Here are 10 articles on some of the most interesting medical research study findings and advancements from the week of March 14.
1. A multinational study that appeared in PLOS found up to 83 percent of new mothers, depending on the region, do not complete the recommended stay following delivery and 75 percent of new mothers are leaving hospitals too soon after cesarean-sections. Read more.
2. An Australian study recently discovered patients preparing to undergo surgery learned more from watching an animated video on an iPad than speaking with a physician. The patients also preferred the tablet method to a face-to-face meeting. Read more.
3. Tai chi — an ancient Chinese martial art commonly practiced as a type of gentle exercise — is more effective than conventional physical therapies at helping elderly patients prevent a fall, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Read more.
4. Scientists are close to synthesizing healthful hops in hopes the compounds can help create new anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory medicines, according to recent research. Read more.
5. Historically, surgeons have been concerned with giving patients the flu vaccine while they are in the hospital, for fear of vaccine-related fever or muscle pain, but a new study from Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente shows a flu shot poses no such risk. Read more.
6. Research from the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at New York University Langone Medical Center conducted the first clinical trial of a new marijuana-based drug, and found it reduced epileptic seizures. Read more.
7. Potentially pathogenic bacteria may be lurking in hospital water supply pipes, according to new research that used advanced metagenomic techniques to identify organisms that traditional bacterial cultures miss. Read more.
8. More than a quarter of hospital readmissions could be avoided with better communication among healthcare teams and between providers and patients, according to a study from the University of California, San Francisco. Read more.
9. New research from mosquito and disease experts at the National Center for Atmospheric Research suggests populations of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads Zika virus, will grow in the United States as the weather gets warmer. Read more.
10. Patients who are angry, abusive or rude are more likely to be misdiagnosed by physicians than physicians than patients presenting neutral behaviors, according to two studies published in BMJ Quality and Safety. Read more.