Hospital Medicine

For clinics with computerized medical records, a pharmacist-led intervention significantly reduces the risk of medical errors and is likely to be cost-effective.

Higher patient satisfaction is associated with less emergency department use, but with greater inpatient admissions, expenditures, and higher mortality.

Economic factors impact orthopedic trauma volume, with the unemployment rate for the previous year being the best predictor of volume, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, held from Feb. 7 to 11 in San Francisco.

More effective management of rheumatoid arthritis with medication may be contributing to a decline in the need for joint surgery in patients with the condition, Mayo Clinic researchers have found.

Stroke victims are not getting to the hospital any faster than they did in 2005, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's International Stroke Conference, held from Feb. 1 to 3 in New Orleans.

A once daily oral dose of rivaroxaban (Xarelto) significantly lowers the risk of intracranial hemorrhage in patients with atrial fibrillation at moderate to high risk of stroke, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's International Stroke Conference, held from Feb. 1 to 3 in New Orleans.

Based on reports of a disturbingly high rate of significant intraoperative hyponatremia during major pediatric craniofacial surgery, researchers at Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide, Australia, embarked on a study to establish the incidence, severity, and associated risk factors of hyponatremia during and after major craniofacial surgery for craniosynostosis in their institution.

Just days after Saudi Arabia donated $25 million to the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $750 million, in addition to the $650 million donated over the last 10 years.

In a group of septuagenarian patients with atrial fibrillation, followed for up to six years, warfarin use is associated with a significant reduction in all-cause mortality, according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.

People with one or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease in middle age are significantly more likely to suffer a major cardiovascular event, such as heart attack or stroke, for decades afterwards, a large-scale analysis of previous studies indicates.

Participants in the London marathon have a spotty understanding of the causes and potential dangers of exercise-associated hyponatremia, researchers at the Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine at the University of London have found.

The top 5 percent of U.S. hospitals has more than a 30 percent lower risk-adjusted mortality across 17 procedures and diagnoses, compared with other hospitals, according to the 10th annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study published online Jan. 24.

There is a high risk of persisting deficits following severe, childhood traumatic brain injury, according to a study published online Jan. 23 in Pediatrics.

Complications as a result of prostate needle biopsy (PNB) have increased in recent years, though they remain infrequent enough that patients should go through with the procedure when deemed necessary by medical providers, researchers report.

For patients on warfarin with minor head trauma who have an initial negative computed tomography (CT) scan, 24-hour observation followed by an additional CT scan identifies the majority of cases of delayed bleeding, according to a study published online Jan. 16 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Doctors may be halting use of anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) medications too early in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who are set to undergo surgery, researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City have found.

Hospitals looking to be prepared for a sharp increase in patients during flu season may be better off monitoring trends in Internet search traffic than waiting for lagging government reports to arrive, Johns Hopkins University researchers report.

Hyponatremia is independently associated with a long-term increase in mortality and rehospitalization for chronic heart failure patients, researchers at the Duke Clinical Research Institute have found.

The anticoagulant dabigatran has been linked to a heightened risk of myocardial infarction in a wide range of patients when compared to other medications.

Janssen Research & Development has submitted an application to the FDA requesting approval of Xarelto (rivaroxaban) to decrease the risk of thrombotic cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndrome.