Many patients over the age of 65 who are hospitalized with an acute illness experience a subtle change in their cognitive ability that often goes undiagnosed, untreated and underreported. As a result, a patient’s ability to make decisions about his or her medical treatment may be negatively impacted.
The provincial government has devoted $142 million to improving the state of hospital emergency rooms across Ontario. According to Health Minister George Smitherman the three-point plan addresses issues of money for doctors’ salaries, how to make emergency rooms (ERs) more efficient, and how to reduce wait times.
“We’ve got an exaggerated expectation of what vaccines can actually do,” said study author Dr. Tom Jefferson, coordinator of the Cochrane Vaccines Field in Rome, Italy. “I’m hoping American and European taxpayers will be alerted and will start asking questions.”
One year after the Unite for Children. Unite against AIDS campaign, Guinea-Bissau, today launched a pediatric treatment effort against AIDS to ensure that the needs of infected and affected children are met.
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) announced the availability of triplets monitoring functionality for its industry-leading line of obstetrical care fetal and maternal monitors, Avalon FM20 antepartum and Avalon FM30 intrapartum. Philips is the first company to introduce a fetal monitor that enables non-invasive triplets monitoring with a single device.
Novartis announced the US regulatory approval of Tyzeka(TM) (telbivudine) as a new once-a-day oral treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis B, a disease estimated to affect about 1.25 million people in the US but more than 350 million globally and considered the tenth leading cause of death.
A new NIH-funded study shows that a specific gene variant in humans affects both sensitivity to short-term (acute) pain in healthy volunteers and the risk of developing chronic pain after one kind of back surgery. Blocking increased activity of this gene after nerve injury or inflammation in animals prevented development of chronic pain.
A class of painkillers which includes ibuprofen can increase the risk of heart attacks if taken over long periods. The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) has written to every doctor in the UK warning them that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – which are routinely taken by arthritis and back pain sufferers – “may be associated with a small risk of heart attack or stroke” when used for long-term treatment.
Beginning with the winter season of 2004-2005, influenza vaccination has been recommended for all children 6 to 23 months old in the United States. However, its safety in young children has not been adequately studied in large populations. A study was conducted by Simon J. Hambidge to screen for medically attended events in the clinic, emergency department, or hospital after administration of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in children 6 to 23 months old.
Health chiefs in Norfolk plan to save money by encouraging smokers to quit before undergoing routine operations. Doctors say they are following a programme tried in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs, and health authority hope that the move will improve general health and cut hospital costs. They say research shows that smokers take more time to recover from surgery – and therefore have longer and more expensive stays in hospital – and are more likely to suffer complications.