Hospital infections and multidrug-resistant pathogens
2011-02-28
(Press-News.org) Infections are among the most frequent complications of a stay in hospital and raise the complication and mortality rates. Calculations based on data from the Hospital Infection Surveillance System (Krankenhaus-Infektions-Surveillance-System, KISS) showed an incidence of almost 60 000 newly acquired infections per year in intensive care units in Germany. This is the conclusion reached by Christine Geffers and her coauthor in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108 (6):87-93).
KISS is a quality assurance tool for hospitals. More than 800 hospitals and 586 intensive care units throughout Germany are enrolled with KISS.
While the percentage of patients in intensive care who have methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus species (MRSA) has been steady for years, the number with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae is rising. In hospital, the risk of acquiring Clostri-dium difficile-associated diarrhea is higher than the risk of acquiring MRSA.
###
http://www.aerzteblatt.de/v4/archiv/pdf.asp?id=80768
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Language patterns are roller-coaster ride during childhood development
2011-02-28
Why, and when, do we learn to speak the way that we do? Research from North Carolina State University on African-American children presents an unexpected finding: language use can go on a roller-coaster ride during childhood as kids adopt and abandon vernacular language patterns.
"We found that there is a 'roller-coaster effect,' featuring an ebb and flow in a child's use of vernacular English over the course of his or her language development," says Dr. Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor of English Linguistics at NC State and co-author ...
Home urine test measures insulin production in diabetes
2011-02-28
A simple home urine test has been developed which can measure if patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are producing their own insulin. The urine test, from Professor Andrew Hattersley's Exeter-based team at the Peninsula Medical School, replaces multiple blood tests in hospital and can be sent by post as it is stable for up to three days at room temperature. Avoiding blood tests will be a particular advantage for children.
The urine test measures if patients are still making their own insulin even if they take insulin injections. Researchers have shown that the test ...
Low vitamin D levels linked to allergies in kids
2011-02-28
February 24, 2011 ─ (BRONX, NY) ─ A study of more than 3,000 children shows that low vitamin D levels are associated with increased likelihood that children will develop allergies, according to a paper published in the February 17 online edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University headed the study.
Researchers looked at the serum vitamin D levels in blood collected in 2005-2006 from a nationally representative sample of more than 3,100 children and adolescents and 3,400 ...
WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition sheds new light on feeding behavior of domestic cats
2011-02-28
24th February, 2011 – In the most extensive study of macronutrient regulation yet undertaken on any carnivore, scientists have found that healthy cats regulate the amount of protein, fat and carbohydrate they consume, i.e. their macronutrient intake. Researchers at the WALTHAM® Centre for Pet Nutrition, the fundamental science centre supporting Mars Petcare brands such as WHISKAS® and ROYAL CANIN, have shown that cats consistently demonstrate a macronutrient target very close to that of their natural prey, such as mice and birds.
This research furthers understanding ...
When the doctor is a woman, patients expect them to be involved in decision making
2011-02-28
This release is available in Spanish.
When the family doctor is a woman, patients expect her to let them get involved in the management of their health problem, especially when it is a family health problem or a cold. However, patients have even greater expectations of their family doctor "listening to them, keeping them informed and considering their opinions than in participating in decision making".
This was the conclusion drawn of a study recently conducted by Ana Delgado, Luis Andrés López Fernández and Lorena Saletti Cuesta (Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública), ...
NIH scientists unveil characteristic of HIV early in transmission
2011-02-28
A new finding from scientists at the National Institutes of Health could help efforts to design vaccines and other prevention tools to block HIV in the early stages of sexual transmission, before infection takes hold. Researchers at the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have helped explain genetic differences that can distinguish some early-transmitting HIVs—viruses found in an infected individual within the first month after infection—from forms of HIV isolated later in infection. These genetic features help HIV bind tightly to a molecule called ...
Advancing delirium care through research
2011-02-28
INDIANAPOLIS -- At least seven million hospitalized Americans suffer from delirium each year, however the condition goes unrecognized in more than 60 percent of patients. Even if diagnosed, there is no effective way to treat the condition, which is a growing concern to medical professionals.
Researchers, clinicians, and administrators from across the United States will meet in Indianapolis, June 5 - 7 for "Advancing Delirium Care through Research," the inaugural conference of the American Delirium Society, to discuss current and future research and therapy.
The scientific ...
Probiotic identified to treat ulcers
2011-02-28
Researchers from Spain have identified a strain of probiotic bacteria that may be useful in treating ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori. They report their findings in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
"H. pylori is considered one of the major risk factors underlying the development of gastritis and gastric and duodenal ulcers," write the researchers. "Currently, antibiotic-based treatment for H. pylori infection is neither sufficient nor satisfactory, with the most successful treatments reaching 75 to 90% eradication rates. ...
A glass half full
2011-02-28
The key to dealing with some of the challenges life throws at us - including pain, suffering, illness, grief and loss - is to truly appreciate the positive aspects of our life, and not simply focus on the negative. It is important to acknowledge the setbacks, but equal attention and value need to be given to what is going well. This lesson in living, based on the teachings of Buddha, is given by Karen Hilsberg, from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health in California in the US, in an article published online in Springer's journal, Mindfulness.
Her moving, ...
Mean girls and queen bees: Females threatened by social exclusion will reject others first
2011-02-28
Many studies have suggested that males tend to be more physically and verbally aggressive than females. According to a new study, to be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, it may not be the case that women are less competitive than men—they may just be using a different strategy to come out ahead. Specifically, women may rely more on indirect forms of aggression, such as social exclusion.
To investigate how men and women respond when faced with a social threat, psychological scientist Joyce F. Benenson of Emmanuel ...