WASHINGTON, DC—With a decline in the number of central line associate bloodstream infections in intensive care units, the focus is turning to an area where such infections are burgeoning – kidney dialysis clinics.

WASHINGTON, DC—This time last year, a group of VA-funded researchers at MIT announced that they had developed a robot-assisted therapy for stroke patients that greatly improved patient outcome without significantly raising costs. In chronic stroke survivors, robot-assisted therapy led to modest improvements in upper-body motor functioning and in quality of life.

WASHINGTON, DC—Higher risk for post-stroke mortality in the so-called “Stroke Belt” does not seem to apply in VA facilities, according to recent research which cited increased awareness and best practice guidelines as making the difference.

DAYTON, OH—In the latest VA infection control lapse to come under public scrutiny, Ohio-based legislators are pushing for both U.S. House and Senate investigations into practices at a Dayton VAMC dental clinic that may have resulted in nine cases of hepatitis.

WASHINGTON, DC—Patients taking warfarin, a widely used blood-thinning pill that requires careful dose monitoring, have similar outcomes whether they come to a clinic or use a self-testing device at home, according to a recent VA study.  The findings, published in the October 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, are good news for heart patients who live far from clinics or are homebound.

WASHINGTON, DC—DoD is in the midst of deploying a tool that will automate recordkeeping for anesthesiologists.

Washington, DC—Researchers at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR) and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston, TX, have developed a new system to help providers better resuscitate burn patients with large burns.

WASHINGTON, DC—Nearly 1.5 million servicemembers have left active duty and become eligible for VA healthcare since the start of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Full Article