The survival benefits of implantable converter/defibrillator therapy (ICD) in preventing sudden cardiac death are as high in African Americans as they are in white Americans, investigators with the Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT) report in the March issue of the America Heart Journal. Reuters Health Information
Postponing the delivery date based on ultrasound results may lead to the detection of intrauterine growth restriction as early as the first trimester, according to a report in the April BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Reuters Health Information
The results of a study published in the April issue of the International Journal of Cancer suggest that tobacco smoking and moderate-to-high alcohol consumption negatively affect the survival of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Reuters Health Information
Women with systemic sclerosis, primary pulmonary hypertension, or sickle cell disease are at increased risk for having complicated pregnancies, according to study findings reported in the April issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Reuters Health Information
Very preterm birth is associated with decrements of intellectual functioning that persist into adulthood, with deficits in cognitive maturation during adolescence, according to findings published in the April issue of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. Reuters Health Information
Neonatal treatment with dexamethasone for chronic lung disease of prematurity is associated with changes at school age in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and immune system activity, according to a report in the April issue of Pediatrics. By contrast, treatment with hydrocortisone does not have these effects. Reuters Health Information
Compared to stress testing, 64-multislice coronary computed tomography angiography has superior sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing obstructive coronary artery disease, based on a report in the March 15th issue of the American Journal of Cardiology. Reuters Health Information
In breastfed infants with unrecognized biliary atresia and cholestasis, a weekly oral dose of 1 milligram vitamin K prevents bleeding due to vitamin K deficiency, with similar efficacy to 2 milligrams intramuscular vitamin K prophylaxis at birth. Reuters Health Information
