Direct breastfeeding feasible for NICU babies with new standardized approach

A new standardized approach to feeding premature infants in the hospital, dubbed the Encourage, Assess, Transition (EAT) protocol, increases the prevalence of direct breastfeeding without increasing the length of time the infant is hospitalized. That conclusion from a quality improvement project by Nellie Munn Swanson, DNP, MPH, APRN, CPNP-PC, CLC, of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, and colleagues is reported in Advances in Neonatal Care, a publication of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

New insight in patient response to surgical disruption in life-saving hormones

Research by experts at the Universities of Birmingham and Bristol, published today in Royal Society Interface, shows cardiac surgery causes major dynamic changes in concentration of ACTH and cortisol, as well as their pattern of secretion.
Using novel mathematical techniques, researchers developed a model of HPA axis activity that predicts the physiological mechanisms responsible for different patterns of cortisol secretion.

Study Supports Early Anticoagulant Treatment to Reduce Death in Moderately Ill COVID-19 Patients

Findings from an international multicenter trials showed that while a full dose of heparin didn’t statistically significantly lower incidence of the primary composite of death, mechanical ventilation or ICU admission compared with low-dose heparin, therapeutic heparin did reduce the odds of all-cause death by 78 percent.

Alabama Symphony Orchestra musicians perform virtual concerts for sickest COVID-19 patients at UAB Hospital

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the sickest patients at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital have had their troubles eased, however briefly, thanks to an innovative musical project. Helping those patients recover — and keeping their spirits up amid the isolation the virus requires — is the motivation for the project, an effort between UAB health care staff and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.

Study Documents Racial Differences In U.S. Hospice Use And End-Of-Life Care Preferences

In a new medical records analysis of racial disparities in end-of-life care, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and three collaborating institutions report that Black patients voluntarily seek substantially more intensive treatment, such as mechanical ventilation, gastronomy tube insertion, hemodialysis, CPR and multiple emergency room visits in the last six months of life, while white patients more often choose hospice services.

Outside Looking In: Study Shows Variation in Hospital Visitor & ICU Communication Policies Due to COVID-19

A new study documents how 49 hospitals in a state hit hard by COVID-19 changed their visitor policies and communications with families of intensive care unit patients in the first months of the pandemic — and how those efforts varied. Virtually all hospitals put in place a “no visitors” blanket policy, but 59% of them did allow some exceptions to this rule.

Children Not Immune to Coronavirus; New Study from Pandemic Epicenter Describes Severe COVID-19 Response in Children

While most children infected with the novel coronavirus have mild symptoms, a subset requires hospitalization and a small number require intensive care. A new report from pediatric anesthesiologists, infectious disease specialists and pediatricians at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, describes the clinical characteristics and outcomes of children hospitalized with COVID-19, during the early days of the pandemic.

FAU Finds Simple Solution to Make Thousands of Face Shields for Baptist Health South Florida

A disposable face shield developed by FAU only requires clear polyester plastic, elastic fabric bands, and a laser cutter. Unlike 3D printed solutions, this process is simple and quick. FAU re-tooled their facilities to leverage the opportunity to make face shields much faster than are currently being manufactured. They plan to share the blueprint for this PPE broadly with other academic institutions as well as industry.