndrome with the B-cell depleting antibody rituximab (Rituxan) failed to provide statistically significant improvements, despite the increasing evidence for B cells in the pathogenesis of this disorder, French researchers reported.

ER Briefs: DIY Laptop to AED Kit -- Good Idea?

Inventors aim to resurrect laptops and tablets as AEDs. We asked Clifton Callaway, MD, PhD, an emergency medicine doctor who heads up EM research at the University of Pittsburgh, to weigh in.

Lyrica Edges Mirapex for Restless Legs

Patients with restless legs syndrome treated with pregabalin (Lyrica) had as much symptom improvement as those receiving pramipexole (Mirapex) in a large year-long trial, with fewer showing "augmentation."

Drug Combo Saves Kids' Tonsils in Mild OSA

The anti-inflammatory asthma drug montelukast (Singulair) plus corticosteroids was an effective initial alternative to surgery for mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children, a retrospective study showed.

Prime Time: When Athletes Need Drugs

The governing bodies of elite sports keep a strict eye on the use of all kinds of substances to ensure a level playing field for competitive athletes. Here's what you need to know if one of them walks in to your practice in need of treatment.

5 Problems With Mobile Health App Security

No federal agency has the power to properly regulate the fast-growing world of mobile health applications and telehealth systems, researchers noted while outlining several security risks and privacy threats.

Is There a Flaw in This Large Vitamin D Trial?

A co-principal investigator of the VITAL trial addresses the possibility that out-of-study testing of vitamin D levels and initiation of high-dose supplementation could be a limitation, but not a serious one.

CardioBuzz: More Money Needed for Heart Research?

The NIH dedicates a lot of money for research into heart disease and stroke, but it still might not be enough, a new study suggested.

Tandem Expands Leaky Insulin Cartridge Recall

Tandem Diabetes has expanded a recall of insulin cartridges for its t:slim Insulin Pump that run the risk of leaking, the company said in a statement.

What Makes a Patient High Risk?

We all know a high-risk patient when we see one, says internist Fred Pelzman, but defining what makes a patient high risk is tricky business -- and may become necessary in these days of registries and data-driven medicine.

Combo Active in Neuroendocrine Cancers

SAN FRANCISCO -- More than 90% of patients with neuroendocrine tumors had objective responses or stable disease when treated with an off-the-shelf chemotherapy doublet, results of a small study showed.

Pay and Practice: Are Neurologists Primary Care Docs?

WASHINGTON -- Neurology isn't often mentioned in the same breath as primary care, but the American Academy of Neurology is again lobbying to gain that sobriquet -- this time to take advantage of a recent policy change that benefits primary care providers.

Droxidopa for OH Slammed by FDA Reviewers

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Droxidopa (Northera) is getting a second look by an FDA advisory committee for the treatment of orthostatic hypotension stemming from neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease, but an agency review doesn't look promising for approval.

A Brain-Dead Mother, a Million-Dollar Baby

The costs associated with maintaining a pregnant, brain-dead, Texas woman on life support until her fetus is viable are likely to approach $1 million, and long-term costs could easily top $1.5 million.

FDA Rules Differ for OTC vs. POC Glucose Monitors

The FDA has released two draft guidances that establish a line between over-the-counter and point-of-care blood glucose monitors.

Colonoscopies: The Longer the Better

Polyp and adenoma detection rates were highest when the colonoscopy withdrawal time was 9 minutes long, near the upper limit of the recommended 6 to 10 minutes withdrawal time, researchers found.

10 Questions: Rep. Phil Gingrey, MD (R-Ga.)

If you could change one thing about the healthcare system, what would it be? Eliminate Obamacare, says Rep. Phil Gingrey, MD (R-Ga.). That's his answer to just one of the 10 Questions the 番茄社区 staff is asking leading clinicians, researchers, and leaders in their community to get their personal views on their chosen profession. In this series we share their uncensored responses.

Paging Dr. Colbert: How Not To Drive Traffic to Your Website

A doctor tries paying bloggers to endorse his supplement-hawking website.

Testosterone Level Affects Flu Shot Response

Men with high testosterone and a certain genetic cluster may not experience an antibody response after a flu shot, researchers suggested -- a finding that could affect men taking prescription testosterone.

OncoBlog: Driving the CAR to a Cancer Cure?

Is immunotherapy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-directed T cells the "next big thing" in oncology? Presentations and discussion at a recent conference suggest the technology has considerable promise -- but will it qualify as a breakthrough? OncoBlog is a blog by the 番茄社区 Medical Today staff for readers with an interest in oncology. This post comes from Charles Bankhead.

OTC Thyroid 'Boosters' May Harm

Patients who take over-the-counter supplements that promise to enhance thyroid function may get more than they bargained for, endocrinologists warn.

EMTs Can Give Positive Pressure Ventilation

Out-of-hospital noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation in patients with severe respiratory distress significantly reduced rates of inhospital mortality and need for invasive ventilation, researchers found.

Arimidex: Top Drug for Breast Ca Prevention?

SAN ANTONIO -- Should anastrozole (Arimidex) be the first choice in pharmacologic primary prevention of breast cancer, based on IBIS-II trial results presented here? No, said most experts.

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