Harvard Health Content API

Bacterial infections cause only about half of the hospital stays linked to a common lung disease. But it may be best to give everyone antibiotics right away, a new study finds. Researchers looked at records for 85,000 people. All had been admitted to hospitals with problems related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This lung disease hinders breathing. It’s almost always caused by smoking. In the study, 8 out of 10 people got antibiotics during their hospital stay. Doctors may not prescribe them unless tests show an infection. But people who got these drugs within the first two days had better results, the study found. They were less likely to need a ventilator or to have their treatment fail. Their hospital death rate was lower. And they were less likely to be readmitted quickly The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study.

Visiting the doctor more often can help diabetics control their blood pressure faster, a study concludes. The study included more than 5,000 people. All were being treated for diabetes and high blood pressure. Sometimes, even with treatment, people’s blood pressure readings were above normal. But blood pressure dropped to normal in an average of 1.5 months for those who visited the doctor at least every month. The drop was fastest for those who went to the doctor every two weeks or less. For those who waited more than a month between doctor visits, blood pressure readings stayed up for a year. The study appeared in the journal Hypertension. HealthDay News wrote about it May 24.

Having fewer sweetened drinks can reduce blood pressure, new research suggests. The study included 810 people. Their average age was 50. Their blood pressure was high or just under the high range. When the study started, they drank an average of 10.5 ounces of sugary beverages per day. That’s just under one serving, a 12-ounce can. Sweetened drinks included regular soda, fruit drinks and lemonade. After 18 months on a weight loss program, the average person was drinking half a serving less per day. Researchers calculated that cutting back by one whole serving per day led to a drop of 1.8 points in systolic pressure. This is the first and larger number in a blood pressure reading. Diastolic pressure, the second and smaller number, fell 1.1 points. Weight loss caused some of the drop. However, researchers said cutting sweetened drinks had a significant effect.

Looking at the rate of change in a blood test may be a good way to screen healthy women for ovarian cancer, a new study suggests. This form of cancer usually is diagnosed late, when it is hard to cure. The new study included a test for the protein CA-125. Blood levels are high in many women with ovarian cancer. But this protein can be high for other reasons, too. More than 3,200 older women were tested for CA-125. Researchers calculated each woman’s risk based on her CA-125 level and how it changed over time. Women at low risk were tested each year. Medium-risk women got tests every three months. The study lasted nine years. In this time, 85 women with the highest risk received ultrasound tests to look for signs of cancer. Eight of them were referred for surgery. The surgery found three invasive cancers, all in early stages. Two women had “borderline” tumors.

Doctors can resume giving children either of the two vaccines available for rotavirus, U.S. regulators say. The announcement came nearly two months after doctors were asked to suspend use of one of the vaccines, Rotarix. Bits of DNA from a pig virus had been found in the vaccine. Rotarix is made by GlaxoSmithKline. The FDA said the vaccine was safe and was being suspended as a precaution. The pig virus, porcine circovirus 1, is not known to cause illness in people. In early May, the FDA said the other vaccine, RotaTeq, also contained pig virus DNA. RotaTeq is made by Merck. After completing its investigation, the FDA dropped the suspension of Rotarix. The agency said both vaccines are safe and doctors can use either one. HealthDay News wrote about the announcement May 14.