High-Intensity Billing for ‘Treat and Release’ ED Visits Has Shot Up Since 2006
High-intensity billing during “treat and release” emergency department (ED) visits rose dramatically over the last two decades, according to an observational study. From 2006 to 2019, the share of treat-and-release visits at the ED (those where patients were not admitted) that included high-intensity billing jumped from 4.8% to 19.2%, reported researchers led by Alexander Janke, […]
Lingering Effects Seen With Non-COVID Respiratory Illness Too
People with acute respiratory illness during the pandemic suffered similar levels of poor well-being in the months afterward whether they tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 or not, a registry study showed. In a cohort of people who all had initial symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, those who had moderate to severe scores at 3 months on the […]
Drinking during pregnancy changes baby’s brain structure
A new MRI study revealed that consumption of alcohol even in low to moderate amounts during pregnancy can change the baby’s brain structure and delay brain development. Results of the study will be presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). “Fetal MRI is a highly specialized and […]
Kids Exposed to Smoke In Utero Had Better Lung Function If Moms Popped Vitamin C
Mothers who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy, but also took vitamin C supplements, had children with improved airway function and lower risk of wheeze later on, according to a follow-up study of a randomized trial. At 5 years, kids born to mothers who smoked and took daily vitamin C during pregnancy had 17.2% higher average forced […]
Exercise During Chemo Shows Benefits for Cardiorespiratory Fitness
Physical exercise during chemotherapy is not only safe, but helps to prevent declines in cardiorespiratory fitness and to facilitate a faster return to normal daily activities, compared with waiting until after chemotherapy is completed, the prospective ACT trial showed. Among 266 patients with mostly breast, testicular, or colon cancer who were randomized to a 24-week […]
Oxygen Concentration During Surgery: No Help for Post-Op Nausea, Vomiting
NEW ORLEANS — There was no benefit to giving patients supplemental oxygen during surgery to reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), according to a post hoc analysis of a randomized trial. The multiple cross-over cluster trial had eight isolated operating rooms randomized to alternate between 80% versus 30% fractions of inspired oxygen every 2 weeks […]
Could Hot Flashes and Night Sweats Serve as Early Signs of Poor Brain Health?
ATLANTA — Hot flashes and night sweats, particularly those that happen during sleep, may be an an early marker for cognitive illness, a study found. Frequent vasomotor symptoms that occurred during sleep were associated with increased white matter hyperintensity volumes (B[SE]=0.17 [0.06], P<0.05), brain lesions that have been linked with cognitive impairment, reported Rebecca Thurston, […]
The Best Massage Guns And Body Massagers To Grab On Prime Day
FYI, deals move quickly during the Prime Early Access sale. We’ll do our best to keep this post and imagery as up-to-date as possible, but we can’t catch everything immediately. Check back frequently to see our latest updates as the deals change. In a dream world, you’d have a massage therapist on call who would […]
Opinion | I Won’t Be Tossing My Mask Any Time Soon
During a television interview on September 18, everyone heard President Biden say “the pandemic is over.” Healthcare workers want this to be true as much as anyone else, but is it? After 2 and a half years, we have certainly come a long way. First, we learned about how to best care for patients with […]
At-Home Test Performance Declined During Omicron
The performance of certain at-home rapid antigen tests declined during Omicron, Dutch researchers found. From December 2021 to February 2022, sensitivities for three commonly used tests in the Netherlands dropped, though only the decline with Clinitest was statistically significant: Flowflex: 87% to 80.9% MPBio: 80% to 73% Clinitest: 83.1% to 70.3% Adding an oropharyngeal swab […]