Informed consent for participation in a trial of decompressive surgery for space occupying hemispheric infarction is feasible and acceptable to the family of affected patients, according to a report in the October issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. Reuters Health Information
Transfusion factors and patient characteristics contribute to the risk of acute lung injury (ALI) following blood transfusions in critically ill patients, according to a report in the November 1st issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Reuters Health Information
Cigarette smoking, which is linked to a variety of other cancers, might also affect response to treatment, but a new study shows smokers do not present with a more advanced stage or more aggressive breast cancer. Medscape Medical News
Clinicians can balance the obligation to be truthful to the patient with the family’s belief that disclosing such information would be harmful, and have a win–win solution for all. Medscape Medical News
A review shows patients who have a transient ischemic attack are at substantial risk for major stroke within 1 week, and researchers say this warrants transient ischemic attack as a medical emergency. Medscape Medical News
A phase 3 randomized trial has shown that steroids do not decrease the rate of catheterization after prostate brachytherapy and likely are not necessary. Medscape Medical News
New research suggests that assessment of transient ischemic attack and minor stroke takes twice as long in the United Kingdom as national guidelines recommend — a finding that points to a need for systemic health reform to ensure more rapid assessment of such events. Medscape Medical News
Pediatric patients differ from adults in their response to neuromuscular blocking agents due to developmental changes in neuromuscular transmission and body composition. Continuting Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain
