Diagnosis is the act or process of identifying or determining the nature and cause of a disease or injury through evaluation of patient history, examination, and review of laboratory data.
First large study to evaluate impact of EHR on childhood obesity evaluation — Computer-assisted tools alert pediatricians to obese patients – Electronic health records and embedded tools can alert and direct pediatricians so they can better manage the weight of children and teenagers. Researchers analyzed visits for nearly 740,000 children and adolescents ages 2 to 17 to evaluate the impact of computer-assisted decision tools.
In the brain, an earlier sign of autism – Earlier sign of autism can be noticed in 6 months old infants – In their first year of life, babies who will go on to develop autism already show different brain responses when someone looks at or away from them. Although the researchers are careful to say that the study, reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology, is only a first step toward earlier diagnosis, the findings do suggest that direct brain measures might help to predict the future development of autism symptoms in infants as young as six months.
Expectant mothers on antidepressants risk newborns with high blood pressure – Use of anti-depressants during pregnancy is risky for new borns to have persistent pulmonary hypertension – high blood pressure in the lungs, revealed by researchers.
Mayo Clinic study: PSA test valuable in predicting biopsy need, low-risk prostate cancer – The prostate-specific antigen test, commonly known as the PSA test, is valuable in predicting which men should have biopsies and which are likely to be diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The findings were released during a meeting of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association in Rancho Mirage, California, US.
AAP expands ages for diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in children — New ADHD guidelines: Kids as young as 4 can be diagnosed – Now it possible to diagnose and manage ADHD in children from ages 4 to 18 (the previous AAP guidelines, from 2000 and 2001, covered children ages 6 to 12). The new guidelines describe the special considerations involved in diagnosing and treating preschool children and adolescents.
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome at increased risk of pregnancy complications – Hormonal Disorder Linked to Pregnancy Complications – Women with polycystic ovary syndrome are more likely to have problems with pregnancy regardless of whether they are undergoing fertility treatment, claims new research published on bmj.com today.
Medicare patients at risk of long-term institutionalization after hospital stay — Discharge to skilled nursing facility a key factor, according to first national study – Confirming many elderly patients’ worst fears, a national study has shown that being hospitalized for an acute event, such as a stroke or hip fracture, can lead to long-term institutionalization in a nursing home.
Increased caffeinated coffee consumption associated with decreased risk of depression in women – The risk of depression appears to decrease for women with increasing consumption of caffeinated coffee. Caffeine is the most frequently used central nervous system stimulant in the world, and approximately 80 percent of consumption is in the form of coffee.
Association found between stress and breast cancer aggressiveness – Psychosocial stress could play a role in the etiology of breast cancer aggressiveness, particularly among minority populations, according to study results presented at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held.
Think locally when treating individually — A population perspective can improve individual patient care and clinical decision making for communicable diseases – By taking local biosurveillance data into account when assessing patients for communicable diseases, doctors may be able to make better diagnostic decisions, according to researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston. For instance, in the case of strep throat, awareness of local epidemiology at the time of diagnosis could help more than 166,000 people avoid unnecessary antibiotic treatment in the United States every year and catch more than 62,000 missed cases.
The emotional brain in youth – How to diagnose and treat bipolar symptoms and mood disorders in children and adolescents – Recognition of bipolar symptoms and bipolar disorder in adolescents is now clearly established. However, whether bipolarity exists in children remains controversial despite numerous studies that have been conducted on this topic in the last fifteen years.
Radical change in blood pressure diagnosis and treatment – University of Leicester professor chairs major new guideline from NICE on the treatment of high blood pressure – High blood pressure patients should have the diagnosis confirmed at home, according to new guidelines. The way blood pressure is diagnosed and treated is set to be revolutionised following new guidelines for the medical profession issued by NICE and developed in conjunction with the British Hypertension Society (BHS).
