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Researchers Develop Game For HIV+ Youth
Researchers at The University of Texas School of Public Health have developed a game for HIV-positive youth, +CLICK, designed to reduce secondary transmission of the virus.
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Landmark Study For GSK's Cervical Cancer Vaccine Published In The Lancet
The final analysis of the largest efficacy trial of a cervical cancer vaccine is published today in The Lancet. The study, involving 18,644 women, confirmed GlaxoSmithKline"s Cervarix(R) is highly effective at protecting against the two most common cervical cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV) types, 16 and 18. The study also showed that the vaccine provides cross-protection against HPV types 31, 33 and 45, the three most common cancer-causing virus types beyond 16 and 18.
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Healthcare Reform Gets Boost From Hospital Groups
"In the face of mounting Republican opposition to its healthcare agenda, the Obama administration received a boost Wednesday, winning a preliminary agreement with leading hospital groups to cut federal payments to the industry over the next decade," The Los Angeles Times reports. "Under the plan, negotiated primarily by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), hospitals would accept $155 billion in cuts if the administration and its congressional allies succeeded in extending health insurance to tens of millions of people who are now without coverage. None of the hospital groups has signed a written agreement backing the cuts, nor is there any guarantee that the cuts will be included in versions of the healthcare legislation being developed by lawmakers other than Baucus" (Levey, 7/9).
Medical Devices

Using Clinical Pathways In Joint Replacement Treatment

Clinical pathways have been used in surgeries since the 1980s, but their nature and usefulness are still subjects of much debate, especially as procedures such as hip and knee joint replacement represent a significant cost to hospitals. Now authors publishing in the open access journal BMC Medicine have concluded that using clinical pathways can effectively improve the quality of the care provided to patients undergoing joint replacement. A research team from the University of Eastern Piedmont, the Catholic University Leuven, the University Politecnica delle Marche and the Sainte Rita Hospital Trust searched four databases (Medline, Cinahl, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) using relevant medical subject headings. The authors compared trials that contrasted the clinical pathways care with standard medical care whilst analysing at least one of the four possible clinical outcomes of postoperative complications, discharge to home, length of in-hospital stay (LOS) and direct costs. The meta-analysis, covering 6,316 patients, showed that patients in the clinical pathways group had significantly lower levels of postoperative complications and significantly shorter hospital stays, which greatly contributed to lower hospital costs. The authors believe that these positive findings are a consequence of the care being better organised. Inappropriate care lengthens hospital stays and increases the risk of complications; clinical pathways have been shown to prevent inappropriate care and, thus, the cost to the hospital. This new data provides policy makers with the evidence they need to evaluate the place of clinical pathways in JR. According to the authors, "With the need for knee and hip joint replacement on the rise, the use of clinical pathways might contribute to better quality of care and cost-effectiveness." Notes: Effects of clinical pathways in the joint replacement: a meta-analysis A Barbieri, K Vanhaecht, P Van Herck, W Sermeus, F Faggiano, S Marchisio and M Panella BMC Medicine (in press) http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/ Charlotte Webber BioMed Central


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