May 22, 2023
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The opening of swimming pools is synonymous with the start of summer — and it’s also the perfect time for a refresher on water safety.
Drowning is the most common cause of death for children ages one to four in the U.S., and is the second leading cause for kids between age five and 14, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Dr. Corinne Bria, pediatric emergency medicine physician at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, Florida, said the single most important tool to prevent drowning in children is knowledge.
"As a pediatrician, it is my responsibility to educate parents and caregivers about how to prevent drownings," she told Fox News Digital.
"Drowning can happen to anyone. No one is immune to this devastation, and it’s important to know and take active steps to ensure water safety."
Here’s what Bria wants parents and caregivers to know about keeping kids safe in pools and other bodies of water.
When it comes to water safety, pediatricians frequently talk about "direct supervision" or "touch supervision," Bria said.
These are both important strategies to prevent drowning, which is a silent process, she added.
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"Touch supervision means an adult is physically in the water, holding and playing with the children," she said.
"Direct supervision means there is a designated adult, a water watcher, who is monitoring the children in and around the water," Bria went on. "The water watcher sits by the pool or walks around the pool, continuously watching the children in and around the water."
Children should always wear life jackets when around a body of water, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
The AAP recommends using U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets or life preservers based on the weight of the child.
"It’s important to test the fit of the life vest on the child prior to use to ensure the vest is snug around the waist," Bria said. "This prevents [children] from slipping out of an ill-sized vest while in the water."
Infants and small children can drown in as little as two inches of water, including in bathtubs, toilets and 5-gallon buckets, Bria pointed out.
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"It is important to supervise babies, toddlers and small children around all forms of water, both inside and outside the home," she said.
A majority (58%) of the drownings among kids age four and younger happened at home in a pool or spa between 2013 and 2015, according to the AAP.
Enclosing all pools with a fence is the single most effective way to prevent drownings, the AAP notes on its website.
The fence should have four sides, be at least four feet high, be climb-proof and have a self-closing, self-latching gate that children can’t reach.
Participation in formal swimming lessons was linked to an 88% decrease in drowning risks among children between 1 and 4 years old, studies have shown.
Many children can begin swim lessons at age one, per the AAP. For kids age four and up, the lessons are a "must."
"Remember, drowning is silent and very different from what we see in movies or on TV," Bria said.
"If you find a person submerged in the water, get the person out of the water, call 911 and begin CPR."
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"If you have questions about water safety, ask your pediatrician," she continued. "This is an important conversation to have."
Drowning can happen to anyone, Bria added.
"Be intentional and deliberate in recognizing and mitigating the risks to prevent children from drowning," she said.
To read more pieces in Fox News Digital's "Be Well" series, click here.
May 21, 2023
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Music has long been shown to enhance athletic performance, whether that performance is on an NFL field or a treadmill at the gym.
And now, with the help of artificial intelligence, music is helping surgeons achieve better results in the operating room.
Backed by scientific studies, NextMed Health — in collaboration with the data science company Klick Health — has created the world’s first AI-based health care radio station called Lifesaving Radio.
It features more than 30 hours of hard rock music that's been carefully curated for peak surgical performance.
Dr. Daniel Kraft, a physician and scientist in Stanford, California, launched NextMed Health in 2011 to explore how technology can help reshape health and medicine.
With studies showing that 90% of surgeons and surgical residents already listen to music in the operating room, Kraft believes AI technology can help take the music-medicine connection to the next level, with personalized playlists that help improve doctors' orchestration, timing and harmonization.
"The Lifesaving Radio project is a great example of the convergence of different technology sets to improve elements of health care," Kraft said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
In a 2022 study published in Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery, a group of German researchers investigated the effect of playing different types of music — hard rock by AC/DC and soft rock by The Beatles — while medical students performed four tasks related to laparoscopic surgery.
The study was conducted at the University Hospital Dresden between March and June 2017.
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The speed and accuracy of the tasks was evaluated in three different conditions: with no music, with music at medium volume and with music at high volume, according to a discussion of the study’s findings in the medical journal.
When the hard rock was played at a medium volume, the participants performed faster while maintaining accuracy, the researchers found.
Playing hard rock at higher volumes also resulted in greater speed while maintaining accuracy.
