Higher hospital-wide use of four classes of antibiotics thought to increase the risk of the dangerous intestinal illness Clostridioides difficile were associated with increased prevalence of hospital-associated C. difficile, according to a study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. For every 100 days […]
Transgender adults who experience discrimination more likely to attempt suicide
A new UCLA-led analysis of data from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey found that more than half of respondents, 51.2 percent, who had experienced four types of anti-transgender discrimination and violence—losing a job, eviction, homelessness and physical attack—in the past year reported attempting suicide in that year. And 97.7 percent of them had seriously thought […]
Whitney Port Tells Husband She May Not 'Want More' Kids After Miscarriage
Sharing her truth. Whitney Port told her husband, Tim Rosenman, that she may not “want more children” after suffering a miscarriage in July. “I feel like I’ve come to terms with this pregnancy not working out,” the Hills: New Beginnings star, 34, said on the Monday, September 9, episode of the MTV show. “Then I […]
Black, Hispanic patients more likely to be brought to safety-net hospital emergency rooms
A new national study done by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center showed large differences in the emergency department (ED) and hospital destinations of minority (Black and Hispanic) patients who are transported by emergency medical services (EMS) when compared with their non-Hispanic white counterparts. The study appears in JAMA […]
Providing more testing choices does not increase colorectal cancer screening rates
Offering patients the choice between home screening or in-office colonoscopy does not increase participation in colorectal cancer screening, according to a new Penn Medicine study. However, the framing of choice did impact patient decision-making, as the proportion of colonoscopies—the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening—fell when the home screening option was presented as an available […]
Could more time off for military members provide mental health benefits?
Officials at the Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina are giving service members a day off following the suicides of several airmen. They will also get another day off in September, and gather for small-group training to address suicide prevention. Could the down days bolster the mental health of airmen? Kenneth Marfilius is a […]
High blood pressure pills will be offered to 720,000 more NHS patients
High blood pressure pills will be offered to 720,000 more NHS patients after the health watchdog lowers the threshold for prescribing them Patients with a 10 per cent risk of heart disease within 10 years will be eligible Prescriptions were in the past given to people with a 20 per cent decade risk The NHS […]
Anxiety, depression linked to more opioid use after surgery
Surgeons wielding their life-saving scalpels, laparoscopic tools, or other implements to repair or remove what ails their patients understand all too well that pain is an unavoidable part of the healing process. Yet the current opioid crisis has made the standard prescribing practices for these highly effective analgesics fraught with risk. New research from Michigan […]
New York City Moves Toward More Humane Food Sourcing
On Wednesday, August 14, legislation to implement the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP) was introduced in the New York City Council. This food-procurement tool, which the ASPCA actively supports in cities across the country as part of our broader Shop With Your Heart program, helps school systems, municipalities and other public entities source food that […]
Husbands benefit from mutual caregiving, wives feel more distressed, study finds
Spouses in older marriages are increasingly taking on the role of their partner’s caregiver in dealing with chronic conditions like heart disease, memory loss, and cancer. In a growing number of instances, both spouses care for each other as they struggle with any one of a variety of health issues such as arthritis, diabetes, and […]