Folks with peanut allergies don’t have to worry that someone might be munching on the nuts during an airline flight, researchers report. It turns out there’s no evidence to the commonly held belief that nut allergens can be spread through aircraft ventilation systems, a new review concluded. “In fact, food-induced allergic reactions are around 10–100… read on > read on >
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ERs See More Trauma Patients on Smog-Filled Days
Accident victims tend to flood emergency rooms on days with heavy air pollution, a new study shows. The number of patients treated at ERs increase by 10% to 15% on days with increased particle pollution in the air, researchers found. That increase is driven by cases of trauma, along with more people suffering breathing difficulties… read on > read on >
3 Years of Med School Might Be Enough to Produce Quality Doctors
It’s typically thought that medical school requires four years of study after graduating college. But doctors might be able to shave a year off their medical education and still do a great job treating patients, a new study finds. Graduates who took three years of medical school performed equally well on tests of skill and… read on > read on >
FDA Says Compounding Pharmacies Can Keep Making Weight-Loss Med Tirzepatide, for Now
Pharmacists may continue making compounded versions of the weight-loss medication tirzepatide while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revisits its Oct. 2 decision to remove the medicine from a national drug shortage list. What prompted the FDA to reconsider its decision? On Oct. 7, a compounding trade group filed a lawsuit challenging the agency’s action,… read on > read on >
Your Sense of Smell May Be Quicker Than You Think
People sense millisecond shifts in odor as quickly as they might spot a change in color, new research shows. The study discounts the notion that smell is a “slower” sense than sight or hearing, scientists say. “A sniff of odors is not a long exposure shot of the chemical environment that averages out” over time,… read on > read on >
Parents or Ambulance: How a Child Reaches an ER Could Matter
It’s natural for a parent to bundle an injured child into a car and rush their kid to the emergency room. But that decision could actually delay their child’s emergency care, a new study shows. Severely injured children brought to an ER by their parents aren’t treated as quickly as those who arrive via ambulance,… read on > read on >
Half of Patients With Sepsis Die Within 2 Years, Hospital Study Finds
Half of people who develop blood poisoning, otherwise known as sepsis, are dead within a couple of years, a new study finds. A little more than 50% of patients admitted to an ER with sepsis died within two years, Danish researchers report. “We found that certain factors increased the risk of death after sepsis, including,… read on > read on >
Could Dad’s Sperm Raise Odds for Common Complications of Pregnancy?
Some men might have damaged sperm that will increase the risk of pregnancy complications and health problems in newborns, a new study finds. DNA defects in sperm can double the risk of preeclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy complication involving high blood pressure. These defects also increase the risk of premature birth, the researchers added. “The next… read on > read on >
Homeless Americans’ Death Rate Rises on Hot Days
As temperatures soar in some of America’s hottest spots, death rates among local homeless people rise as well, new research shows. Data from 2015 through 2022 finds a big bump in deaths among unhoused people in Clark County in Nevada (which includes Las Vegas), and Los Angeles County in California. The death toll could rise… read on > read on >
Change in Alzheimer’s Drug Vial Size Could Be Big Money-Saver for Medicare
A simple tweak in available vial sizes of the breakthrough Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi could save Medicare hundreds of millions of dollars each year, a new analysis claims. About 6% of Leqembi (lecanemab) is discarded because patients are frequently prescribed doses lower than the size of the drug’s single-use vials. This waste costs Medicare about $1,600… read on > read on >