Here are 14 articles on medical research study findings from the week of June 22.
1. Implanting a cardiac electronic device inside of an antibacterial envelope has been shown to reduce the risk of surgical site infections by 80 percent. Read more.
2. Researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago created a five-step approach to reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections in the hospital's neuro-spine intensive care unit. Read more.
3. A new study out of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., suggests hospitals treating children with community-acquired pneumonia are doing a better job of using antibiotics that are less commonly associated with antibiotic resistance. Read more.
4. A team of researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., may have successfully targeted the Achilles' heel of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus. Read more.
5. There is a positive correlation between hospital performance on the HCAHPS patient satisfaction survey and objective measures of surgical quality, according to a study published in JAMA Surgery. Read more.
6. Researchers from the Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa., have reported that the implementation of on-site overnight supervision from attending-level physicians has had no significant impact on clinical outcomes. Read more.
7. Implementing the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's infection prevention and control measures led to a sustained decrease in central line-associated bloodstream infections in an intensive care unit and step-down unit, a recent study outlined. Read more.
8. Smartphones and tablets — devices that more than 60 percent of Americans carry on their person at nearly all times — emit electromagnetic radiation that can interfere with medical equipment and can lead to serious clinical consequences for patients. Read more.
9. Generic statins and angiotensin receptor blockers typically used for heart disease also have the potential to bolster the immune systems of patients with Ebola virus disease and other life-threatening illnesses. Read more.
10. Five hours and eight minutes. That's the amount of a hospital infection preventionist's time that's eaten up by meeting CMS reporting requirements, according to new research. Read more.
11. When Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis implemented a daily bathing protocol for all pediatric patients using disposable cloths with 2 percent chlorhexidine gluconate, CLABSIs dropped 59 percent, according to a new study. Read more.
12. Although both patients and clinicians prefer medical research that explores non-drug treatments, such as physical or psychological therapies, or interventions to improve educational approaches, most of the medical research being performed prioritizes studying drug treatments, according to new research. Read more.
13. Flu vaccines administered during the 2014 to 2015 season were largely ineffective at preventing the spread of the virus because the vaccine was not prepared to take on mutations within the virus. Read more.
14. The University of Manchester (U.K.) Centre for Respiratory Medicine and Allergy and the Salford (U.K.) Royal National HealthService Foundation Trust collaborated to create a test that enables clinicians to make pneumonia diagnoses based only on a sample of a patient's breath. Read more.