Latest California Healthline Stories
During In-Flight Emergencies, Sometimes Airlines’ Medical Kits Fall Short
U.S. airlines have response plans for passengers who run into health issues in flight, but planes carry limited and sometimes incomplete medical supplies that can put travelers at risk.
A Shortfall of ECMO Treatment Cost Lives During the Delta Surge
About 50% of the covid-19 patients who got the last-ditch life support treatment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center died. Researchers wanted to know what happened to the many patients they had to turn away because ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machines and the specialized staffers needed were in short supply. The grim answer: 90% of those turned away perished.
Apple, Bose and Others Pump Up the Volume on Hearing Aid Options, Filling Void Left by FDA
A 2017 law designed to help lower the cost of hearing aids mandated that federal officials set rules for a new class of devices consumers could buy without needing to see an audiologist. But those regulations are still on hold.
Medical Device Failures Brought To Light Now Bolster Lawsuits And Research
A retired Oakland, Calif., physician is among the patients citing the once-hidden Food and Drug Administration data in a suit.
Atracción en hospitales: pruebas gratuitas para detectar hernias, ¿funcionan?
Según los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC), en el país se diagnostican aproximadamente 1,6 millones de hernias en la ingle; y se tratan quirúrgicamente 500,000 al año.
Robotic Surgical Tool, Not Medical Evidence, Drives Free Hernia Screenings
Hospitals around the country are promoting free hernia screenings that tout their robotic surgery tools. But some experts warn such screenings could lead people to get potentially harmful operations that they don’t need.
I’m A CPAP Dropout: Why Many Lose Sleep Over Apnea Treatment
An estimated 18 million American adults have sleep apnea. The go-to treatment — a CPAP machine — offers a healthy restful night’s sleep, but many people struggle to use it. As many as 50% of patients stop using the device.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: Journalist Learns The Hard Way That CPAP Compliance Pays
Check the fine print. When you get a prescription for expensive medical equipment, you may need to follow the doctor’s orders — to the letter — to get your health insurance company to pay up.
Five Things We Found In The FDA’s Hidden Device Database
The Food and Drug Administration released two decades of previously hidden data containing millions of injuries or malfunctions by medical devices. Here’s what we’ve learned so far.
More Than Half Of Surgical Stapler Malfunctions Went To Hidden FDA Database
The FDA reveals that 56,000 malfunctions associated with surgical staplers weren’t reported through its traditional public reporting system.