It's Friday the thirteenth. Here are 13 articles on medical research study findings from the week of Nov. 9.
1. Researchers assessed the effects a Clostridium difficile infection management policy had on the concordance in prescribing practices to severity assessment and pharmacological treatment algorithm. Read more.
2. The incidence of diabetic foot infections among hospitalized adults has decreased, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. Read more.
3. A trial to determine the readmission impact of a telemonitoring approach for heart failure patients found a subset of patients who reported better adherence also reported better readmission results, according to the American Journal of Managed Care. Read more.
4. Surgical site infections for patients undergoing total knee and total hip replacements dropped to zero in a study after the hospital implemented quality improvement initiatives and pulsed xenon ultraviolet room disinfections. Read more.
5. New research suggests acid-reducing drugs are making patients more vulnerable to infections that increase risk of death during hospital stay and pose more risks than benefits. Read more.
6. Readmissions are common following emergency general surgery, according to a study in JAMA Surgery, but are more common among those with co-existing illnesses, who are discharges against medical advice and who have public insurance. Read more.
7. Harvesting a treatment with the dead form of Clostridium sporogenes — bacteria commonly found in soil — researchers effectively destroyed colon tumor cells and slowed tumor cell growth by nearly 75 percent. Read more.
8. Hospitals may be able to reduce their rates of venous thromboembolism, adverse events and overall costs by using a synchronized mobile compression and aspirin regimen following total joint replacement surgeries. Read more.
9. Research from Washington State University in Pullman suggests electrical stimulation may be a viable alternative to antibiotics to treat wounds infected with bacteria. Read more.
10. Treating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with certain antibiotics may make some infection patients sicker. Read more.
11. Being hospitalized in the days that lead up to an elective surgery can lead to what is known as "post-hospital syndrome" in patients. A new study shows PHS patients are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of being under the knife. Read more.
12. Proton pump inhibitors may reduce heartburn and gastrointestinal bleeding in hospital patients, but the therapy can also raise their mortality risk, according to a Journal of General Internal Medicine study. Read more.
13. Too much foot traffic in and out of the operating room can overburden atmospheric pressure systems, running the risk of increased infections during surgery, Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins researchers recently found. Read more.