Malpractice fears drive docs to order excess tests
In evaluating patients who have chest pain, some emergency room physicians too often order unnecessary tests and hospitalizations out of fear of malpractice lawsuits, according to a new study. “Concern about malpractice has a formidable effect on physician decision making,” particularly in the scenario of a possible heart attack or unstable angina, collectively referred to as acute coronary syndrome, Dr. David A. Katz told Reuters Health.
Katz, from University of Iowa, Iowa City, and colleagues developed a malpractice fear scale and used it to evaluate the association between emergency physicians’ fear of malpractice and the evaluation and treatment of patients with symptoms suggestive of an acute coronary syndrome.
Pesticide exposure causes illnesses in schools
Although reported illnesses due to pesticide exposures at schools in the US are relatively uncommon, the incidence of such exposures among schoolchildren has increased in recent years, investigators report.
There are no specific federal guidelines limiting pesticide exposures at schools, Dr. Walter A. Alarcon and colleagues note in their report in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
Egg cells derived from bone marrow in mice
Stem cells from bone marrow may serve as a source of egg cells, at least in mice, and may lead to new fertility treatments if the same proves true in people, scientists reported Thursday.
Their study, published in the journal Cell, challenges long-held scientific belief that mammals including mice and humans generate egg cells only when they are fetuses—and are born with all the eggs they will ever have.
UK Appeals Court overturns “right-to-food” verdict
The body that regulates British doctors won an appeal on Thursday against a ruling that gave a terminally ill patient the right to stop doctors from withdrawing food and drink when he will be close to death.
Leslie Burke, 45, who has a degenerative brain condition, fears artificial nutrition could be stopped against his wishes when he cannot talk anymore.
The Court of Appeal overturned an earlier High Court ruling, which said that any decision over withdrawal of nutrition and hydration from those who are terminally ill should be left in the hands of the patients.
China bacteria outbreak worsens, dead pigs dug up
The number of people infected by what Chinese authorities believe is a pig-borne bacterial disease in the southwest has jumped by 14 to 131, state media said on Thursday as officials insisted the outbreak could be controlled.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is watching developments closely, but a spokesman said the disease appears to be localized and poses no threat internationally.
