Research Roundup

Are RSV treatments cost-effective?

Most children exposed to respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, have mild symptoms such as a cold, cough, or wheezing. Others, especially those born prematurely, are more likely to suffer serious complications, including a type of lung infection known as bronchiolitis.

Researchers at Strong Memorial Hospital set out to determine the cost-effectiveness of Synagis, a popular drug used to reduce the hospitalization rate for children who have RSV.

"We found that it is more expensive to treat these children with Synagis in an attempt to prevent RSV hospitalization than it is to pay for the medical costs actually associated with hospitalization," says neonatology fellow Nahed El-Hassan.

Depression: Elderly overlooked

Doctors are urged to treat depression in the elderly more aggressively than is common today, particularly in people who have been depressed before, have medical problems, or are experiencing stress.

The recommendation comes from a team led by Associate Professor Jeffrey Lyness, director of the Program in Geriatrics and Neuropsychiatry. In a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Lyness and colleagues found that more than half of depressed elderly patients who visited their primary care doctor remained depressed more than a year later.

In addition, patients who had problems with minor forms of depression were much more likely than their healthy counterparts to develop major depression. Indeed, in a separate study led by Yeates Conwell, professor of psychiatry, 75 percent of elderly people who killed themselves had seen a doctor within the previous month. According to the study, facts like these underscore the need to focus on the disease in older patients who may go untreated because their symptoms fall below the clinical threshold for major depression.

Camera makes diagnosis a snap

A new pill-sized camera that travels through the body, taking pictures and diagnosing problems doctors previously could only find through surgery is now a reality. Strong Memorial Hospital is one of just two locations in New York where doctors are using this innovative technology to detect problems in the small intestine.

The tiny camera is a miniature video camera and transmitter built into a capsule that is swallowed by the patient and travels through the small intestine, snapping pictures at the rate of two per second. The images are transmitted wirelessly from the camera to a small pack the patient wears like a belt.

During its eight-hour trip through the digestive tract, the battery-powered pill uses a wide-angle lens to transmit about 50,000 images capable of identifying growths, internal bleeding, and other problems. The pill eventually passes through the colon and is eliminated naturally and safely.

"It's an amazing breakthrough and holds great promise as a tool for diagnosing patients with specific problems," says Uma Sundaram, chief of the Digestive Disease Unit at Strong.

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