New Study Finds Oral Cannabis Ineffective in Treating Acute Pain
A study published in the July issue of the Journal Anesthesiology discovered that oral cannabis (a form of medical marijuana) not only failed to alleviate certain types of pain in human volunteers but, surprisingly, it instead caused increased sensitivity to some forms of pain. In their research, Birgit Kraft, M.D., and her colleagues from the […]
MedWatch – 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate Cloth Patient Preoperative Skin Preparation Product
MedWatch – 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate Cloth Patient Preoperative Skin Preparation Product recalled: bacteria contamination Sage Products informed healthcare professionals of the voluntary recall of limited lots of 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate Cloth Patient Preoperative Skin Preparation product. The product was recalled because certain lots were found positive for Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia). B. cepacia poses little […]
Levitronix CentriMag Extracorporeal Blood Pumping System: CentriMag Primary Console
Levitronix CentriMag Extracorporeal Blood Pumping System: CentriMag Primary Console (with v200 Application Software) Audience: Cardiothoracic healthcare professionals, perfusionists, hospital risk managers, biomedical engineers Levitronix and FDA notified healthcare professionals of a Class 1 recall of the Levitronix CentriMag Extracorporeal Blood Pumping System and Primary & Backup Consoles manufactured by Levitronix, GmbH, Zurich, Switzerland and distributed […]
FDA unexpectedly rejects Schering anesthesia drug
Schering-Plough Corp (nyse: SGP – news – people ) said Friday U.S. regulators had rejected Bridion, its drug to reverse the effects of anesthesia that had been heralded as a breakthrough product by analysts and was unanimously recommended by a federal advisory panel. Shares of Schering-Plough fell 8.5 percent in early trading. The U.S. Food […]
HHS waiving retroactive beneficiary cost sharing due to increases in payment under MIPPA
The HHS Office of the Inspector General has issued a policy statement that assures Medicare providers, practitioners, and suppliers affected by retroactive increases in payment rates under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) of 2008 that they will not be subject to OIG administrative sanctions if they waive retroactive beneficiary cost-sharing amounts […]
ASA Achieves Historic Legislative Win of Monumental Proportions!
We helped secure enactment of H.R. 6331—aMedicare bill that includes an immediate positiveMedicare payment update and a permanentfix to the Medicare AnesthesiologyTeaching Rule, beginning in 2010! This is a huge victory for the medical specialtyof anesthesiology, organized medicine andAmerica’s patients. It is a culmination of manyyears of work […]
Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication May Prove Effective for GERD
Transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) provides safe and durable antireflux therapy in a canine model, according to a report in the July Annals of Surgery. “TIF is safe and reproduces many of the critical components of the gold standard operation, laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication,” Dr. Blair A. Jobe from the University of Pittsburgh told Reuters Health. In […]
Gender Affects Recovery Course in Pediatric Burn Patients
Female pediatric burn patients exhibit a reduced inflammatory and hypermetabolic response compared to male patients, according to a study published in the July Annals of Surgery. “Gender differences in the outcome of critically ill patients have been discussed in many studies and are the center of many ongoing studies,” write Dr. Marc G. Jeschke and […]
Sentinel Node Dissection Before Preoperative Chemotherapy Improves Staging
In breast cancer patients with clinically node-negative disease, sentinel lymph node dissection (SLND) before preoperative chemotherapy is associated with accurate staging of the axilla, according to a report in the Archives of Surgery for July. The results also indicate that although preoperative chemotherapy causes downstaging, residual nodal disease is still apparent in many patients during […]
Psychiatrists Shift Away From Providing Psychotherapy
A declining number of office-based psychiatrists in the United States are providing psychotherapy, according to results from a national 10-year survey.Analysis of data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) showed that the percentage of office visits to psychiatrists that involved psychotherapy provision dropped from 44% in 1996–1997 to 29% in 2004–2005. “There were […]