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When you were in school, you probably remember seeing some classmates wearing casts, usually the result of a sports injury. But your children likely don’t. Fewer children are breaking bones these days, and the ones that do are getting injured in ways that were less common before the pandemic. Yet another change in the wake of COVID-19. What changed? Researchers

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned mask decontamination company Battelle Memorial Institute for failing to comply with adverse event reporting rules specified in the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the company’s critical care decontamination system. The warning letter

Note that some links may require registration or subscription. President Trump called his coronavirus infection a “blessing from God” and attributed his recovery to the Regeneron antibody cocktail. (CNN) Regeneron announced it is putting that treatment up for emergency use authorization by the FDA. (Bloomberg) While last night’s vice presidential debate featured considerable discussion of

If you are approaching age 65, your healthcare provider may ask if you have fallen. The reason? More than 25% of people age 65 and older fall every year. Exercises that strengthen leg muscles and improve balance can help prevent falls. While tai chi has long been known to improve balance and reduce fall risk, new

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Tracheal intubation and extubation may not produce enough aerosols to warrant being designated as procedures associated with high risk for transmission of SARS-CoV-2, researchers say. The researchers’ sampling of particle sizes in operating rooms calls into question the extreme infection protocols

If you have type 2 diabetes and take the extended-release (ER) form of metformin to help control your blood sugar level, you should know that some metformin ER products continue to be recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to impurities that may be at higher than acceptable levels. The impurity in question

Neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker previously measured in blood or cerebrospinal fluid and used to indicate neurodegeneration, is detectable in the vitreous humor of the eye, opening the door to a potential new method of predicting neurodegenerative disease, new research suggests. In a study of 77 patients undergoing eye surgery for various conditions, more

Note that some links may require registration or subscription. William Foege, MD, the former CDC director under Presidents Carter and Reagan, suggested in a private letter to the agency’s current leader, Robert Redfield, MD, that he orchestrate his own firing by revealing the CDC’s failings and the meddling from the White House. “It’s a slaughter

Contact tracing apps are finally rolling out, state by state, across the U.S. to help fight the spread of COVID-19. These powerful tools, already in use in other countries, come with widespread concerns about privacy protections. We’re going to explore the details of what the applications do, the impact they have on your phone, and

After working through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, trauma surgeon Ron Gross, MD, got a call telling him his position had been terminated. “The pain is real when you hear those words,” Gross told Medscape. “While the public hails healthcare workers as heroes, termination notices are coldly and quietly handed out. Positions are eliminated.

It is no surprise that having a family member, especially a partner or spouse, in the intensive care unit (ICU) is scary and stressful. New research from the School of Public Health at the University of Tokyo in Japan found that spouses of ICU patients were 27% more likely to come back to the hospital

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday signaled their resistance to President Donald J. Trump’s drive for an accelerated clearance of a COVID-19 vaccine, while medical and trade associations called for a thorough review of any such product before

Note that some links may require registration or subscription. The White House is blocking new FDA guidelines that would stiffen requirements for authorizing COVID-19 vaccines, after manufacturers reportedly objected to the guidance. (New York Times, Politico) White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Pastor Greg Laurie of the Harvest Christian Fellowship megachurch were the latest

Let’s face it: Holiday travel will look different this year. You may have stayed close to home since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country, but now that the festive season is approaching, you’re tempted to visit loved ones. When booking a hotel, you’re probably asking one thing: “Will I be safe?”  Numerous hotel chains have

Music listening and singing each showed early, promising evidence for producing cardiovascular benefits, part of a burgeoning area of research that is exploring and documenting ways to effectively use music to improve health. A study run at four centers in Italy randomized 159 patients with heart failure, primarily New York Heart Association class I or

There are emergencies and there are emergencies. Horrible chest pain or a sick baby are capital “E” emergencies. Back pain that kicks in while on vacation, a hard-to-reach sliver of glass, or a sprained wrist generally require medical attention, but might not mean rushing to the emergency department.  Once upon a time, patients had two choices

Patients being treated with dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) consisting of clopidogrel plus aspirin following atrial septal defect (ASD) closure can safely discontinue clopidogrel after 3 months without fear of increased migraine headaches, a new study suggests. Investigators randomly assigned 171 patients with no history of migraines who had undergone ASD closure to receive either DAPT or

Note that some links may require registration or subscription. President Trump’s kitchen sink regimen for COVID-19 “isn’t necessarily good quality care.” (USA Today) His impromptu motorcade and meetings with first responders at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he’s being treated for COVID-19 were criticized for risk of infecting others. (Reuters) Suggestions that

Mammograms save lives, but only if you get them. And this seems to be a greater problem for women in the United States who speak only Spanish or have limited English than for their English-speaking peers, according to a study presented last week at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2020. “Spanish-only speakers appear to have

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Two new studies highlight the consequences of deferred aortic valve replacement during the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest a tailored approach may be needed in the uncertain days ahead. When a statewide executive order banned elective procedures in New York City on

When Cindi Hindman started fostering Oscar, a German shepherd and Labrador retriever mix puppy in September, he acted anxious and hypervigilant. He paced around the house, unable to settle and showed little interest in affection. Less than 48 hours after being in her Frederick, Md., home, Oscar was playing with toys, snuggling on the couch

President Donald Trump received 2 liters of oxygen therapy on Thursday after his oxygen saturation level temporarily dipped below 94%; still he never experienced any difficulty breathing, and dexamethasone has been added to his treatment regime, the president’s personal physician said during a press conference this morning. Sean Conley, DO, backed at the briefing by

The 24-hour news cycle is just as important to medicine as it is to politics, finance, or sports. At MedPage Today, new information is posted daily, but keeping up can be a challenge. As an aid for our readers and for a little amusement, here is a 10-question quiz based on the news of the

UPDATE: 9:30 AM, Eastern time Sean P. Conley, DO, Physician to the President, issued a statement last yesterday saying that President Trump is doing well at Walter Reed Medical Center. The President’s press secretary issued a tweet last night with the statement, which said “This evening, I am happy to report that the President is

In yet another trial of cell therapy for heart failure, this time in cancer survivors with anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy (AIC), administration of allogeneic bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (allo-MSCs) was shown to be safe and feasible. The phase 1 SENECA trial was conducted at multiple sites under the auspices of the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network

Last night, President Donald J. Trump’s personal physician issued a statement about President Trump’s health, updating his condition since he was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center early Friday evening. The statement said that the President is doing well and that he had received a dose of an investigational drug, remdesivir. “This evening, I am

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. President Donald Trump is “up and active” and being closely monitored at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the White House physician said during a press conference this morning. He was hospitalized yesterday for treatment and observation after receiving a positive

We previously reviewed and praised the outstanding QuitMedKit from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the also excellent SmokerStop app. QuitMedKit includes almost everything a primary care provider would need for tobacco cessation, while SmokerStop uses personal motivation to help patients quit. Also, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has its own tobacco