Most Clicked ANA SmartBrief Stories
1. Salary survey breaks down averages for RNs, NPs by region
ANA SmartBrief | May 16, 2012
The Physicians Practice 2012 Staff Salary Survey found that nurses in Western states have the highest average salaries among nurses in the U.S. With three to five years of experience, the average registered nurse salary nationally was $50,964.64, and with 20 or more years that increased to $65,046.15. Medscape (free registration) (05/11)
2. Coffee drinkers have reduced risk of death, researchers say
ANA SmartBrief | May 17, 2012
The risk of dying for men and women who drank four to five cups of coffee a day dropped by 12% and 16%, respectively, over a 13-year period, U.S. researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, they cautioned that the findings could not prove that coffee is the cause. "It may be that there's something that goes along with coffee-drinking that's affecting our results that we couldn't take into account," the National Cancer Institute's Neal Freedman said. MedPage Today (free registration) (05/16)
3. CDC: All baby boomers should be tested for hepatitis C
ANA SmartBrief | May 21, 2012
The CDC released new guidelines encouraging people born from 1945 to 1965 to get a one-time blood test for hepatitis C. According to the agency, 1 in 30 baby boomers has the disease, but only a fraction have been diagnosed. The additional testing could identify 800,000 new cases and prevent more than 120,000 deaths linked to the virus, CDC said. HealthDay News (05/18) Reuters (05/18)
4. Nurses highly effective at boosting mother-child health
ANA SmartBrief | May 18, 2012
In comparison with paraprofessionals, nurses were more effective in improving the health of children and mothers under the Nurse-Family Partnership, writes David Bornstein. In this article, Bornstein describes the history of the NFP as well as the vital role of nurses in prenatal care. New York Times (tiered subscription model), The (05/16)
5. Cancer mortality rises with sleep apnea
ANA SmartBrief | May 21, 2012
Cancer patients diagnosed with severe sleep apnea were nearly five times more likely to die of cancer than those without sleep apnea, Spanish researchers found. Although the findings failed to determine a cause-and-effect relationship, the link between sleep apnea and cancer death was strong, Dr. Javier Nieto said. The findings were presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference. New York Times (tiered subscription model), The (05/20) U.S. News & World Report (05/20)
6. Feeding tubes raise bed sore risk in dementia patients
ANA SmartBrief | May 16, 2012
A study found that feeding tubes increase the risk of pressure ulcers in dementia patients, and researchers say it challenges a long-standing theory that the nutrition provided helps bed sores heal and stops them from developing. The report in the Archives of Internal Medicine said feeding tubes prompt agitation that makes patient sedation and restraint more likely, leading to bed sores, and may also raise the risk of diarrhea. HealthDay News (05/14)
7. Laxative-free virtual colonoscopy effective at finding large polyps
ANA SmartBrief | May 16, 2012
A study published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that laxative-free virtual colonoscopy is almost as effective as regular colonoscopy in detecting 10-millimeter or bigger polyps, which are most likely to develop into cancer, but it is less effective at finding smaller polyps. Researchers also found that patients who participated in the study liked virtual colonoscopy better than the regular screening method. HealthDay News (05/14) Reuters (05/14)
8. VA study of COPD self-management is halted over mortality risk
ANA SmartBrief | May 16, 2012
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who participated in a comprehensive self-management program had a threefold higher risk of death than those who received the standard care, Veterans Affairs researchers wrote in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study was stopped early because of initial data, but researchers said they did not know how more education could lead to a higher mortality risk. Previous studies have not shown increased risks due to COPD self-management. Yahoo! (05/14)
9. USPSTF: PSA prostate cancer screening offers more harm than good
ANA SmartBrief | May 22, 2012
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advised against the routine screening of men for prostate cancer using the prostate-specific antigen blood test, saying that the screening's harms outweigh its benefits. PSA screening leads to overdiagnosis and unneeded treatment that can lead to impotence and incontinence, the panel said. HealthDay News (05/21) Reuters (05/21)
10. Asthma cases in U.S. hit new high, CDC says
ANA SmartBrief | May 16, 2012
Nearly 19 million adults and about 7 million children had asthma in 2010. The proportion of people in the U.S. with the condition has risen nearly 15% since 2001, according to a CDC report released Tuesday. Asthma was responsible for 1.9 million emergency department visits, 8.9 million visits to doctors' offices, nearly 3,400 deaths and about 480,000 hospitalizations. HealthDay News (05/15) Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model) (05/15)
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