New England Journal of Medicine

16 Stories

Man's Back Surgery Led to Cement Piercing Heart

Man recovering from complication of kyphoplasty surgery: report

(Newser) - A man who visited an emergency room with chest pain and shortness of breath turned out to have a thin, 4-inch-long piece of cement piercing his heart. As USA Today reports, the problem stemmed from a back surgery the 56-year-old had undergone the previous week. Kyphoplasty involves the injecting of...

After 208 Years, Medical Journal Gets Political

'New England Journal of Medicine' essentially endorses a candidate for first time ever

(Newser) - The New England Journal of Medicine has been nonpartisan for all of its 208 years—until now. In what the New York Times calls a "blunt" and USA Today calls a "blistering" editorial, the medical journal on Wednesday called for the Trump administration to be voted out in...

Researchers Retract Study Warning About Chloroquine

Authors say they can't be sure of their data on COVID-19 results

(Newser) - The authors of a well-publicized study that indicated taking chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as COVID-19 treatments could be unsafe no longer stand behind their work. The medical journal the Lancet said the authors asked that their paper be retracted, Stat News reports. "We can no longer vouch for the veracity...

Rare Blood Infections Traced to Nurse's Alleged Opioid Theft

Kelsey Mulvey accused of swapping cancer patients' medication with tap water

(Newser) - A nurse in New York allegedly stole injectable opioids for her own use, then refilled hospital syringes with tap water in a move that caused rare infections in cancer patients, according to a new report. The report published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine notes six cancer patients...

Landmark Study of Mediterranean Diet Was Flawed

2013 study retracted, though updated version reaches similar conclusion

(Newser) - The repute of the Mediterranean diet, considered one of the world's healthiest, took a hit this week: Citing methodology errors, authors retracted a landmark 2013 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that found people who consumed the diet of fruits, veggies, nuts, fish, and olive oil...

You Might Not Need Those Vitamin D Pills
For Some,
Vitamin D Pills
Might Actually
Do Damage
NEW STUDY
Nov 10, 2016 11:57 AM CST

For Some, Vitamin D Pills Might Actually Do Damage

Too much vitamin D can cause kidney stones, nausea

(Newser) - With winter gloom soon to be upon us, more people may turn to vitamin D pills to stay strong. But they should think twice, according to the New England Journal of Medicine . Contrary to reports claiming up to 50% of people are vitamin D deficient, per Medical News Today , researchers...

Critics Fume as Big Pharma Funds Drug Studies

'The evidence base has been perverted,' expert says

(Newser) - Think studies of new drugs in the New England Journal of Medicine are unassailable? Experts are beginning to wonder, because pharmaceutical companies pay academics to conduct many of those studies—and the approval of high-profile drugs like Vioxx, Avandia, and Celebrex has led to thousands of deaths, the Washington Post...

Aggressive Treatment Doesn't Help Diabetics
Aggressive Treatment
Doesn't Help Diabetics
NEW STUDY
Mar 15, 2010 4:39 AM CDT

Aggressive Treatment Doesn't Help Diabetics

Findings reverse current thinking, may cut costs

(Newser) - Rigorous treatment to lower blood pressure or cholesterol below current guidelines does not benefit—and may actually hurt—diabetics, a new study shows. The findings, published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest doctors may have to find new ways to treat diabetic patients. But that's not entirely...

Decoding of Genome Fails to Yield Promised Cures

(Newser) - The promised age of unlocking the mystery of common diseases through DNA appears to have a hit a disappointing roadblock, the New York Times reports. As a result, companies that bill people to provide a personal genomic profile—and theoretically warn them of their risk to illness—are practicing nothing...

Many Medicare Patients Leave Hospital, Then Quickly Return

Readmissions cost US billions a year

(Newser) - One-third of all Medicare patients hospitalized each year are readmitted within 90 days of being discharged, costing taxpayers billions of dollars annually, a new study found. Meanwhile, half of patients who went back in the first month after treatment had not seen a doctor in the interim. "Given the...

Docs Foresee Trouble With Digitizing Records

For electronic records, money is there but technology isn't

(Newser) - The administration's push to digitize health records is raising red flags with an important constituency: doctors. "We have a long way to go," said the lead author of a report out today that shows only 9% of hospitals have computerized records. His article is part of a...

Surgery Checklist Saves Lives ... and Maybe $25B

Strategy employed by flight crews means 33% fewer complications for hospitals

(Newser) - It sounds like a no-brainer, but surgical teams who use a simple checklist similar to those employed by flight crews reduced deaths and complications by a stunning 33%, according to an international study. If every US hospital used the checklist, health care costs for treating avoidable complications could be cut...

Sex a Factor in Preemie Survival

Gender, birth weight increase odds for newborns

(Newser) - Gestational age is not the only factor determining odds of a very premature baby's survival, a study finds. Being female, receiving lung-maturing steroids before birth, an extra 3½ ounces of weight and being a single birth all help as much as an extra week of pregnancy, the AP reports. The...

Old Blood Is Bad Blood: Study
 Old Blood Is Bad Blood: Study 
Mar 20, 2008 6:08 AM CDT

Old Blood Is Bad Blood: Study

Heart patients whose transfusions sat around have worse survival rates

(Newser) - Donated blood may have a much shorter shelf life than previously thought, finds a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Transfusions using blood at least two weeks old increased heart-surgery patients' post-operative death risk by 30%, researchers discovered, though the current expiration date for blood is...

Antidepressant Studies Distort Drugs' Usefulness

New study says negative reports often go unpublished

(Newser) - Roughly half of the medical studies involving antidepressants that found little or no effect on patients have gone unpublished or had their findings mischaracterized as positive, a new study reveals. The emphasis on publishing only studies with glowing reviews gives patients and doctors a false sense of the effectiveness of...

Too Much Action Gives Gamers Wiiitis

Couch potatoes report shoulder, wrist injuries from Nintendo's addictive Wii

(Newser) - If you're suffering from tennis shoulder but the only tennis you've been playing is virtual, it could be too much Wii. The Nintendo video game with the innovative motion sensitive controller is putting a strain on players' wrists and shoulders—a condition one physician diagnosed as  "wiiitis." 

16 Stories