Hemodialysis study results published
...elines or who used high-flux filters neither lived substantially longer nor stayed out of the hospital more than th...ed. While survival and hospitalizations were not substantially different among study groups, there were intriguing, though not definitive, findings for certain pat...Drotrecogin alfa (activated) is a cost-effective treatment for severe sepsis patients
...als that provide new technologies or services that substantially improve patient outcomes. The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services determined that drotrecogin alfa (activated) meets the required criteria and, since October 1, 2002, hospitals have been eligible to receive additional compensation when using th...Are growing portion sizes leading to expanding waistlines?
...pular restaurant and packaged foods have increased substantially during the past 20 years, especially when compared to their sizes when they were first introduced. "This trend toward larger marketplace portions parallels the rising rates of obesity in our country," says registered dietitian and ADA spokesperson Ke...Vaccine shortage study exposes nations 'patchwork' system
...eek or longer. Only two of the 12 states showed a substantially higher proportion of offices that had been out of stock of public vaccine compared to private vaccine. In six states, public vaccine was less frequently out of stock than private vaccine. Vaccine makers are bound by their government contracts to ful...The common cold coughs up $40 billion annual price tag
...he cost to the U.S. economy is $40 billion a year substantially more than other conditions such as asthma, heart failure and emphysema. "From a bottle of cough syrup to missed time at work and school, the price tag of catching a cold really adds up," says A. Mark Fendrick, M.D., lead author on the paper and co-di...Study shows declines in payment for emergency care
Payments for emergency care have declined substantially in recent years, according to a new study by a team of researchers from the Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine in Cleveland and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. The study noted the most striking d...Dartmouth/VA study questions screening priorities of prostate and colon cancer
...state cancer deaths while colorectal screening can substantially reduce the mortality from colon and rectal cancer. The study provides the first national population-based estimates of rates of screening with PSA (prostate-specific antigen) the blood test for prostate cancer and compared the extent U.S. men under...Racial differences in pain treatment found
...ugh the health of the U.S. population has improved substantially over the past fifty years, racial and ethnic minorities continue to lag behind non-minorities on many key health indicators," Green notes. "We're starting to understand that chronic pain, which can interfere greatly with a person's work, social and p...Inhaled steroids could be new option for treating mild asthma
...rovide strong evidence that inhaled steroids could substantially reduce illness associated with mild asthma. Previous research has not established whether steroids could be effective in controlling mild asthma, mainly because people with moderate disease symptoms were included in earlier studies. Romain Pauwels ...New digital tool unveiled to help business avoid SARS risks
...d, including Hong Kong where business trade is off substantially because of the deadly virus severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). And because public health officials think SARS is spread by close contact between people, executives are seeking new ways to conduct business, including increased u...Malaria project in funding crisis
...8.9 million annually. This figure has notincreased substantially from the year when RBM was launched. The Malaria Journal study examines the official database of the23 aid agencies of the worlds richest nations, which compilesall funding commitments. To check the accuracy of these findings,the authors also surveye...UNC physician says patient, doctor education improves health outcomes
...s, such as patient-centered disease management may substantially improve health for patients with low literacy skills....Study: Hurricane Floyd boosted long-term use of N.C. emergency rooms, outpatient services
...ion found that 44 of the state's 100 counties were substantially affected by flooding. A survey of 18 emergency departments in eastern North Carolina showed increases in suicide attempts, dog bites, fevers, basic medical needs and dermatitis during the first week following the hurricane. The short-term effect incl...A global strategy for reducing catastrophic health-care payments
...low 15% of the total cost of health services could substantially increase access to health-care systems across different parts of the world. Accessing health services in different countries across the world can lead to individuals having to pay large proportions of the costs--known as catastrophic expenditure--fro...Anemia is risk factor for physical decline in older adults
...es more likely than non-anemic subjects to decline substantially in performance, which we defined as a three-point decline over four years," said Penninx. "Subjects with borderline anemia were 1.5 times more likely to have a substantial decline." A three-point, or 25 percent, decline in physical performance has be...Good news on cancer for most EU countries but tobacco still a big problem
... risk of dying from lung cancer in women increased substantially in every country (although it appears to be stabilising in the UK). The failure of tobacco control in women is a great disappointment. The fact that women are increasingly smoking, and smoking more, represents a great failure of public health in the ...July/August 2003 Annals of Family Medicine tip sheet
...quency and location of health care delivery varies substantially with sociodemographic characteristics. The results provide policy makers with a framework for considering future health care policy options and might be helpful in conceptualizing system redesign solutions to health care disparities. Variation in...Fast-acting ebola vaccine protects monkeys
...rier viruses containing key genes from the microbe substantially boosts the immune response. The VRC scientists found that the boost alone produces a quicker but weaker immune response as compared with the prime-boost strategy. Knowing that time is critical when fighting Ebola, the scientists decided to test wheth...Substantial increase in breast cancer risk from combination hormone replacement therapy
...one replacement therapy (HRT) is associated with a substantially greater risk of breast cancer than oestrogen-only ...estrogen-progestogen therapy was associated with a substantially greater increase in risk than other types of HRT. For every 1000 postmenopausal women in developed c...Medicare+Choice enrollees face continued cost increases in 2003, costs have doubled since 1999
..., will spend $2,884 out-of-pocket in 2003. That is substantially higher than the $1,964 in average annual costs for those in Medicare+Choice plans. These cost estimates are potentially understated because they assume that all care is received through in-network providers, according to the report. Costs for enrolle...