The FDA has informed health care professionals about reports of suicidal thoughts and aggressive or erratic behavior with varenicline (Chantix, Pfizer), a smoking cessation aid. Medscape Medical News
A multidisciplinary team that evaluates patients outside of the intensive care unit who are rapidly deteriorating was associated with a significant reduction in hospital-wide mortality and code rates. Medscape Medical News
Endovascular repair of blunt traumatic injuries of the descending thoracic aorta using thoracic or abdominal endografts yields short-term outcomes comparable to open surgery and is associated with less intraoperative mortality, research suggests. Reuters Health Information
The number of hospitalizations for infective endocarditis related to injection drug use increased significantly in the US between 2000 and 2003, according to new data. Reuters Health Information
Intravenous magnesium may be safely used as an adjunct to digoxin in patients with acute onset atrial fibrillation (AF), according to a report in the November issue of Heart. Reuters Health Information
Heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) predicts long-term mortality in patients after acute coronary syndrome, UK researchers report in the November 20th issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Reuters Health Information
Exposure to a 5-second electrical discharge from a Taser does not result in clinically significant changes in indicators of physiologic stress in healthy subjects, results of a study published in the November issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine suggest. Reuters Health Information