Inspired by the results of this research, NextMed Health decided to build Lifesaving Radio to help optimize the "flow state" of clinicians in the operating room, Kraft said.
"The goal was to achieve better surgeries, lower costs and potentially save lives and improve patient outcomes," he told Fox News Digital.
Even as technology’s role continues to grow in the medical space, Kraft pointed out that health care is still a physical profession. The doctors still need to do the procedures in the operating room.
"We all know that humans are not perfect machines," he said. "They might be tired or grumpy. They might be understaffed."
He added, "A lot of what drives outcomes in the operating room is the skill of the surgeons as well as the rest of the team — because ultimately, surgery is a team sport."
Many surgeons speak about achieving a "flow state" or being "in the zone" while in the operating room, Kraft said.
In the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Dr. Michael S. Mulligan, a Seattle, Washington-based surgeon, described it as "a state of focused, relaxed high efficiency wherein an 85% effort yields 100% of maximum speed."
He continued, "In surgery, we experience this when our hands seem to move deftly with no wasted movement. Needles travel exactly where we want them to go, and it feels almost as if we’re watching ourselves operate with a tremendous sense of satisfaction."
Music may be one way to help them enter that state of "flow," Kraft said.
"There have been many examples where music can impact the flow state or the ability to perform complex cognitive tasks, which is what a surgeon and a surgical team are doing," he explained.
Lifesaving Radio is powered by Spotify’s new "AI DJ" music analytics technology, which uses generative AI through the use of OpenAI technology, according to an announcement on Spotify’s website.
Using this technology, the team analyzed millions of song metrics to find the ideal tempo, key and loudness for optimal surgical performance.
Lifesaving Radio features its own DJ, named AI Angus, who personalizes the radio station by calling out the names of the surgeon and team members before playing music that has been "clinically validated to improve the precision and speed of certain sorts of procedures," Kraft said.
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Based on the findings of the German study, Lifesaving Radio created its first core set of music, which is an AC/DC-inspired album called "Highway to Heal."
It includes health-focused parodies of some of the rock band’s most popular songs, performed by some of the world’s most acclaimed AC/DC tribute musicians.
Some of the tracks include "You Sewed Me All Night Long," "Back is Cracked" and "It’s a Short Stop at the Doc (If You Wanna Chop a Mole)."
"In building this, it was a combination of understanding what seems to improve surgical performance, having a core album from AC/DC with the right tempo rhythm, and then looking at other songs from the Spotify database that had similar qualities," Kraft explained.
In March, Lifesaving Radio was previewed to hundreds of clinicians, scientists, patients and public health experts at NextMed Health’s annual conference in San Diego, California.
Dr. Rafael Grossmann, a full-time practicing surgeon in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is also a digital health enthusiast who performed the first-ever documented live Google Glass-assisted surgery in 2013.
He was also one of the first surgeons to use Lifesaving Radio in his operating room.
"I thought the idea was phenomenal, given that music has been proven to improve the flow, the dynamic and the choreography of the surgical act," Grossmann told Fox News Digital.
"What we really want in the operating room is a sort of harmony, a sort of focused stress," he continued. "Everything has to be perfect. You want the patient to be the center of attention."
He also said, "I think this music helps you get in that zone where you can achieve what you want to achieve — which is getting the patient better."
Grossmann said his surgical team has been enjoying the songs, which feature recognizable music that integrates health care elements.
"A particular song, rhythm and tempo has a positive effect on how the surgical team approaches the procedure and the overall feeling of well-being and efficiency," he said. "I think it sets the mood for a more comfortable deployment of the case."
Kraft believes this technology is just the beginning of what can be done to improve music with medicine.
"We're hopeful that Lifesaving Radio will be used in operating rooms around the world to improve outcomes in the experience for clinicians and patients," he said.
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Looking ahead, Kraft hopes the technology can also be rolled out on a wider scale, with different types of music being used in different disciplines.
"I think there are lots of possibilities here to further personalize this using all forms of data — not just for the surgeons, but also for the technicians, the anesthesiologists and the patients," he said.
Kraft envisions that the technology eventually will be able to assess the physiology of the team, based on team members' heart rate, to determine the best tempo to play during different parts of surgery.
"In my imagination, Lifesaving Radio really goes beyond the operating room and possibly into other clinical settings, where music becomes an impactful part of health and medicine."
