Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons That's what a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons suggests. Despite nationwide efforts to prevent inpatient falls, hospitals do not prevent a significant amount of falling in hospitals. Falling is the leading cause of injuries (fatal and nonfatal) for older Americans. 1 in 3 [...]
Sources: BBC Health; Journal Human Reproduction; US Department of Health & Human Services New Research from the UK suggests that women who smoke while pregnant are increasing the chance their baby will be born malformed. The risk for having a baby with missing or deformed limbs or a cleft lip is over 25% higher for [...]
Source: Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare In a shocking report which demonstrates that calls for "Tort Reform" are premature, surgeries performed by doctors on the wrong part of the body, occur 40 times per week in hospitals across the United States. The Joint Commission is the credentialing body which surveys US hospitals for, among [...]
Source: US Food and Drug Administration The FDA is requiring all drugs called Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESAs) to be prescribed and used under a risk management program to ensure the safe use of these drugs. ESAs that are part of the program are marketed under the names Epogen, Procrit, and Aranesp. Maker Amgen was required to [...]
Sources: BBC Health News; Journal Diabetologia; NDIC (National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse) A Newcastle (UK not Delaware) Research Team has found that an "extreme" eight-week diet of 600 calories a day can reverse Type 2 diabetes in people newly diagnosed with the disease. The low-calorie diet reduced fat levels in the pancreas and liver, which helped [...]
Source: U.S. District Court of Pennsylvania; Stevens Johnson Syndrome Foundation The District Courts of Pennsylvania have cleared the way for lawsuits against Children's Motrin manufacturer Johnson & Johnson for failure to warn of the risk of Stevens Johnson Syndrome. Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is a severe adverse reaction to medication. It was first discovered in [...]
Source: British Journal of Medicine While all oral contraceptives include some risk of adverse side effects, Yaz has an unusually extensive list of potential problems. Medical studies have established a clear correlation (link) betweeen women taking Yaz has and the following serious medical conditions: Heart attack Blood clots Stroke Pulmonary embolism Kidney failure Pancreatitis [...]
A review of 400 randomly selected hospital websites found out that many may be overestimating the benefits of using robotic surgery at their facilities - - while at the same time ignoring the risks, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. The researchers found that about 41 percent of the [...]
Source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, BBC Health Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed male cancer in the USA, and the country's second biggest cancer killer, after lung cancer. 16 million males worldwide are cancer survivors; 2 million are American. A recent publicized study now suggests that men who drink six or more [...]
Prices have soared from some popular brand-name drugs widely used by older men and women – medications whose patents are close to expiring. Why? Manufacturers tend to hike the prices of those drugs in the year or so before they lose their exclusive marketing rights, according to two new reports. But the silver lining for [...]