Clinical Medicine
A short, sharp, cold-water swim may beat painkillers
February 21st, 2018 A short, sharp, cold-water swim may offer an alternative to strong painkillers and physiotherapy to relieve severe persistent pain after surgery, suggest doctors from the department of psychiatry, University of Cambridge and the School of Health...
Study ends debate over role of steroids in treating septic shock
January 24th, 2018 Steroids reduced the duration of septic shock and the time spent on life support therapy in intensive care, but did not lead to fewer deaths overall, an international trial conducted in 3,800 patients found. The results from the largest ever...Better survival and neurological outcomes in cardiac arrest
Survivors of cardiac arrest who remain in comas have better survival and neurological outcomes when their body temperatures are lowered.Specialised survivor clinics for child cancer
Adult survivors of childhood cancer stay in better health and require fewer visits to emergency departments if they are patients of specialised survivor clinics.'Potentially lifesaving information' ends landmark BP study
Declaring they had 'potentially lifesaving information' the US National Institutes of Health have ended a major study over a year early because it has already conclusively answered a question cardiologists have long puzzled over: How low should...One-stop guide to BP lowering treatments
The first definitive summary of the best and safest blood pressure lowering treatments for kidney disease and diabetes patients has been compiled.Hand grip beats BP in assessing health
Hand grip firmness is better than blood pressure (BP) at assessing health and reduced muscular strength consistently links with early death, disability and illness, a large multinational study found.Sepsis survivors in a hospital revolving door
Patients who had survived sepsis were significantly more likely to get readmitted for a condition that could possibly have been prevented or treated early to avoid a hospital stay, University of Michigan research found. A separate Harvard study...Non-drug care the 'first choice' in dementia
Non-drug approaches should be the first choice for treating dementia patients' common symptoms such as irritability, agitation, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, aggression, apathy and delusions. The researchers, from the University of Michigan...Ultrasound matches CT scans as initial diagnostic for kidney stones
CT scans are no better than less-often-used ultrasound exams to diagnose painful kidney stones in hospital emergency rooms says a clinical study conducted at 15 medical centres. According to study author Dr Rebecca Smith-Bindman of , ‘Ultrasound...‘Biospleen’ device successfully treating sepsis
Sepsis claims the lives of 8m people worldwide each year but in in many cases blood cultures never make a positive identification, so the problem is often treated blindly. But, notes a report, there is some hope. , in collaboration with other...