Antibiotic effect of ticagrelor
Ticagrelor is a reversible platelet adenosine diphosphate P2Y12 receptor (P2Y12) inhibitor and is quite effective as an antiplatelet agent. New research suggests an antibiotic effect for ticagrelor and the researchers suggest that further research may lead to development of a new class of antibiotics [1]. In fact there is a global need for new antibiotics, which are conspicuous by their absence in the current scenario of multidrug resistant organisms. The study published as a Research Letter in JAMA Cardiology reports on the ‘Antibacterial Activity of Ticagrelor in Conventional Antiplatelet Dosages Against Antibi...
Source: Cardiophile MD - May 20, 2019 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis Tags: Cardiology Source Type: blogs
PREP Scholar ’ s Passion for Understanding Body ’s Defenses
Charmaine N. Nganje, PREP scholar at Tufts University in Boston.
Credit: Katherine Suarez.
Charmaine N. Nganje
Hometown: Montgomery Village, Maryland
Influential book : The Harry Potter series (not exactly influential, but they’re my favorite)
Favorite movie/TV show: The Pursuit of Happyness/The Flash
Languages: English (and a bit of Patois)
Unusual fact: I’m the biggest Philadelphia Eagles fan from Maryland that you’ll ever meet
Hobbies: Off-peak traveling
Q. Which NIGMS program are you involved with?
A. The Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) at the Sackler School ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - April 24, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Matt Mills Tags: Being a Scientist Bacteria Diseases Infection Infectious Disease Infectious Diseases Training Source Type: blogs
Safer surgery: Steps you can take
Chances are high that most of us will have a surgical procedure at some point during our lives. Estimates based on 2002 data in three states suggest Americans have a lifetime average of nine surgical procedures. In 2010 in the United States, there were an estimated 1.4 million inpatient procedures, ranging from childhood tonsillectomies, breast lumpectomies, and gallbladder removal to cataract surgeries, hernia repairs, and hip or knee replacements. And the rate of surgical procedures continues to rise. So it’s valuable to know what you can do to make safer surgery and a successful outcome more likely.
How do I choos...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 28, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Susan Abookire, BSEE, MD, MPH, FACP Tags: Health Managing your health care Safety Surgery Source Type: blogs
New Coating Keeps Intravascular Catheters Clean for Weeks
Intravascular catheters are a bane of clinical medicine, being one of the chief ways people get infected inside of hospitals. They have to be replaced routinely, putting extra strain on nurses and doctors and causing discomfort to patients. There are a ways to keep catheters relatively clean with sterile technique and specialized dressings, but there’s a great deal of room left for improvement, something that scientists at Brown University are now tackling.
The Brown team has developed a highly stretchable coating made of a polyurethane that releases auronafin, an antirheumatic drug that has been shown to also be an...
Source: Medgadget - March 8, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Materials Source Type: blogs
Do you really have a penicillin allergy?
Chances are, you or someone you know is one of the 10% of Americans with a documented penicillin allergy. But just because you were told you had a penicillin allergy, or had one in the past, does not mean you have one now. People with a penicillin allergy history have their allergy disproved with allergy testing more than 90% of the time.
Penicillin: a primer
Penicillin is part of a larger drug class called beta-lactam antibiotics, which include the common penicillins and cephalosporins.
Common penicillins include ampicillin, amoxicillin, and Augmentin. Among other uses, penicillins are often used to treat ear infections, ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 26, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Kimberly Blumenthal, MD, MSc Tags: Allergies Health Tests and procedures Source Type: blogs
Digital Technologies for Improving Hygiene in Health Facilities
150 years after Semmelweis advised fellow physicians to sanitize their hands to mitigate the effect of infections, the maintenance of hygiene is still a widespread problem in hospitals and the source of healthcare-associated infections. Now, technological solutions line up against microorganisms, bacteria, and fungi. Here are a few examples.
1 in 9 in-patients will die due to infection
According to the US Center for Disease Control, studies show that on average, healthcare providers clean their hands less than half of the times they should. This significantly contributes to the spread of healthcare-associated infections (H...
Source: The Medical Futurist - August 16, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Healthcare Design Medical Professionals Policy Makers clean digital digital health future HAI healthcare-associated infection hygiene Medicine robot robotics sensors technology trackers wearable Source Type: blogs
Digital Technologies for Improving Hygiene in Health Facilities
150 years after Semmelweis advised fellow physicians to sanitize their hands to mitigate the effect of infections, the maintenance of hygiene is still a widespread problem in hospitals and the source of healthcare-associated infections. Now, technological solutions line up against microorganisms, bacteria, and fungi. Here are a few examples.
1 in 9 in-patients will die due to infection
According to the US Center for Disease Control, studies show that on average, healthcare providers clean their hands less than half of the times they should. This significantly contributes to the spread of healthcare-associated infections (H...
