Increase in heart disease deaths linked to COVID-19 | More metformin recalls | TAVR & bicuspid aortic valve disease

Total death counts in the United States are typically consistent from one year to the next, the authors noted—but not in 2020. 

More lots of extended-release metformin have been recalled due to high levels of NDMA, a contaminant associated with cancer.

More research on long-term outcomes is still needed before TAVR can be recommended for such patients across the board.

Brain MRI scans do lead to increased costs, the authors noted, but the clinical benefits are significant.

The study's authors explored data from more than 1,500 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine and more than 3,000 who received usual care. 

Medical scribes can save cardiologists a lot of time, and seeing just one additional patient a day would cover the additional costs. 

While metoprolol was linked with limiting infarct size, two other beta-blockers—atenolol and propranolol—were not associated with such improvements.

Clinical and administrative leaders are employing creative, out-of-the-box thinking to engage, enrich, nurture and distract staff who are facing unprecedented challenges and risks.

The COVID crisis has swollen the demand for repairs to hospitals’ overworked medical equipment at the same time it has, in effect, shrunken the field of qualified repair workers.