News stories

Perioperative beta blockade
may raise risk of death
HAMILTON, Ontario — Administering beta-blocker drugs during noncardiac surgery may prevent a patient’s risk of myocardial infarction, but raises that individual’s risk of stroke and death significantly, researchers reported in The Lancet.
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Study: NAP safe for endoscopy
SAN DIEGO, CA — Non-anesthesiologist-administered propofol sedation (NAP) for endoscopy is as safe as and more cost-effective than anesthesiologist-administered sedation, researchers reported last month at Digestive Disease Week.
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Endarterectomy has edge over stenting
SAN DIEGO, CA — A national registry has revealed that carotid endarterectomy (CEA) led to better outcomes than carotid artery stenting (CAS), investigators reported at Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) annual meeting last week.
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Patient education for anticoagulant use
Assessing a surgical patient’s response to Coumadin (Bristol-Myers Squibb, New York, NY) or warfarin therapy and adjusting dosage may be difficult, but a new consumer publication, Your Guide to Coumadin/Warfarin Therapy, aims to educate patients to use the drug safely.
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Incisionless, robotic modalities team up
SAN CLEMENTE, CA — USGI Medical, Inc, a maker of incisionless surgery systems, has licensed its technology to Intuitive Surgical, Inc, for use in medical robotics applications.
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