Source: The Medical Futurist - August 16, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Healthcare Design Medical Professionals Policy Makers clean digital digital health future HAI healthcare-associated infection hygiene Medicine robot robotics sensors technology trackers wearable Source Type: blogs
Microfluidic Device Detects Bacteria in Tiny Samples
Canadian researchers at McGill University and University of Toronto have come up with a new device for rapid detection of small concentrations of pathogenic bacteria within tiny samples. The technology may help to spot diseases early, and so allow clinicians to better treat their patients while slowing down the spread of infection.
The device consists of tiny, nano-scale rods between which the bacteria gets trapped as a biological fluid runs past them. It was already tried on E. coli and MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), with the device detecting the presence of both types of dangerous bacteria within sam...
Source: Medgadget - July 31, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Diagnostics Genetics Nanomedicine Pathology Source Type: blogs
Trump Administration Opposes Public Reporting of Hospital Infection Rates
A recent news article highlighted the news that CMS is proposing a new rule whereby hospitals are not longer required to publicly report their infection rates (see:Trump administration rule could stop public reporting of hospital infections despite death toll). Below is an excerpt from the article:Federal health regulators will have to stop releasing data on hospital infections — which affect one in 25 hospital patients every day — under a proposal set to take effect in November, according to an analysis by patient safety advocates. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) plan, part of acomplex ...
Source: Lab Soft News - June 28, 2018 Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Bruce Friedman Tags: Clinical Lab Industry News Clinical Lab Testing Healthcare Business Healthcare Delivery Hospital Financial Medical Consumerism Public Health Source Type: blogs
Building Useful Worker Devices From Nanoparticles and Cell Components
The medical nanorobots of decades to come will be a close fusion between natural and artificial molecular machinery. They will exist because it is possible to build worker devices that are more effective and efficient at a given task that evolved cells and cellular structures. Today, however, the state of the art involves melding simple cell structures with nanoparticles or other molecular machines. A great deal of innovation and experimentation is taking place, but it isn't always clear which of these many projects will make the leap into commercial development, versus serving as an inspiration or bridge to later efforts ...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 6, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Ultrasound-Powered Nanorobots to Remove Bacteria and Toxins from Blood
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed cell-like nanorobots that can clear bacteria and bacterial toxins from blood. The tiny bots are powered by ultrasound and they could pave the way for nanorobotic systems that can decontaminate biological fluids or even clear infections in the body. Despite being 25 times smaller than the width of a human hair, the nanorobots can travel through blood at speeds of up to 35 micrometers a second when stimulated using ultrasound.
The research team developed the nanorobots by coating gold nanowires in a hybrid cell membrane that combines components from red bl...
Source: Medgadget - June 4, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Medicine Nanomedicine Source Type: blogs
Does being a good doctor mean being superhuman?
They say to be a good doctor, you have to leave everything behind when you enter the exam room. You walk in with a clean slate — shiny and sterile, crisp, clean and decontaminated. I wonder if that’s why we wear a white coat? To symbolize the unscathed, untouched and pristine figure who walks into the room and solves all the problems. The one who just woke up from a refreshing nap renewed and restored and ready to hear a patient’s story as if she is hearing it for the very first time. She will write a magical prescription and bestow miraculous healing, then float away until the three-month follow-up visit. It’s alm...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - May 15, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/shaudee-parvinjah" rel="tag" > Shaudee Parvinjah, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Source Type: blogs
Clinical plagiarism: the problem of copy and pasting in EMRs
It is all too common for a section in a progress note to look something like this:
# Aspiration pneumonia:
Continue vancomycin 1 g bid
Continue Zosyn 3.325 g q6h
Follow-up blood cultures
Follow-up sputum cultures
MRSA nares screen negative
Blood cultures negative
Discontinue vancomycin
Yesterday, a version of this note (lines 1 to 5 to be precise) had my name on it. Today, it is signed by someone else. Read it again if you did not see the problem.
Continue reading ...
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 26, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/eric-r-gottlieb" rel="tag" > Eric R. Gottlieb, MD < /a > Tags: Tech Health IT Hospital-Based Medicine Source Type: blogs
Try to avoid vancomycin/pip-tazo
This study used a retrospective matched cohort technique – not a randomized controlled trial, but a reasonable methodology.
Patients in both VC and VPT groups had similar baseline characteristics in terms of age, length of ICU stay, Charlson comorbidity index score, baseline creatinine, and use of concomitant nephrotoxins.
The groups had great similarity.
The rate of AKI was higher among patients receiving VPT compared to those receiving VC combination therapy. Based on RIFLE criteria, 81 patients in the VPT group developed AKI compared to 31 patients in the VC group (29.0% vs 11.1%; hazard ratio [HR] = 4.0; 95% conf...
Source: DB's Medical Rants - January 8, 2018 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: rcentor Tags: Medical Rants Source Type: blogs
