WASHINGTON — The United States’ maternal mortality rate has improved in recent years, but it continues to lag behind pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, according to Dave Goodman, PhD.
At ACOG’s annual conference, Goodman, who is a professor at the Mercer University School of Medicine, offered a presentation on the state of maternal mortality prevention efforts.
He discussed new data from the CDC Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS) and the Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRC). Both datasets offer unique perspectives on maternal mortality trends.
The PMSS data

Experts voiced support for the nomination of Erica Schwartz, MD, MPH, JD, a deeply credentialed physician with public health experience and a history of supporting vaccines, to be the next director of the CDC.
But they were troubled by several other developments involving the CDC, including changes made to the rules controlling how the agency’s influential vaccine advisory panel operates, which could open the door for less qualified members and further undercut public confidence in vaccines.
A top health official’s decision to scuttle the publication of a study showing this season’s COVID-19

Since we have not addressed estate planning in this column for years, we wanted to dedicate another installment on it.
This is especially true since I, David Mandell, recently spoke with a young orthopedist who expressed that estate planning wasn’t a priority for him.
This article will layout the basics of what “estate planning” really means and why it is important for all orthopedists to consider.
More specifically, the term “estate planning” really refers to three different planning areas:
In this article, we will discuss the first two areas of estate planning.
Planning for one’s own

NEW ORLEANS — Full-time nephrology social workers cited inadequate pay and heavy workloads as top reasons for planning to quit their position within 1 year, data presented at the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings show.
Nephrology social workers have complex roles as they help patients to address psychosocial barriers in kidney care, including managing renal replacement therapy options, according to Joseph R. Merighi, PhD, MSW, LISW, associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work, and colleagues. Thus, the researchers aimed to evaluate whether

What do you see in your mind’s eye when you write that first prescription for your new symptomatic patient with dry eye disease?
Me? I look up above the slit lamp and see a 50-foot wall with hundreds of medieval archers ready to rain destruction on us if I sign that script. Not to mention the multitude of horrors that await us in the prior authorization dungeons should we make it past the castle gates. Wait! Is that a real, live gargoyle about to pour boiling oil on us?
If this is what I, a highly experienced, adequately cynical dry eye expert, see, imagine what it feels like if you are that

CLEVELAND — Using laser and light devices to treat autoimmune or connective tissue disease sequelae, such as scarring, requires careful consideration, according to a speaker at Cleveland Clinic’s Medical Dermatology Therapy Update IV.
“A lot of times, patients with sequelae from their autoimmune or connective tissue disease are turned away,” Shilpi Khetarpal, MD, a cosmetic dermatologist and laser specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, told Healio. “They are told there is not much data on [whether] laser and light devices can flare their disease, as well as when or if it is safe.”
According to

Since the introduction of durable left ventricular assist devices for advanced heart failure, management of antithrombotic medications has been the single most pivotal facet of the care of patients with these devices.
As the devices have evolved — from pulsatile to continuous and from axial flow to centrifugal — much has been learned about the appropriate intensity of antithrombotic therapies. The overarching trend of the past 20 years of durable LVAD antithrombotic management has been toward reduced intensity. Culminating with the contemporary era, in which the HeartMate 3

Adults with obesity achieved greater long-term weight loss if they partook in a nutrition plan designed for rapid weight loss compared with one designed for gradual weight loss, according to trial data.
Line Kristin Johnson, RD, PhD, senior researcher at Vestfold Hospital Trust in Norway, said there has been debate among researchers regarding whether rapid weight loss leads to worse long-term outcomes for people with obesity. In findings from a randomized pragmatic trial presented at the European Congress on Obesity, Johnson and colleagues found implementing a calorie-restricted eating pattern

ORLANDO — Patients with COPD had larger improvements in FEV1 with a nebulized fixed-dose combination of indacaterol and glycopyrrolate vs. placebo, according to results presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference.
The long-acting beta-agonist indacaterol and the long-acting muscarinic antagonist glycopyrrolate make up AERO-007 (AeroRx Therapeutics), according to the study poster.
“For clinicians caring for older or more advanced COPD patients — particularly those with poor inhaler technique, reduced inspiratory capacity, comorbidities such as cognitive impairment or

Only a third of cancer survivors receive advice on weight control and improving their diet from health care professionals, and less than half are informed about the benefits of physical activity.
Individuals who do receive advice on losing weight, salt and fat intake, and exercise are three to eight times more likely to engage in healthy behaviors than those who did not.
“We need more effort to deliver lifestyle behaviors to patients,” Chao Cao, PhD, MPH, instructor in the department of medical oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told Healio.
ASCO, American Cancer Society and American