Results from a new meta-analysis have found that an anticoagulation regimen of bivalirudin vs. heparin increases the rate of MI and stent thrombosis while decreasing the risk for major bleeding in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The extent of bleeding reduction with bivalirudin was dependent on concomitant glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor use, according to the researchers. 

The research suggests that testing the temperature of breath could be a simple and non-invasive method to either confirm or reject the presence of lung cancer.
Many research teams have been looking at the possibility of using breath tests for a number of cancers. This is the first study looking at breath temperature as a marker in lung cancer
The researchers enrolled 82 people in the study who had been referred for a full diagnostic test after an x-ray suggested the presence of lung cancer. 40 patients received a positive diagnosis, while 42 patients had the diagnosis rejected. Researchers measured the temperature of exhaled breath in all patients using a breath thermometer device, known as an X-Halo device.
The results demonstrated that the patients with lung cancer had a higher breath temperature than those without. The temperature also increased with the number of years a person had smoked and the stage at which their lung cancer had developed.
The researchers also identified a cut-off value in the measurement of temperature, which they proved could identify lung cancer with a high level of accuracy. 
Professor Giovanna Elisiana Carpagnano, lead author of the study from the University of Foggia, Italy, said:

A new mobile app developed by researchers at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) at BC Children

The liver transplant team at Mayo Clinic in Florida has found, based on 12 years of experience, that more than half of patients receiving a new liver can be

In new research, investigators concluded that overuse of cardiac stress testing using advanced imaging technology has led to increasing healthcare costs in the United States and unnecessary radiation exposure to patients.
Researchers from the New York University Langone Medical Center in what is believed to be the first comprehensive examination of trends in cardiac stress testing utilizing imaging, also revealed that there are no significant racial or ethnic health disparities in its use. They also made US estimates of the cost of unnecessary cardiac stress testing with imaging and the health burden of this testing, in relation to cancer risk due to radiation exposure.
Cardiac stress testing, especially with imaging, has been at the forefront of debate about rising healthcare costs, inappropriate use, and patient safety in the context of radiation exposure. Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the departments of medicine and population health at NYU Langone, and the lead author of the study, and colleagues wanted to determine whether US trends in cardiac stress testing with imaging may be attributable to population shifts in demographics, risk factors, and provider characteristics, and to assess whether racial/ethnic discrepancies exist in physician decision making.
The investigators designed their study utilizing data from the US National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and US National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 1993 to 2010. Patients chosen for the study were adults without coronary heart disease who were referred for cardiac stress tests.
Between 1993