MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Choosing bare metal stents over their drug-eluting cousins may decrease per-patient treatments costs by $401 without significantly increasing adverse health outcomes, according to a study published in the journal Circulation.
According to a registry of cardiovascular treatment, DES use decreased from 92 percent to 68 percent from 2004 to 2007, largely on concerns about possible risks. Despite the dramatic drop in use, incidence of target lesion revascularization increased only 1 percent (from 4.1 percent to 5.1 percent), and rates of death and MI didn’t change.
"The bottom-line was that using drug-eluting stents in a relatively unselected way was only resulting in marginal improvement compared to more selective use," senior author David Cohen said in a press release.
UK firm unveils world’s first biodegradable esophageal stent
An esophageal stent developed by Yorkshire-based UKMed!cal promises to be the first such device to fully biodegrade in 11 to 12 weeks, Medilink reported.
FDA wants deeper access to electronic health data
The FDA is considering using electronic medical records to help keep tabs on drugs after they’ve been cleared for market, Fierce EMR reported.
Wearable ear device helps treat scar tissue
A pressure device worn overnight to supplement other therapy stopped keloid growth in patients with scar tissue in the ears, according to a press release.
Dems demand changes in Medicare nursing homes
Congressional Democrats demanded changes in the way Medicare reimburses nursing homes, pointing to a Government Accountability Office report finding that private investment home "had a higher overall rate of deficiencies," Healthwatch reported.
