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MedPageToday.com - medical news plus CME for physicians

Confusion Reigns in MoM Hip Implant Debacle (with video)

SAN FRANCISCO (MedPage Today) -- Although there is wide agreement that metal-on-metal hip implants have not performed as well as they should overall, consensus on managing patients who already have them remains elusive. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:11:07 -0400)

Stem Cells Show Promise for Meniscal Tears (CME/CE)

SAN FRANCISCO (MedPage Today) -- Autologous mesenchymal stem cells, injected into knee joints following surgery, appeared safe and showed signs of speeding the healing process in a pilot trial. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:19:40 -0400)

CPAC Attendees Slam 'Obamacare' (with video)

?WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- Speakers at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) here have been focused on defeating Pres. Obama, but on Friday many of them concentrated specifically on repealing the healthcare reform law. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:12:56 -0400)

Index Makes It Easier to Detect Hard Arteries (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- A new measurement that can be calculated while taking a patient's blood pressure can assess arterial stiffness noninvasively, researchers found. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:54:40 -0400)

Lab Notes: Fasting Mice Hold Cancer Clue

(MedPage Today) -- From monkeys watching spaghetti westerns to fasting mice and cancer cells in disguise, this week's Lab Notes roundup delivers of potpourri of preclinical findings. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:00:00 -0400)

ABMS Sets Time Limit for Board Certification

(MedPage Today) -- Physicians have between three and seven years after finishing residency to become board certified, according to a new policy from the American Board of Medical Specialties. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:32:24 -0400)

Progress Cited in War Against Trans Fats

(MedPage Today) -- The campaign against trans fats appears to be producing results, according to a CDC report detailing a drop in serum levels nationally. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:50:05 -0400)

Steroids No Help for Young Lungs After a Point (CME/CE)

DALLAS (MedPage Today) -- The use of antenatal steroids did not improve respiratory or other neonatal outcomes for infants with immature lungs born after 34 weeks, a researcher said here. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:44:43 -0400)

White House Compromises on Contraception

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- Employees of religious institutions that are opposed to covering contraceptive care in their benefit packages will still be able to receive coverage under a compromise announced Friday by the Obama administration. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:19:47 -0400)

Appropriate Use Criteria for PCI Flawed (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Appropriate use criteria for percutaneous coronary intervention should not be used to make policy decisions because of their inherent systematic and methodological problems, cardiologists suggested. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:43:11 -0400)

Stenting Leg Arteries Shows Some Resilience (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Stenting the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries required fewer repeat revascularizations than angioplasty, but overall death and adverse event rates did not differ, follow-up of the RESILIENT trial showed. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:52:10 -0400)

C-Sections Not Safer for Preemies (CME/CE)

DALLAS (MedPage Today) -- Cesarean delivery failed to prevent neonatal complications among small-for-gestational-age babies born prematurely, a researcher reported here. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:50:39 -0400)

Treating Kid's Sleep Apnea May Improve Behavior (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Using positive airway pressure to treat obstructive sleep apnea in children and teens appears to improve neurobehavioral outcomes, even with suboptimal adherence, researchers found. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:09:07 -0400)

Outcomes Worse With Outpatient Knee Replacement (CME/CE)

SAN FRANCISCO (MedPage Today) -- People having total knee replacement surgery as outpatients were significantly more likely to die or need readmission within 90 days, Medicare data indicated. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:51:13 -0400)

Study Suggests Racial Role in Kidney Transplants (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Black patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) had a 59% lower rate of kidney transplant than whites in one southeastern center, researchers reported. (Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:00:00 -0400)

Treating Cancer OK During Pregnancy (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Cancer in pregnant women can usually be treated without terminating the pregnancy and with little impact on infants carried to full term, according to a series of reports. (Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:30:00 -0400)

Low Chloride Boosts Mortality Risk (CME/CE)

HOUSTON (MedPage Today) -- Hypochloremia proved to be a "robust predictor" of all-cause mortality among critically ill patients, although the reasons for the association remained unclear, a large cohort study showed. (Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:52:01 -0400)

Orthopedists Say Tab for Defensive Medicine Is 'Billions'

SAN FRANCISCO (MedPage Today) -- U.S. orthopedic surgeons in a large survey said roughly 30% of tests and referrals they ordered were medically unnecessary. (Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:28:25 -0400)

FDA Issues Draft Guidance for Biosimilar Products

(MedPage Today) -- Manufacturers of "biosimilars," or generic biologic drugs, should consider using a "stepwise" approach to demonstrate their product's similarity to something already on the market, the FDA said in draft guidance issued Thursday. (Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:03:47 -0400)

Pain Patch Rejected for HIV Neuropathy

(MedPage Today) -- SILVER SPRING, Md. -- By a vote of 12-0, an FDA advisory panel said a capsaicin skin patch did not relieve neuropathic pain from HIV. (Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:58:02 -0400)