Heart surgeons publish death rates
...mation Act, which is now law in the UK, and should help to promote a culture of openness and transparency in healthcare delivery, they say. The Bristol Royal Infirmary inquiry into child heart surgery deaths recommended that patients must be able to see information about the relative performance of indivi...Three out of the four million newborn babies who die each year could be saved
...aper in the series provides powerful statistics to help reduce deaths of newborn children in countries where most of these deaths occur. Globally three-quarters of neonatal deaths occur in the first week of life, with the highest risk of death on the first day of life. Of all deaths in children under the ...MRI proves useful in assessment of suspected breast cancer patients
... woman has breast cancer, an MRI should be done to help determine whether there actually is a cancer and i... were acquired and analyzed in a specific way, can help identify if a lesion is benign or malignant and can show cancers that would otherwise be missed. "...Daily supplement may boost birthweight of babies in the developing world
...ent containing 10 vitamins and five minerals could help increase the birthweight of their babies, conclude...ded daily allowance would increase birthweight and help prolong pregnancy to full term. 1200 women from Nepal, who had reached up to 20 weeks of pregnancy, ...Orthodontists must brace against back pain
...ists treat an average 70 patients per day with the help of up to five assistants. The body stress was induced by long periods of sitting (about 70 per cent of their workday), with 90 per cent of the strain coming from the tasks of applying, removing or adjusting braces. The research also showed that male...York study tests enhanced care for depression patients
...ing. Professor Richards added: "Case managers will help patients to manage their medication and give low-intensity psychological help. Treatment will be much more structured than counselling. Telephone contact will allow case managers to deal with more patients as well as being less burdensome for patient...Mayo Clinic develops first genomic-based test to predict stroke from ruptured brain aneurysm
...e that they have found the first genetic marker to help doctors identify which cases of a condition known as sporadic brain aneurysm are at highest risk for death and disability due to rupturing and subsequent bleeding into the brain. Sporadic brain aneurysm is a different medical condition from familial ...Study examines racial differences among children to environmental tobacco smoke exposure
CINCINNATI -- A new study may help explain why African American children suffer disproportionately from tobacco-related illness. The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study shows that African American children with asthma have significantly higher levels of cotinine -- a s...Mayo Clinic study sets threshold for valve repair surgery
...surgical techniques and improved surgical results, help define at what severity of regurgitation patients should strongly consider valve surgery. "The mortality for valve surgery is very low, but it is not zero," Dr. Sarano explains. "Previously, with patients who were asymptomatic, we had no well-defined...Immersion in virtual world alleviates pain from injury
Virtual reality games can help alleviate pain in children being treated for severe injuries, according to research published today in the Open Access, peer reviewed journal BMC Pediatrics. Immersion in a virtual world of monsters and aliens helps children feel less pain during th...Potential treatment for Fragile X Syndrome demonstrated in fruit fly model
... 1 in 8,000 females. Not many medications exist to help Fragile X patients. Now, in a fruit fly model of the disease, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and their colleagues have shown that it is possible to reverse some of the symptoms of the disorder using drugs that damp...Meditation may reduce heart disease risk
...o minimal activity for 15 minutes twice daily may help the meditator and his blood vessels relax in the hectic world around him. Dr. Frank Treiber, director of MCG's Georgia Prevention Institute, and Dr. Surender Malhotra, cardiology fellow at MCG, are co-authors on the study which is highlighted as o...New substance that improves the photodetection of bladder cancer gains market approval
... using blue light instead of white light. With the help of a filter placed on the camera, the fluorescent tumors stand out as bright red spots, impossible to miss. Patients screened using this process are far more likely to be diagnosed correctly, and because the cancerous tissue is easy to identify, very...Chest radiographs can predict risk of death in SARS patients
...ing progress during treatment. "Our findings could help decide on a change in the treatment for a patient,...the patient to a specialized unit. They also might help in establishing measures that could reduce the mortality rate of the disease," said Dr. Antonio....Innovation prize finalists announced in 'Science of Better'
...cipline of applying advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions. The 2005 finalists will compete in Palm Springs for the Franz Edelman Award, which is presented by INFORMS and CPMS, the Practice Section of INFORMS. The Edelman competition takes place Monday, April 18. The winner will be anno...Ten-minute emergency room intervention for problem drinkers
...ned to listen carefully to the patient's concerns, help them identify strategies to change their drinking patterns and were encouraged to be nonconfrontational and nonstigmatizing. More than 90 percent of the emergency practitioners who were trained passed the proficiency exam after the first try. Between...Older women can benefit from chemotherapy to treat breast cancer
...he authors write, "the data from this study should help to encourage clinicians to offer healthy older patients participation in newer trials, because healthy older patients are likely to derive similar treatment benefits as younger patients."...Acting techniques may help doctors empathize with their patients
...They also recommend long-term, regular training to help doctors develop empathy. "This will be valuable for both physicians and patients facing the increasingly fragmented and technological world of modern medicine," they write. "For patients, our message is that it's reasonable to expect physicians to s...'Smart' immune cells kill more cancer
...rrow T-cells have certain surface markers that may help them migrate back to the site of the tumor," he says. "Moreover, the marrow itself contains some type of stimulant to attract the cells," says Kimberly Noonan, researcher and first author of the paper. To treat patients, the scientists will collect ...Studies address issues of risk and survival in rapidly increasing GI cancers
... understanding of what can increase survival could help uncover preventive strategies." While researchers are not currently able to pinpoint the underlying reasons for the study's results, they are certain the results are not attributed to traditional prognostic factors such as tumor stage or grade. In a...