Health News:

Home Specimen Collection Boosts Cervical Cancer Screening (CME/CE)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

Allowing women to collect their own cervicovaginal lavage specimens for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing increased coverage and cervical abnormality detection rates in a community-based cervical cancer screening program, Dutch researchers said.

No Increased Risk of Death with 'The Pill' (CME/CE)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

Oral contraceptives won't increase a woman's risk of death (MedPage Today) -- in fact, birth control pill users may live longer, researchers said.

BP Variation Predicts Stroke Better than Mean Values (CME/CE)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

Blood pressure variability over time, not merely its average level, is a powerful risk factor for stroke, myocardial infarction, and other cardiovascular events, researchers said.

Use Shot that Targets 13 Strains of Pneumococci (CME/CE)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

Giving kids the new 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine may further decrease disease burden, researchers have found.

AAOS: Long-Term Benefit of Spine Fracture Tx Cited (CME/CE)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

NEW ORLEANS (MedPage Today) -- For vertebral compression fractures, balloon kyphoplasty showed benefits over conservative therapy through two years of follow-up, researchers found.

AAD: Psoriasis Increases Pregnancy Risks (CME/CE)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

MIAMI BEACH (MedPage Today) -- Pregnant women with psoriasis had a significantly increased risk of poor outcomes, including spontaneous abortion, preterm birth, preeclampsia, placenta previa, and ectopic pregnancy, data from a retrospective chart review showed.

AAOS: Burden of Injuries from ATVs Growing (CME/CE, with video)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

NEW ORLEANS (MedPage Today) -- Injuries from recreational use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are a significant and growing public health problem, especially for children, according to two studies reported here.

AAOS: Osteoporosis Drugs May Weaken Bones in Long Term (CME/CE)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

NEW ORLEANS (MedPage Today) -- The gains bisphosphonate use brings in the structural integrity of the femur decay over time in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, researchers found.

AAOS: Nurse Staffing Level Matters in Hip Fracture Outcomes (CME/CE)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

NEW ORLEANS (MedPage Today) -- Older patients with a hip fracture are more likely to die when admitted to hospitals with lower nurse staffing levels, a retrospective study showed.

Metabolic Meds Top Medicare Drug Spending

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

Metabolic drugs (MedPage Today) -- namely cholesterol and diabetes meds -- account for the greatest Medicare prescription expenses, researchers say.

FDA Panel Gives Nod to IPF Drug

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- An FDA panel of lung experts endorsed what would be the first U.S. drug for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), despite mixed clinical evidence of the drug's efficacy.

Novel Thyroid Hormone Analogue Aids Lipid Lowering (CME/CE)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

An experimental agent that mimics thyroid hormone in the liver enhanced the lipid-lowering effect of statins in a randomized, controlled trial.

Docs Often Miss Lipid Targets, More So with Women (CME/CE)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

Primary care doctors may only treat to recommended cholesterol targets about half the time, and even less when the patient is a woman, a survey of German physicians showed.

Older Hyperkalemia Agents Don't Pass Muster (CME/CE)

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 11, 2010.

Drugs long used to treat patients with high blood levels of potassium are ineffective and potentially dangerous, a new report concluded.

White House Expands Program to Fight Fraud and Waste

From MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians. Published on Mar 10, 2010.

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- President Barack Obama has announced new measures aimed at cracking down on fraud and waste in government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.