News

The confluence of recent economic factors and emerging clinical evidence now makes the use of central venous access devices (CVADs) far less desirable than in the past. Conversely, the same factors and facts greatly enhance the appeal of midline catheterscatheters measuring 3 to 8 inches in length, inserted in an upper arm vein and with tip location distal to the shoulder.(1,2) Evidence now demonstrates that certain Midlines offer patients the possibility of full length of stay infusion therapy, with reduced risk of bloodstream infection and avoidance of repetitive needlesticks for labs and restarts. Thus, in many cases, midlines are becoming the go-to device for safe, uninterrupted intravenous (IV) therapy.

Some types of ear infections may one day be as rare as polio and smallpox thanks to a vaccine thats being developed by a team of researchers at Nationwide Childrens Hospital. The vaccine which targets the bacteria responsible for nearly one half of all ear infections wont be delivered by a needle jab, but absorbed through the skin via a small, dime-sized patch.