Disease-Free Period Predicts Response to Salvage Therapy for Oral Cancer
In patients with locally recurrent carcinomas of the oral cavity and oropharynx, a disease-free interval of more than 1 year and tumor tissue negative for EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) expression predict a good response to salvage surgery.That’s the conclusion of physicians in Brazil who studied the outcomes of 111 patients following salvage surgery for […]
Increasing Global Surgery Volume Mandates Improved Safety, Availability
Surgery now occurs at a tremendous volume worldwide, resulting in a great need for public health efforts to improve the safety and availability of surgical services, according to the results of a study reported in The Lancet, published online June 25. “Little is known about the amount and availability of surgical care globally,” write Thomas […]
HHS and DHS Announce Guidance on Pandemic Vaccination Allocation
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Homeland Security (DHS) released today guidance on allocating and targeting pandemic influenza vaccine. The guidance provides a planning framework to help state, tribal, local and community leaders ensure that vaccine allocation and use will reduce the impact of a pandemic on public health and minimize […]
CDC Finds Some Bird Flu Strains have Acquired Properties that Might Enhance Potential to Infect Humans
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released results of a study suggesting that some North American avian influenza A H7 virus strains have properties that might enhance their potential to infect humans as well as their potential to spread from human to human. The study was recently published in the Proceedings of […]
Cord Traction Best for Placenta Removal With C-Section
As a method of placenta removal following cesarean delivery, cord traction is associated with fewer complications and a shorter hospital stay than is manual removal, according to a systematic review by Cochrane researchers. According to the report, which appears in the July 16th online issue of The Cochrane Library, use of cord traction reduces blood […]
Laparoscopy-Assisted Colectomy Improves Survival in Single-Center Trial
Laparoscopy-assisted colectomy (LAC) for colon cancer is more effective than open colectomy, according to a report in the July Annals of Surgery. “Considering the small but significant short-term advantages of the minimally invasive approach, LAC should now be regarded as the standard of care for the treatment of colon cancer,” Dr. Antonio M. Lacy from […]
Multidisciplinary Collaboration Needed to Incorporate Genomics Into Clinical Care
Multidisciplinary collaboration is needed to incorporate genomics into clinical care, according to scientists who have launched a new initiative to investigate potential uses of genetic testing in primary care. Their commentary on the topic, published in the July 29 issue of Nature Genetics, addresses the gap between research on gene–disease associations and the use of […]
Obese Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis Benefit From Knee Replacement Surgery
After total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for osteoarthritis of the knee, obese patients fare nearly as well as their normal-weight peers, a British research team reports in the July 24 online issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. “At least one National Health Service trust in the UK has been reported to apply a policy […]
Percutaneous Thrombectomy an Option in Some Cases of Pulmonary Embolism
Combined clot fragmentation and thrombus aspiration appears to be beneficial in certain patients with massive angiographic pulmonary embolism (PE), according to Mexican researchers. Percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT), lead investigator Dr. Guering Eid-Lidt told Reuters Health, “is an alternative therapy for patients with massive PE or acute PE associated with right ventricular dysfunction unresponsive to the […]
EU OKs Drug to Reverse Neuromuscular Blockade
European regulators have approved a breakthrough new medication to help patients emerge far more quickly from anesthesia than existing treatments, the drug’s maker Schering-Plough Corp said on Tuesday. The drug, called Bridion, was approved by the European Commission, following a recommendation last month by an advisory panel in support of the drug, also known as […]