Health Shorts: Hospital infections, Heart attacks, School starts - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Rate of hospital-acquired infections declines

The risk of getting a hospital-acquired infection is decreasing. 

In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers surveyed almost 200 hospitals caring for about 12,000 patients across the country in 2011 and again in 2015. They found that in 2015, hospital-acquired infections had declined to 3.2 percent of patients, from 4 percent in 2011. They calculate that a patient’s risk of getting infected during a hospital stay was 16 percent lower in 2015 than in 2011. 

Most of the reductions were in urinary tract and surgical site infections. However, there were no declines in pneumonia and infections with C. difficile, a germ that can cause severe gastrointestinal disease. 

The researchers propose some possible reasons for the decrease. Between 2011 and 2015, 603 U.S. hospitals implemented new safety guidelines for catheter use, which may have contributed to the reduction in urinary tract infections. And the more effective use of prophylactic antibiotics before operations may have helped reduce the number of surgical infections. 

“We are seeing progress, but that doesn’t mean we’re done,” said the lead author, Dr. Shelley S. Magill, a medical officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

— Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times

Most dangerous day for a heart attack? It's over 

Heart attacks are believed to be more common in times of heightened emotions, brought on by things such as sporting events, hurricanes and stock market crashes. Now, add Christmas Eve to that list. 

The risk for having a heart attack is 37 percent higher on Christmas Eve, peaking at 10 p.m., according to an analysis of when heart attacks occur. The findings, based on a database of 283,014 heart attacks in Sweden over a 16-year period, are published in BMJ. The researchers tracked the occurrence of heart attacks during holiday periods throughout the year, during major sporting events such as the Olympic Games and soccer's World Cup, as well as on random days of the week. 

Risk increased for some holidays — up 12 percent on holiday days during the summer and up 15 percent on Christmas Day. Christmas Eve had the highest increase in risk, whereas New Year's Eve had no increased risk. Neither did sporting events. 

Beyond that, heart attacks happened most often in the early morning hours and on Mondays. In the United States, about a million people a year have a heart attack, which occurs when blood flow to the heart becomes blocked, preventing the heart from getting needed oxygen. People who get treatment quickly — usually because someone called 911 right away — are more likely to survive.

— Linda Sea, The Washington Post

Starting school later really does help teens sleep

Delaying school start times has helped Seattle teenagers get a better night’s sleep. 

During puberty, circadian rhythm is altered, and sleeping and waking are typically delayed to a later time. Adolescent wake-sleep patterns do not coincide with those of conventional social life, and teenagers rarely get the recommended eight to 10 hours of sleep. 

In 2016 the Seattle School District changed high schools’ opening time to 8:45 a.m., 55 minutes later. Using wrist monitors, researchers tracked sleep onset and duration for two weeks in 10th-graders before and after the change in two schools, one economically disadvantaged. 

Before the change, students got an average of six hours and 50 minutes of sleep. Afterward, they got seven hours and 24 minutes. Bedtimes were unchanged. 

The study, in Science Advances, also found that the change was associated with a 4.5 percent rise in grades, although the researchers could not prove it was causal. They also found an increase in punctuality and attendance, but only in the economically disadvantaged school. 

“Many adults have the idea that teenagers are lazy,” said the senior author, Horacio O. de la Iglesia, a professor of biology at the University of Washington. “They’re not. Kids need nine hours of sleep, and we can help them get to that goal.”

— Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times

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