Patients who quit smoking after undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for narrowed arteries have similar outcomes as non-smokers during four years of follow-up after the procedure, according to a large study published in the European Heart Journal [1]. However, if they had been heavy, long-term smokers, no improvement was seen. The study of 74,471 patients […]
Identifying sepsis: only two out of four recommended screening tools are useful
Paramedics and emergency doctors almost never suspect sepsis Barcelona, Spain: Two out of the four internationally-recommended screening tools used by emergency medical services are inadequate for recognising sepsis, according to new research presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress. Mrs Silke Piedmont, a health scientist at the Department of Emergency Medicine Campus Benjamin Franklin Charité […]
Patients visiting emergency departments because of alcohol abuse are more likely to make return visits and to die in the following decades
Barcelona, Spain: People who come to emergency departments with alcohol-related diseases or conditions are more likely to make return visits and to die in the following 20 years, than people who come to emergency departments for other reasons, according to new research. For many, this means they may die in their 40s or 50s. Professor […]
Ultrasound scans by doctors in emergency departments to diagnose deep vein thrombosis halve patients’ stay and may help to reduce over-crowding
Barcelona, Spain: If doctors in hospital emergency departments are trained to carry out ultrasound on patients with suspected deep vein thrombosis (DVT), they can nearly halve the time the patients spend in these departments. Dr Ossi Hannula, an emergency medicine specialist at the Wellbeing Services County of Central Finland, Jyväskylä, Finland, who presented the findings […]
Women less likely to be given CPR than men in public places
– But in private spaces older people less likely to be given CPR – Barcelona, Spain: Bystanders are less likely to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to women than men, particularly if the emergency takes place in a public area, according to research presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress [1]. The study also shows that […]
Prescribing just a few opioid tablets to patients discharged from emergency departments can ease pain but prevent misuse
Barcelona, Spain: Half of patients discharged from the emergency department need only five tablets or fewer of morphine 5 mg or an equivalent opioid pain killer, according to new research presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress. [1] The recent crisis in opioid abuse has been partly attributed to over-prescription, particularly for chronic pain, and […]
ChatGPT performs as well as doctors for suggesting the most likely diagnoses in the emergency medicine department
Barcelona, Spain: The artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT performed as well as a trained doctor in suggesting likely diagnoses for patients being assessed in emergency medicine departments, in a pilot study to be presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress [1]. Researchers say a lot more work is needed, but their findings suggest the technology could […]
Study of bacteria in day care settings reveals links with children’s lung health
Milan, Italy: Particular combinations of bacteria found in dust at day care facilities have been linked to wheezing in young children in a study presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy [1]. Wheezing in young children is often an early sign of asthma. Children may spend many hours in day care […]
Exposure to air pollution while in the womb is linked to adverse changes in cell processes in new-born babies
Milan, Italy: Exposure to air pollution while in the womb is linked to alterations in proteins that can be detected after a baby is born, and which affect cell processes such as autophagy, the “self-eating” of damaged cells that occurs in response to stress. Dr Olga Gorlanova, a research physician at the University Children’s Hospital, […]
Transplanting patients’ own lung cells offers hope of ‘cure’ for COPD
Milan, Italy: For the first time, researchers have shown it is possible to repair damaged lung tissue in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using the patients’ own lung cells. The European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy [1], heard that 17 patients who took part in a phase I clinical trial were […]