May 21, 2023
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Teaching children basic life support knowledge can start as early as four years old, according to a new scientific statement from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), the American Heart Association and the European Resuscitation Council.
The group said that building the skills for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can start at age four — and be developed over time through routine training.
By the time children have reached 10 years old, they then may be able to perform effective chest compressions on manikins, said the statement published in Circulation, the American Heart Association’s journal.
It detailed evidence showing that schoolchildren as young as age four know how to call for help in a medical emergency — and that, by the ages of 10-12, they can even administer effective chest compressions when performing CPR.
The statement also said that kids can become aware of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and begin learning the steps and rhythm of CPR.
"Building skills at a young age that are reinforced consistently throughout their years in school has the potential to educate generations of students and their parents on how to respond to cardiac arrest, perform chest compressions and rescue breaths, use an AED and ultimately increase survival," Comilla Sasson, M.D., PhD and a member of the statement-writing committee, said in a news release.
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Sasson, an emergency physician based in the Denver area who serves as vice president for science and innovation at the American Heart Association, said all family members should know what to do in the event of a cardiac arrest (when the heart stops beating) — since it occurs most often outside a hospital setting.
The report authors reviewed over 100 research articles about training students in CPR.
They found that school-aged children are highly motivated to learn life-saving skills and often "multiply" their training by sharing what they have learned with others, the news release said.
"Training students has become a key element to increase the number of people ready to perform CPR when cardiac arrest occurs outside a hospital, and potentially increase rates of CPR and cardiac arrest survival globally," Dr. Bernd W. Böttiger, chair of the statement-writing group and head of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospital of Cologne in Cologne, Germany, said in a news release.
The authors recommended a combination of theoretical and practical training in schools and using social media tools to help share lifesaving skills.
Worldwide, cardiac arrest that occurs away from a hospital setting is a leading cause of death, with survival rates range between 2% and 20% globally, according to the report.
These rates are especially low when a bystander does not take immediate action, the news release said.
"With survival rates of 2% to 20% for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, this study delineates the significance of children and their ability to respond not only in a timely manner but also provide care in a critical period for a patient or possibly even a friend or family member," said Dr. Zachary Hena, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone in New York City, who was not associated with the report.
Hena also told Fox News Digital, "We know the time from when someone is down to [the] time to starting chest compressions and/or delivering an effective shock if necessary improves survival and outcomes. Effectively, kids can save lives from this study — but more importantly, kids will save lives," he added.
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Dr. Kendra Hoepper, a pediatric nurse practitioner and an associate professor and program director of nursing at Dominican University of California in San Rafael, told Fox News Digital that it's important to implement a tiered type of training program regarding CPR and first aid in children.
That way, kids can feel more comfortable and not be fearful of reacting.
Despite their young age, she said even a 4-year-old could be helpful in an emergency.
"The sooner we can encourage kids to know what to do in emergencies, the better," she said.
"Let's say a parent or grandparent collapses in the home — [children] may not know how to check a pulse or for breathing, but they can recognize when something is wrong and they should know to call 9-1-1."
She added, "The 4-year-old can at least talk to someone on the phone who would then be able to instruct the child on what to do until emergency services arrive."
Hoepper and some of her former colleagues at Molloy University in Rockville Center, New York, partnered with local schools and organizations such as the Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts to help educate the community on the American Heart Association’s "Hands On Only" CPR training through formal classes and pop-up tent events.
Debra McWilliams, MS, RN, director of Interprofessional Simulation at Long Island University Post in Brookville, New York, said of the report, "We know that every second counts when it comes to helping someone who has collapsed from a cardiac event."
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She added, "Many people witnessed the collapse of Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin on the field this past year. Within seconds, team trainers provided CPR and used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to restart his heart."
McWilliams and her nursing students recently taught CPR to the LIU community.
She said, "Knowledge is power. Educating people of all ages, children to adults, will have a positive ripple effect. This lesson can literally save lives."
May 20, 2023
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It may seem that the COVID pandemic has been in the rearview mirror for many months — but as recently as May 11, the government officially ended the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE).
The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can declare a public health emergency under section 319 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act.
The COVID-19 PHE had been in effect since January 2020 — for nearly three-and-a-half years.
So now that the public health emergency is officially over, how will things change?
