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This single-center, prospective, observational study finds that the utility of a routine daily chest x-ray (CXR) for an ICU patient is quite limited. A change in practice to ordering CXR only when clinically indicated did not adversely impact patient outcome, but reduced CXR volume and overall costs.
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Left main coronary artery stenosis is one of the primary indications for coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Recently, a number of non-randomized studies and registries have suggested that stenting, using current techniques and devices, may be a feasible alternative to CABG.
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A physicians' survey in Connecticut indicates that a patient's socioeconomic status (SES) affected their clinical management decisions.
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Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (formerly known as Pseudomonas maltophilia, Xanthomonas maltophilia) is a motile, gram-negative bacillus that is widely distributed in nature, particularly in water and soil. It rarely causes disease in healthy hosts, but it can be a particularly troublesome pathogen in highly compromised, hospitalized patients.
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Although the incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infections from arterial catheters is low, arterial catheters have similar colonization rates and catheter-related bloodstream infections as concurrently sited and identically managed central venous catheters.
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Life Recovery Systems (Alexandria, Louisiana) reported FDA approval of an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application to investigate rapid hypothermia treatment in combination with primary angioplasty to treat heart attacks.
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Drug eluting stents (DES) wire mesh tubes that prop open a previously blocked artery to the heart have gone a long way toward reducing restenosis in cardiac patients after percutaneous coronary intervention. But they've also created a host of potential complications from impairing imaging to hindering surgical revascularization or positive remodeling (an increase in arterial area).
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Michael Mussallem, CEO and chairman of Edwards Lifesciences, (Irvine, California), has been named chairman of AdvaMed (Washington). He succeeds Edward Ludwing, president/CEO and chairman of BD (Franklin Lakes, New Jersey), who has led the organization for the past two years.
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The FDA has placed a large speed bump in front of the plans for a confirmatory clinical trial by Vasogen (Mississauga, Ontario) for its heart failure treatment.
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Royal Philips Electronics (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) reported that it will lead a new European Union (EU)-funded research project aimed at improving care of heart patients through the development of telemonitoring solutions. The HeartCycle project, which follows the MyHeart project in the EU, was launched on March 1, and will be one of the largest biomedical and healthcare research projects within the EU, according to Philips.
