In Global News: Air Pollution Threatens Global Health, a PDA Occlusion Device for Premature Babies, and Medication Cost and Nonadherence

Patient Care and General Interest

Air pollution tops the World Health Organization’s list of Top 10 threats to global health.

A US woman had an aortic dissection while simultaneously going into premature labor, requiring emergency coordination of two procedures.

An Indian man receives a heart transplant, with the cost of the procedure covered by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.

Drugs and Devices

Abbott receives US Food and Drug Administration approval for a tiny patent ductus arteriosus occlusion device for premature infants, and it also acquires Cephea Valve Technologies, a company that develops transcatheter mitral valve technologies.

Research, Trials, and Funding

Providing vouchers to reduce the cost of antiplatelet therapy after a heart attack only marginally improved adherence and did not affect outcomes, report researchers from Durham, North Carolina.

Patients reap postoperative benefits from quitting smoking before lung cancer surgery, say researchers from Tokyo, Japan.

Researchers from New Hampshire, US, report on the growth of medical marketing in the US over last two decades.