Disparities in bystander CPR; MRSA infection outside hospitals; what we talk about when we talk about fasting – Morning Medical Update

CPR disparities

“CPR saves lives — that, we know,” said a researcher at the National Institutes of Health’s Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Yet, it doesn’t always work evenly when people step in to help others suffering heart attacks. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation has greater average survival rates for White adults and men, when compared with Black adults and women. Why the inequity? Researchers hope to discover if there are disparities in training, or if bystanders had extra support, or other factors that affect the outcomes.

Taking MRSA home

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection, or MRSA, is the superbug that physicians and patients dread during hospital stays. And now maybe in hospital goes. A new study found when people were hospitalized longer, even without symptoms of MRSA infection, their family members had greater risk of MRSA infection. One researcher said it is important not to overestimate risk of hospital stays, according to this news release.

Fast company

Physician scientists and others who study nutrition, diet and health know fasting and caloric restriction are gaining popularity among patients and researchers studying their effects. But science had no common terms to describe how patients were modifying their diets by not eating. That has changed, with scientists from five continents agreeing on a consensus of terminology about what various expressions and phrases mean. Here’s a study on this consensus and an accompanying news release.