MONDAY, Nov. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — CT scans expose patients to radiation even as they help doctors spot serious health problems. Now a new study finds low-dose scans can readily spot appendicitis while reducing patients’ radiation exposure. “The results of this study suggest that the diagnostic CT scan radiationContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The COVID-19 pandemic has offered some lessons on respiratory disease transmission, and now a new review suggests that hospitals could use those insights to create even smarter infection-control policies. The review, published Nov. 9 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that someContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Nov. 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The risk of serious illness or death is lower among vaccinated people who get breakthrough COVID-19 infections than among unvaccinated people who get infected, two new studies confirm. An ongoing study of 780,000 U.S. veterans found that all three vaccines available in theContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Nov. 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The word went out late last month throughout Utah — if you’ve got a spare set of aluminum crutches lying around, you should donate them to your local hospital. An international shortage of aluminum has caused delays in shipments of crutches and walkers,Continue Reading
MONDAY, Nov. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Emergency room nurse Grace Politis was catching up on paperwork during her shift when she suddenly realized her head hurt badly. Then she blacked out. “Later on, I found out I was hit in the head twice with a fire extinguisher by aContinue Reading
MONDAY, Nov. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) — An experimental Breathalyzer-type test can detect COVID-19 within seconds and could become a noninvasive, faster alternative to nasal swab tests, researchers report. COVID-19 infection produces a distinct breath print from the interaction of oxygen, nitric oxide and ammonia in the body, the investigatorsContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Oct. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Coronavirus cases have plunged by 60% since mid-September’s Delta-driven peak, U.S. health officials said earlier this week. But with winter on the way, they warned that Americans still need to protect themselves and others against COVID-19. “We are now heading in the rightContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Oct. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — It helps to speak English if you’re a home care patient in the United States. A new study of home health care found that patients who speak a language other than English have higher rates of hospital readmission. Readmission rates among New YorkContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Oct. 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A cheap and widely available antidepressant drug called fluvoxamine may reduce COVID-19 patients’ risk of serious illness requiring hospitalization, according to a new study. The trial included almost 1,500 unvaccinated outpatients in Brazil. All of the patients tested positive for infection with SARS-CoV-2Continue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Routine face mask ventilation during an operation doesn’t increase the surgical team’s risk of coronavirus infection, according to a new study. Face mask ventilation is typically used for surgical patients under general anesthesia. However, its designation as an “aerosol-generating procedure” by the WorldContinue Reading
MONDAY, Oct. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 could now face thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket medical costs, according to a new report. In 2020, most health insurance companies waived co-pays, deductibles and other cost-sharing for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but many stopped doing that early this year,Continue Reading
THURSDAY, Oct. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Dr. Tiffany Braley works with patients who have experienced strokes and other serious health conditions, treating them at the Michigan hospital where she works as they begin their recovery. Braley noticed there was a trend among patients who resisted being admitted to orContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Since the rise of the Delta variant, one Texas hospital has seen a surge in severe COVID-19 among pregnant women — nearly all unvaccinated. Researchers at the Dallas hospital found that in late August and early September, 10% to 15% of pregnant patientsContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Oct. 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Full vaccination with the two-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been 90% effective in protecting against hospitalization for at least six months, a new study shows. That includes the time during which the highly contagious Delta variant has been circulating in the United States.Continue Reading