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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said that while the virus remains a public health priority, "we are now in a better place in our response than at any point of the pandemic and well-positioned to transition out of the emergency phase and end the COVID-19 PHE," according to a website statement.
"The pandemic is not over, but fortunately, it has trailed off," said Martin Blaser, director of the Rutgers Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine in New Jersey, in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"We are closer to the ‘endemic’ level than the ‘epidemic' level," he continued.
"It will likely be with us for some time, maybe indefinitely. So, we need to get used to it and adjust to our new reality."
In terms of hospitalization trends from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. has gone from peak weekly hospitalizations of over 100,000 in February 2021 and April 2022 to peak hospitalizations of 40,000 in October 2022 and May 2023.
"COVID-19 is still very much with us, but is more manageable given widespread immunity and effective anti-viral medications," Dr. Shana Johnson, a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician in Scottsdale, Arizona, told Fox News Digital.
"People who are 50 years and older and those with underlying conditions such as heart disease, lung disease and obesity are at higher risk for severe disease," she added.
Deaths due to COVID-19 have followed a similar pattern, going from a peak of over 25,000 weekly deaths in February 2021 to under 5,000 in each month of 2023.
"The ending of the COVID-19 emergency declaration means people will face fewer COVID-related obligations, but also that they will receive fewer free resources to help prevent, detect and treat the disease," Blaser of Rutgers said.
During the COVID emergency, hundreds of Medicare and Medicaid waivers and flexibilities were made available to expand access to care.
Now, "given the current state of COVID-19, this excess capacity is no longer necessary," the HHS said in its statement.
As the pricing of at-home COVID-19 tests and medications shifts to manufacturers and health insurance companies, Johnson of Arizona said individual health plans will determine the cost to consumers.
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"The biggest change will be in your pocketbook," she said. "We are transitioning back to ‘check with your health plan’ for your coverage, with differences based on whether you are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance or no insurance."
Although coverage for COVID testing will change, the U.S. government will continue to provide free tests in certain communities, the HHS website states.
People can still order tests online at COVIDtests.gov through the end of the month.
Another key change marked by the end of the emergency is that the HHS will no longer be able to access and monitor COVID lab test reports.
"HHS will no longer have this express authority to require this data from labs, which will affect the reporting of negative test results and impact the ability to calculate percent positivity [the percentage of positive results] for COVID-19 tests in some jurisdictions," the agency stated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will continue to report COVID data, with some changes.
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For example, the agency will no longer highlight case and death data on its COVID Data Tracker.
Vaccine data will be reported on a monthly basis instead of weekly.
For the most part, healthy people can resume their pre-pandemic lives if they haven’t already — but those with compromised immune systems or other chronic diseases will have to be more vigilant than before COVID, Blaser noted.
"That will involve avoiding risky situations, some masking, continued testing and vaccinations, and seeing doctors if they are ill," he said.
"There will be less protection from other people using masks, getting vaccines and doing other things that would reduce COVID exposure."
Healthy people should still behave responsibly if they are sick, Blaser added.
"Wear a mask if you have respiratory symptoms and stay home if you know you are ill," he recommended.
As people relax overall cautions and become less reliant on vaccines, Blaser said a new wave of COVID variants may emerge faster and with more consequences — but he believes the country is in a much better position to handle it than it was in 2020.
"There is now a lot of immunity in the human population due to natural infections and vaccines versus none earlier," he said.
"We also have a repertoire of treatments now available and probably a much-shortened development and production pipeline if important new variants emerge."
Blaser believes that if there is a new wave of COVID cases, many people will take action immediately to protect themselves and their families.
"We should have good ways to deal with it by restarting different degrees of social isolation (including masking), vaccination and treatment as necessary," he said.
Even after the end of the public health emergency, people will still have access to COVID vaccinations at no cost.
Antiviral treatments, such as Paxlovid and Lagevrio, will also be available, the HHS stated on its website.
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As the CDC says on its website, "Medication to prevent severe COVID-19, such as Paxlovid, will remain available for free while supplies last. After that, the price will be determined by the medication manufacturer and your health insurance coverage."
The FDA’s Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) will also continue to be in place for COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.
Access to most Medicare telehealth flexibilities will also continue through December 2024, the HHS stated.
The government will also continue to provide support and services for those affected by long COVID.
