'Old Blood' Linked to Hospital-Acquired Infections

Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Hospital patients who receive a transfusion with older blood are more likely to face health problems, a study finds.
Currently, the Food and Drug Administration allows for blood to be stored for 42 days before being discarded, Reuters reported.
But, researchers at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., found patients given transfusions of blood stored 29 days or longer are twice as likely to get a hospital-acquired Read the rest of this entry »

Man shot dead in street may be victim of drugs war

The 26-year-old – named locally as Martin Barclay – died in hospital after being found unconscious in a pool of blood in Edinburgh at about 6am on Saturday.
forensic examination.
Police now fear the murder is part of a drugs war between gangs from the Gilmerton and Granton districts. The two gangs are thought to be behind the shootings of at least five men in Edinburgh over the past year.
However, some reports suggest the feud Read the rest of this entry »

Zimbabwe cholera cases top 60000 — UN

GENEVA, Jan 30 (Reuters) – More than 60,000 people have been infected with cholera in Zimbabwe, a figure which the World Health Organisation (WHO) had said would be a “worst case scenario” in the epidemic which broke out in August.
Some 60,401 people have caught the water-borne disease, of whom 3,161 have died, according to the latest figures released on Friday by the United Nations in Geneva.
The deadliest outbreak in Africa in 15 years shows Read the rest of this entry »

Coventry Health Care To Use ProVentive's Solutions for

ProVentive’s solutions address one of the most
pressing issues facing managed care plans today: how to deliver quality
improvement and care management programs to the members that need them
the most, at the exact time when they can deliver the greatest impact to
a member’s health. ProVentive provides
innovative solutions that rapidly assess an individual’s overall health
and determine the interaction Read the rest of this entry »

'Wired' Hospitals Post Lower Death, Complication Rates

TUESDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) — The more “wired” a hospital is, the lower its rate of patient deaths and complications, a new study finds.
Automating hospital information systems also saves centers money, the researchers report.
Although there are many kinks to be worked out, said Devon M. Herrick, senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas, “I assume that over the course of the next few years, with or without the Read the rest of this entry »

Weight-loss drug may not inspire diet change

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Many people on the weight-loss drug orlistat may not keep up the diet changes considered necessary for the treatment’s success, a small study suggests.
Orlistat, sold under the prescription name Xenical, aids weight loss by blocking the absorption of dietary fat in the intestines. People on the drug are advised to limit their fat intake to no more than 30 percent of their daily calories. Higher fat intake increases the Read the rest of this entry »

Brand Phenom – How Curves Became the Largest Fitness Franchise

The American Marketing Association, DFW Chapter,presents the story of Curves, the fitness franchisethat
in justfive years, became the largest fitness franchise in the world. And, in less than eight years, it had more than 7000 franchisees, a figure McDonald’s didn’t reach until its 25th year.
On October 23, Brice Campbell, Vice President, Marketing, Dwyer Group and former Director of Global Marketing for Curves will outline the unique approach Read the rest of this entry »

Doctor and Patient Where Have All the Doctors Gone?

One morning during my medical residency many years ago, one of the senior doctors pulled me aside after rounds, as was his routine, to review the status of patients in the intensive care unit. A few had single-organ failure — their lungs weren’t doing well, or their hearts weren’t beating efficiently. A few struggled with double-organ failure. But the majority of patients were battling multisystem organ failure, and their prognoses Read the rest of this entry »

In Transition FDA Administrator

Vice chancellor for clinical research, director of the Translational Medicine Institute and professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at
.
Califf, 57, has served on the
committees, including the Pharmaceutical Roundtable. He is a member of the IOM Forum on Drug Discovery, Development and Translation. He was the founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute and of the coordinating center for the Centers for Education and Read the rest of this entry »

Obama savages McCain on health care with one month to go

CHICAGO (AFP) — Exactly one month before the US presidential vote, Democrat Barack Obama Saturday accused Republican rival John McCain of scheming to deprive millions more Americans of life-saving health insurance.
Ahead of their second debate on Tuesday, the White House hopefuls were both readying aggressive new attacks in the final stretch before the November 4 election, with McCain bidding to cast Obama as a dangerous radical.
After Read the rest of this entry »