Research Roundup: C. Diff; Long Covid; Semaglutide; Daydreaming
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of health policy studies and briefs.
CIDRAP:
Contaminated Beds Linked To Increased Risk Of Hospital-Onset C Diff Infections
A study of more than 25,000 hospitals encounters found that staying in a hospital bed that previously had a patient with Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) was associated with an increased risk of hospital-onset (HO)-CDI, researchers reported today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. (Dall, 12/13)
CIDRAP:
Report Underscores Financial Pressure Of Long COVID On Families
Survey results published today in JAMA Network Open show that US households headed by an adult with long COVID were two to four times more likely to report pandemic-related financial hardships, regardless of prepandemic socioeconomic status. (Van Beusekom, 12/12)
CIDRAP:
5% Of COVID-Infected US Veterans Still Had Symptoms Up To 1 Year Later
A study of 389,000 US veterans published last week in JAMA Network Open finds that 5% reported symptoms up to 1 year after COVID-19 infection during the Omicron variant era and that vaccination was protective. The retrospective study, led by researchers from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound Health Care System, involved 388,980 veterans who tested positive for COVID-19 from October 2021 to January 2023 and 350 randomly selected peers who had a long-COVID diagnosis in their medical records. (Van Beusekom, 12/11)
New England Journal of Medicine:
Semaglutide And Cardiovascular Outcomes In Obesity Without Diabetes
In patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity but without diabetes, weekly subcutaneous semaglutide at a dose of 2.4 mg was superior to placebo in reducing the incidence of death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke at a mean follow-up of 39.8 months. (Lincoff et al, 12/14)
ScienceDaily:
What Happens In The Brain While Daydreaming?
During quiet waking, brain activity in mice suggests the animals are daydreaming about a recent image. Having daydreams about a recently viewed image predicted how the brain would respond to the image in the future. The findings provide a clue that daydreams may play a role in brain plasticity. (Harvard Medical School, 12/13)
