Here are 13 articles on medical research study findings from the week of Sept. 14.
1. Researchers discovered abnormal blood results and atypical vitals signs are associated with complications of Clostridium difficile infections in a recent study. Read more.
2. Penalties for high readmission rates, imposed by CMS, unfairly punish hospitals that provide care for more vulnerable patients, according to research out of Harvard Medical School. Read more.
3. Black children diagnosed with appendicitis are less likely to receive pain medication than white children, according to a study recently published in JAMA Pediatrics. Read more.
4. Meropenem, piperacillin and tazobactam may not be effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus individually, but a new study revealed that together, the trio of antibiotics can kill this deadly pathogen. Read more.
5. Researchers at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore revealed that many obese people may be malnourished before they undergo weight-loss surgery, which could lead to complications. Read more.
6. Study findings suggest that phage treatment can be used as an effective tool to decontaminate human MRSA from both hard surfaces and fabrics. Read more.
7. New research finds the 3M Potentially Preventable Readmissions measure may not clearly distinguish differences in care quality between readmissions that are preventable and those that aren't. Read more.
8. Patient adherence to tuberculosis treatment may be improved by using mobile text messaging and electronic pillboxes, according to a paper published in the journal PLOS Medicine. Read more.
9. There may be a link between breast cancer and bovine leukemia virus, according to recent research. Read more.
10. Although incidences of the most common strain of hospital-acquired MRSA are declining, a paper published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology shows community-acquired strains are holding steady. Read more.
11. Inaccurate and incomplete adverse event reports are submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at an alarmingly high rate, according to a study conducted by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. Read more.
12. University of Southampton-based researchers conducted a study to test the cleaning efficacy of an ultrasound device on medical devices, the results of which were promising for infection control efforts. Read more.
13. Antibacterial soap containing triclosan, the most commonly used active antiseptic ingredient in soap, may be no more effective than plain soap at killing bacteria, according to recent paper. Read more.