Reuters Health News Summary

09/02/2016 16:57

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Hospice care improves patient experience

A new study adds to evidence that hospice care during the last six months of life is associated with better overall experiences for patients and a lower likelihood of dying in a hospital. "Consistent with other studies demonstrating benefit, the use of hospice care is associated with better quality-of-care outcomes, including patient-centered care metrics," study leader Ruth Kleinpell and colleagues write in the journal BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care, online August 16.

For skiers and snowboarders, helmets still offer protection

Skiing helmets are not reducing head injuries as much as they used to, possibly because snow sports have become more dangerous, a Norwegian study suggests. Helmets still offer significant protection against serious head injuries, however, and all skiers and snowboarders should be wearing them, the researchers emphasize in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Laser pointers can cause irreversible vision loss for kids

Used incorrectly, laser pointers can damage the retina of the eye and may cause some irreversible vision loss, according to researchers who treated four boys for these injuries. Doctors, teachers and parents should be aware that this can happen, and limit children's use of laser pointers, the authors write.

Fewer U.S. hospitals breaking emergency treatment rules

The number of U.S. hospitals investigated or cited for breaking federal emergency treatment rules has declined over the past decade, a study suggests. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires that all patients who come to hospital emergency departments receive a medical screening and any care needed to stabilize their condition, regardless of their ability to pay. Nationwide, 7.2 percent of hospitals were investigated in 2014 for violating the law, down from 10.8 percent in 2005.

Zika causes deafness in about 6 percent of cases: study

(In Aug. 30 story, corrects paragraph 4 study attribution to Mariana Leal of Hospital Agamenon Magalhães and colleagues in Brazil instead of a team led by Dr. Marli Tenório and Dr. Ernesto Marques of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Pernambuco, Brazil) A study in Brazil of 70 babies whose mothers had confirmed Zika infections found that nearly 6 percent had hearing loss, adding a new complication to the list of ills the virus can cause when women are infected during pregnancy.

Singapore says Zika infections spread, nearly 190 cases

Singapore said on Friday it had found 38 more people who had contracted Zika, raising to 189 the number infected with the mosquito-borne virus since authorities reported the first locally transmitted case six days ago. Some of the new cases had been detected in areas where infections had not previously been reported, the health ministry said in a statement.

U.S. fights Zika mosquitoes with limited arsenal

Over Wynwood, the Miami neighborhood where Zika gained a foothold in the continental United States, low flying planes have been spraying naled, a tightly controlled pesticide often used as a last resort. It appears to be working, killing at least 90 percent of the target mosquitoes. Across the Biscayne Bay in Miami Beach, wind and high-rise buildings make aerial spraying challenging. So, the effort in the popular tourist destination has focused on ground-sprayed pyrethroids - pesticides that are safer but don't always work.

Latam banana workers' claims over pesticide are revived in U.S.

Hundreds of banana farmers from Central America and South America will again have their day in court, after a U.S. appeals court on Friday revived six lawsuits accusing several big fruit and chemical companies of sickening them with a toxic pesticide. By an 11-0 vote, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia revived claims by 228 farmers from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Panama against such companies as Chiquita Brands International, Del Monte Fresh Produce, Dole Food, Dow Chemical, Occidental Chemical and Shell Oil .

Earlier diabetes diagnosis linked to worse mid-life heart health

When people develop diabetes early in life they may also be more likely to experience heart problems in middle age, a study suggests. Cardiovascular disease has long been linked to diabetes in older adults. The new study, however, offers fresh evidence that getting diabetes as a younger adult may exacerbate or accelerate the erosion of heart function as people age.

Clinton offers plan to curb 'unjustified' price hikes on life-saving drugs

Hillary Clinton said on Friday that if elected to the White House she would create an oversight panel to protect U.S. consumers from large price hikes on long-available, lifesaving drugs and to import alternative treatments if necessary, adding to her pledges to rein in overall drug prices. Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, would seek to give the panel an "aggressive new set of enforcement tools," including the ability to levy fines and impose penalties on manufacturers when there has been an "unjustified, outlier price increase" on a long-available or generic drug, her campaign said.

09/02/2016 16:57