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More Experience Leads to Better Outcomes With MitraClip
In this analysis of MitraClip procedures from the Transcatheter Valve Therapy registry, the authors demonstrated improvements in procedure success and safety with increasing institutional experience with the device.
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MERS Still a Threat in Saudi Arabia
Although it has not been sustained in other countries following introductions and outbreaks, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus has established an endemic presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since it emerged in 2012, the World Health Organization reports. As of June 30, 2019, there have been 2,449 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS reported, with 84% in Saudi Arabia and the rest in 27 other countries, including the United States. There have been 845 MERS deaths, resulting in a mortality rate of 35%.
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CDC Gears Up as Ebola Outbreak Escalates in Africa
The CDC is stepping up efforts to fight an Ebola outbreak that is threatening to spread beyond the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The World Health Organization recently declared an international health emergency in DRC after an Ebola case appeared July 14 in Goma, a city of 2 million people that has connecting flights to global air travel. As of Aug. 2, there have been four cases in Goma.
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Enterococcus faecalis Endocarditis Risk Factors
A large, prospective observational study of echocardiography in all patients with Enterococcus faecalis bacteremia showed a high incidence of infective endocarditis.
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The ‘Vaccine Wars:’ Will Science Prevail?
In a year marked by more than 1,000 infections with a disease that once was eradicated in the United States, the tide of public opinion may be turning against the antivaccine movement. Measles resurgence coincides with parents citing unsafe vaccines as a reason not to immunize their children. However, there is a growing pushback against the antivaccine movement, with herd immunity threatened and the real risk of measles to immunocompromised patients and those who cannot be immunized.
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Life Expectancy After Aortic Valve Replacement
This Swedish national study of longevity following aortic valve surgery showed that, overall, life expectancy declined by about two years, but was higher for patients younger than 50 years of age.
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EEG Reactivity for Prediction of Neurological Outcomes After Cardiac Arrest
Researchers found that EEG-R testing, by itself, is not sufficiently reliable to predict neurological outcomes after cardiac arrest.
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Medication Errors When Patients Transition Out of ICU
Three factors associated with decreased odds of an error occurring were daily patient care rounds in the ICU, discontinuing and rewriting medication orders during the transition of care from the ICU to a non-ICU setting, and 16-20 ICU beds in the transferring ICU.
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Blood Pressure Control: Exercise vs. Meds
A random-effects network meta-analysis demonstrated comparable reductions in systolic blood pressure among normotensive and hypertensive participants using either antihypertensive medication or exercise interventions.
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Eat Vegetables and Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
A large meta-analysis of high-quality observational studies shows that adherence to a plant-based diet is inversely related with developing type 2 diabetes.