Costly intravenous vitamin cocktails — usually administered through at-home concierge services or in spalike "drip bars" — have gained steam in recent years, but experts say they offer no real benefit to most people, The Washington Post reported Feb. 24. 

Pandemic-related stress brought on by societal and lifestyle disruptions may lead to brain inflammation  — even among those not infected with COVID-19, according to early findings from researchers at Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard University. 

The number of U.S. women who died during pregnancy or after childbirth increased during 2020, especially among Black and Hispanic women, according to a report released Feb. 23 by the National Center for Health Statistics. Officials attribute the rise in part to COVID-19 and pandemic-related disruptions. 

A CMS inspection has tied four patient deaths at Warm Springs-based Montana State Hospital to noncompliance with federal rules, according to a Feb. 23 report by the Helena Independent Record.

Children's hospitals nationwide are keeping a close eye on cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, in the wake of the omicron wave, CNN reported Feb. 22.

The number of serious patient safety incidents reported to The Joint Commission jumped in 2021, reaching the highest annual level seen since the accrediting body started publicly reporting them in 2007, according to a report shared with Becker's Feb. 22. 

As social determinants of health become more widely recognized for their effects on health outcomes, the policies that create such determinants are also important to understand, the American Medical Association reported Feb. 21. 

Disability Rights Rhode Island is alleging patient abuse at Cranston, R.I.-based Eleanor Slater Hospital after a video showed 12 correctional officers conducting a contraband search and stepping over a patient, according to a Feb. 19 report by USA Today.

People who had COVID-19 were 39 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression in the months after their infection compared to those without COVID-19, according to a study of nearly 154,000 COVID-19 patients at the Veterans Health Administration. 

In 2021, a record-setting number of organ transplants were performed in the U.S., with more than 40,000 transplants performed annually for the first time in the nation's history, according to preliminary data from the United Network for Organ Sharing. 

A U.S. woman of mixed race has become the third person in the world believed to be cured of HIV, scientists said Feb. 15, according to The New York Times.

Infants born to mothers vaccinated for COVID-19 while pregnant were less likely to be hospitalized for the virus within the first six months of life, a new CDC study found. A separate report found vaccination lowers the risk of becoming a COVID-19 long-hauler. 

Recent studies have identified changes to a nerve that may explain why some people suffer from long COVID-19, while separate findings may point to a potential treatment option.

Intermountain Healthcare is rolling out a program to improve long-term care for patients with long COVID-19, the Salt Lake City-based health system said Feb. 14.

Cleveland Clinic performed 1,039 organ transplants in 2021, up 18 percent from 2020, and a record 210 liver transplants, it said Feb. 14.

Nearly a third — 32 percent — of adults 65 and older infected with COVID-19 in 2020 developed at least one new condition that required medical attention in the months after initial infection, finds a study published Feb. 9 by The British Medical Journal.

Among pregnant women, the coronavirus can severely damage the placenta, leading to fetal asphyxiation and stillbirth, according to research published Feb. 10 in the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.

Researchers have linked certain risk factors to severe COVID-19 for kids, along with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, according to a study published Feb. 8 by JAMA Network Open.

Many hospitals and health systems have created COVID-19 recovery programs, or post-COVID clinics, to support patients who experience lingering symptoms weeks or months after being cleared of the illness — a population now widely known as COVID-19 long-haulers. 

A study of more than 13,000 pregnant people from 17 U.S. hospitals found those with moderate to severe COVID-19 are more likely to experience pregnancy complications, according to findings published Feb. 7 in JAMA.