Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide, responsible for 100,000 deaths per year, the majority in low and middle income countries.
Tranexamic acid – an inexpensive and widely available drug – could reduce maternal deaths among women with severe bleeding after child birth, according to a global trial of 20,000 women in 21 countries, published in The Lancet. The study found that death due to bleeding was reduced by a third if the drug was given within 3 hours of the onset of post-partum haemorrhage.
Use of inhaled corticosteroids was linked with an increased risk of pneumonia in a study of individuals with asthma.
In the study of 152,412 asthma patients (of whom 1928 had a pneumonia event during follow-up), current use of inhaled corticosteroids was associated with an 83% increased risk of being hospitalized for pneumonia.
People who have high cholesterol may understand they need to manage their condition, but many aren’t sure how to do that, nor do they feel confident they can, according to a new survey from the American Heart Association.
The ‘facts’ that most women and clinicians consider in making the decision to use, or not use, HRT are frequently wrong or incorrectly applied says Professor Robert D Langer in a paper entitled The evidence base for HRT: what can we believe?, which will be published in the forthcoming April edition of the journal of the International Menopause Society, Climacteric. It raises serious questions about the ‘facts’ that have led women and their doctors to believe hormone therapy (often called HRT) is unsafe.
Researchers advise avoiding diclofenac and limiting ibuprofen to 1200 mg per day
Omega-3 fish oil supplements prescribed by a healthcare provider may help prevent death from heart disease in patients who recently had a heart attack and may prevent death and hospitalizations in patients with heart failure, but there is a lack of scientific research to support clinical use of these supplements to prevent heart disease in the general population, according to a new science advisory from the American Heart Association.