Antibiotics inappropriately prescribed to nonhospitalized children resulted in at least $74 million in excess health-care costs in the U.S. in 2017, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and The Pew Charitable Trusts. Children who were prescribed unneeded or unsuitable antibiotics in outpatient settings, such as doctors’ offices and urgent care centers, also […]

Defining TraumaApplications of Trauma in Patients Receiving CareTrauma-Informed CareWhy is Trauma-Informed Care Important?Establishing an Environment to Handle TraumaThe Concept and Mechanism of TraumaReferencesFurther Reading Defining Trauma Trauma is the result of experiencing severe stress or violence committed against a person. It can disrupt the state of the psyche and lead to borderline or clinical conditions including neuroses and psychosomatic illnesses. […]

Researchers at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a program that targets patients for smoking-cessation treatment while they’re visiting a clinic for cancer care gets more cancer patients into such treatment than previous methods. The program also helps more cancer patients quit successfully, and its costs are lower […]

Amniocentesis describes the extraction of amniotic fluid through the abdominal wall (i.e., through a transabdominal approach with ultrasound guidance). This procedure is performed by a trained obstetrician or gynecologist. The amniotic fluid extracted contains fetal cells alongside transudates such as epithelial and bladder cells. Amniocentesis. Image Credit: Thomas Andreas/Shutterstock.com Why is amniocentesis performed? Amniocentesis is employed to detect chromosome abnormalities […]

Advances in technology look set to change the face of global health care as we know it. The idea of smart healthcare uses a new generation of information technologies including artificial intelligence and big data. Smart healthcare. Image Credit: ra2 studio/Shutterstock.com The future of healthcare looks set to be transformed in a positive way so that is more streamlined, personal and […]

IntroductionCauseSymptomsEpidemiologyDiagnosis and TreatmentReferencesFurther Reading Bartonellosis is a set of complex infectious diseases caused by the bacteria Bartonella bacilliformis. These diseases are transmitted by sandflies and comprise different conditions like Oroya fever, trench fever, peliosis hepatis, Carrion's disease cat scratch disease, among others. Therefore, understanding the bacteria Bartonella is vital for enhancing our knowledge about the infectious diseases it causes to […]

Viruses can change and alter their genetic make-up. When these changes occur, the virus may become more or less of a threat to the human host. Virologists are therefore interested in tracking the evolution of the viral genome. Viral strain concept. Image Credit: Lightspring/Shutterstock.com In the case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it is designated a single species, but there are […]

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common and best known of the tauopathies, a set of neurodegenerative brain diseases caused by toxic tangles of the protein tau. A study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has shown that targeting astrocytes — an inflammatory cell in the brain — reduces tau-related brain damage and inflammation in mice. […]

Samantha Young, a political correspondent for California Healthline, on Feb. 15 discussed how Medi-Cal patients struggle to get their prescription drugs on KCRW’s “Press Play.” Click here to hear Young on “Press Play” Read Young’s “‘Somebody Is Gonna Die’: Medi-Cal Patients Struggle to Fill Prescriptions“ Interim Southern bureau editor Andy Miller discussed Medicare penalties for hospitals in Georgia on Georgia […]

For at least six months after COVID-19 vaccination, antibodies produced by immune cells become steadily more formidable and more precisely targeted against the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study of the antibody response to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The idea that antibodies increase in quality as they decrease […]