Statistics from the CDC show that in December 2021, unvaccinated patients age 50 and older were 17 times more likely to need hospitalization for COVID-19 than those who had received their original vaccine series but not a booster were. Unvaccinated adults between the ages of 50 and 64 were 44 times more likely to need hospitalization than those who had the original vaccine series plus a booster were.

Although survival rates of extremely preterm infants have continued to climb, later rehospitalization and neurodevelopmental impairment are still common, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Survival rates rose from 6.6% in 2008-2012 to 10.9% in 2013-2018 for infants born at 22 weeks, and from 32.3% to 49.4% for infants born at 23 weeks.

There is evidence that the Omicron variant is peaking in the US and that coronavirus case numbers could decline to more manageable levels soon, but caution is still needed, according to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci. If new case numbers follow decreasing patterns like those seen in the Northeast, a turnaround across the country may be possible in the coming months, Fauci noted.

A seven-year study indicated that the 90-day crude mortality rate of patients with Candida bloodstream infections was above 40% at a major Missouri hospital. The retrospective study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases examined a group of 626 adults with the infection and calculated 90-day all-cause mortality using propensity score matching, stratified analysis by quintile and matching by inverse weighting of propensity score.

The specialty pharmacy market continues to expand with the release of new products and the growing numbers of patients with chronic conditions, and 90% of large hospitals operate their own specialty pharmacies. Each hospital system will need solutions to support patients on specialty medications, and the integrated delivery network model can result in improved patient outcomes and lower medical costs.

Each of three experimental machine learning algorithms correctly predicted C. difficile infections in hospitalized patients after only six hours, and the simplest algorithm had the highest accuracy and is broadly applicable, researchers reported in the American Journal of Infection Control. The algorithms could allow preventive interventions that improve patient outcomes and reduce spending.

An analysis of more than 5,000 patients in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that men and Black people without baseline heart failure had worse left ventricular systolic function at a mean of 75 years of age. Greater left ventricular wall thickness and concentricity also were associated with Black patients.

Differences in the definition of iron deficiency may affect the prevalence and prognoses of patients with chronic heart failure, a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found. Definitions that were not specific or sensitive enough affected the benefits of intravenous iron in trials and decisions about who should be given it.

A report published in the journal Nature Cardiovascular Research found that emergency department visits for atrial fibrillation appear to go up during events such as Christmas and New Year's Day, where people celebrate by binge drinking. Researchers also discovered that the findings are true for people without a previous AFib diagnosis, suggesting that binge drinking may increase the risk.

There was steady improvement in adherence to guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) among patients with STEMI and NSTEMI between 2009 and 2018, according to recent NCDR research. Researchers used ACC's Chest Pain - MI Registry to determine annual trends in patient characteristics, treatment and cardiovascular outcomes among STEMI and NSTEMI patients. Use of primary PCI and adherence to GDMT went up among both STEMI patients and NSTEMI patients. The findings show "steady improvement in process measures and high adherence to GDMT" for STEMI and NSTEMI patients, the researchers note, adding that the Chest Pain - MI Registry "continues to play an important role in performance improvement efforts across the country." Read more.

Mild-to-moderate exercise should be a key part of managing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) for most individuals, according to the 2020 ACC/AHA HCM Guideline. To that end, ACC's CardioSmart initiative has developed several exercise-related HCM tools to help clinicians discuss the benefits and barriers of physical activity in partnership with patients. Access the HCM Exercise Planning Worksheet, an HCM Exercise Weekly Planner and more. Learn more.