In Global News: Air Pollution Threatens Global Health, a PDA Occlusion Device for Premature Babies, and Medication Cost and Nonadherence [1]
Patient Care and General Interest
Air pollution tops the World Health Organization’s list of Top 10 threats to global health [3].
A US woman had an aortic dissection while simultaneously going into premature labor [4], requiring emergency coordination of two procedures.
An Indian man receives a heart transplant, with the cost of the procedure covered [5] by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.
Drugs and Devices
Abbott receives US Food and Drug Administration approval for a tiny patent ductus arteriosus occlusion device for premature infants [6], and it also acquires Cephea Valve Technologies, a company that develops transcatheter mitral valve technologies [7].
Research, Trials, and Funding
Providing vouchers to reduce the cost of antiplatelet therapy after a heart attack [8] only marginally improved adherence and did not affect outcomes, report researchers from Durham, North Carolina.
Patients reap postoperative benefits from quitting smoking before lung cancer surgery [9], say researchers from Tokyo, Japan.
Researchers from New Hampshire, US, report on the growth of medical marketing in the US over last two decades [10].