Inappropriate antibiotic use continues in nation's ERs

Flash radiation therapy delivers an ultra-fast, ultra-high burst that has the same deadly effect on tumors with fewer side effects for patients.

Key takeaways on retraining the nose after COVID, a drug that can take away persistent bad smells and more from Do-Yeon Cho, M.D., director of UAB’s Comprehensive Smell and Taste Clinic.

Each year, some 100,000 Americans have surgery to repair the knee’s anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL. But treatment and prevention best practices continue to evolve. Hear from a surgeon and a physical therapist on the latest thinking at UAB.

The Cardiogenomics Clinic at UAB, one of only two in the Southeast, uses genetic testing to develop a personalized plan for patients at risk of hereditary cardiovascular conditions. “We’re not just treating one patient, but the whole family,” doctors say.

Modern dentists can fix early cavities with resin, use bioactive materials to defend fillings from bacteria and print new retainers on demand. Learn what these innovations mean for patients and why the UAB School of Dentistry is a go-to destination for testing the latest. 

UAB Hospital’s Clinical Practice Transformation group has developed a unique method for helping teams come together to create change and boost employee satisfaction. Although it was designed for health care, it can work in any setting, they say.

Medications to treat opioid use disorder include methadone, naltrexone and buprenorphine. Leah Leisch, M.D., medical director of Substance Use Services at UAB Beacon Recovery Services, explains how each is used and prescribed.

2020 was the year for telehealth: Pandemic safety restrictions led to a 2,000% increase in telehealth patient volume for UAB eMedicine this past year and saved patients more than a quarter of a million hours of travel time.

Skills and sequencing combine to gather the first data on the UK variant in Alabama in Pathology’s Fungal Reference Laboratory.

Before patients arrive, experts use computer models to design the safest, most efficient workflows for staff and providers and reduce wait times.

Constraint-Induced Therapy, developed at UAB and used worldwide to help patients regain function after stroke, will be tested as therapy for patients with cognitive difficulties following COVID-19 infection.

Behavioral sleep medicine specialist Justin Thomas, Ph.D., answers one of Google’s most-searched questions of 2020: “Why can’t I fall asleep?”

In keynote addresses at UAB’s COVID-19 Research Symposium, Anthony Fauci, M.D., and Kathleen Neuzil, M.D., shared the latest science on how COVID-19 spreads and the safety and efficacy of vaccines in late-stage trials.

Clinical trials of monoclonal antibodies and convalescent plasma offer new options to outpatients in the first days after a COVID-19 diagnosis.

UAB is enrolling patients as part of randomized controlled trials that experts say are necessary to prove the efficacy of the much-discussed COVID-19 treatment.

Many people are looking to antibody tests for peace of mind. But the results aren’t actionable at this point, an infectious diseases expert says. Learn more about UAB’s current and future antibody testing efforts.

UAB is part of several trials to test whether an infusion of antibodies from people who have beaten COVID-19 can help those dealing with infection or at risk for infection. Donors are needed.

Antibody testing can reveal if a person has been exposed to the novel coronavirus in the past. More research needs to be done before we know if that means they are “protected” from COVID-19.

As UAB Hospital copes with coronavirus, Pastoral Care chaplains walk the halls to support “a lot of really tired, amazing employees.”

Wireless glucose monitors, HD cameras and talking scales: UAB eMedicine has saved Alabamians nearly 200,000 miles of driving and sliced stroke treatment times for rural patients from hours to minutes. 

Nephrologist Ashita Tolwani, M.D., is internationally renowned for her expertise in continuous renal replacement therapy. UAB’s CRRT Queen explains this powerful, complex therapy and how UAB became a global leader in the field.

The Precision Diagnostics Laboratory effort, led by Craig Mackinnon, M.D., Ph.D., will support surgeons, oncologists and other clinicians with the latest tests and custom assays, starting with gene panels for cancer and drug metabolism that return answers in hours, not weeks.

A decade ago, Liz Worthey’s computational skills saved a life and earned her a profile in a Pulitzer-winning article. Now at UAB, this new recruit is creating tools and building collaborations to transform these extraordinary efforts into a routine part of patient care.

Special contact lenses or eye drops can reduce a patient’s final prescription by half in the School of Optometry’s Myopia Control Clinic. That means thinner lenses and also a much lower risk of serious eye problems, including glaucoma and cataracts.

Physicians in the Complex Contraception Clinic can develop a temporary or permanent contraception plan for women battling other health conditions.

Four medical specialties are ranked in the top 20 in the nation, and six more are ranked in the top 50.