ill patients

HOUSTON (MedPage Today) -- Pre-hospital steroid therapy did not reduce the risk of acute lung injury in critically ill patients and might have increased inhospital mortality risk, according to a study reported here.

(Rice University) Researchers from Rice University and Emory University plan to test whether a new "law of biology" can predict when the health of critically ill patients is about to worsen, and which treatments can prevent it.

In a preliminary study, the researchers identified a subtle signal within EKG data that showed how the heart was going to behave several minutes later.

They will use the technique to create software for patient-specific health forecasts.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A southern Nevada pediatrician has pleaded not guilty in Las Vegas to federal charges that he and a man falsely identifying himself as a doctor conspired to implant chronically ill patients with stem cells harvested from human placentas....

(Queen's University) Measuring the levels of a natural body chemical may allow doctors to reduce the duration of antibiotic use and improve the health outcomes of critically ill patients.

(American Cancer Society) The American Cancer Society and the National Palliative Care Research Center award $2 million in research grants to researchers at 12 institutions for studies aimed at reducing suffering for seriously ill patients and their caregivers.

(MedPage Today) -- Antibiotic prophylaxis for critically ill patients reduced the risk of bacteremia from highly drug-resistant organisms, researchers reported.

(American Thoracic Society) Direct Immunofluorescence Assay (DFA) testing for H1N1 influenza ("swine flu") is unreliable in ICU patients, according to a new study from Stanford University.

Multiple methods exist for diagnosing influenza, but data on the utility and accuracy of these tests for H1N1 are still emerging, given the relatively recent onset of the epidemic.

Critically ill patients with pandemic H1N1 influenza probably do not need a higher dose of oseltamivir (Tamiflu), researchers found.

CLEVELAND (MedPage Today) -- Ketamine, an old drug commonly used for induction of anesthesia, appears to be a safe and effective alternative to etomidate for endotracheal intubation in critically ill patients.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists might have found a way to deal drug-resistant tuberculosis a one-two punch using two old, safe antibiotics - and studies in ill patients could begin later this year....