News by Subject Medicine & Health

Today, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) published new COVID-19 recommendations in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA: AGA Institute Rapid Recommendations for Gastrointestinal Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Lessons learned from the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic may help reduce the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS- CoV-2), the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), to health care workers performing open tracheostomies, a surgical procedure to open an airway that may be required for many patients with COVID-19.

Health care workers who come in close contact with a patient's head and neck are particularly at risk for developing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) because of the rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS- CoV-2) through respiratory droplets.

To help guide hospital surgery departments through this crisis, the acute surgery division at Atrium Health's Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., has developed a tiered plan for marshaling limited resources.

In a study with the longest follow-up to date of patients with a high-risk form of heart disease known as left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD), researchers found no significant differences in rates of death, heart attack or stroke between patients who were treated with a stent and those who underwent heart bypass surgery. The research was presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).

Patients undergoing heart bypass surgery lived longer and had better outcomes when surgeons used a segment of an artery from their arm, called the radial artery, instead of a vein from their leg, called the saphenous vein, to create a second bypass, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).

In Japan, an increase in the aging population has exacerbated the demand for regenerative medicine to address increasingly common diseases, such as knee osteoarthritis. In a new study, scientists from Tokyo University of Science, led by Prof Hidenori Otsuka, have developed a novel biocompatible hydrogel that acts as a structural scaffold for the growth of cartilage-producing cells, showcasing a promising new tool for tissue regeneration.

The direct oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban dramatically cut the likelihood of serious venous thromboembolism (VTE) in people recovering from lower limb orthopedic surgery requiring immobilization in comparison with enoxaparin, another anticoagulant agent, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).

Patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) did not have a higher rate of death at one year compared with those who had their heart valve replaced via open-heart surgery, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).