Pittman, Genevra

GERD label makes parents more likely to want medicine

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Telling the parents of babies who spit up and cry frequently that their child has gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, makes them more likely to want medicine - even if they're also told it isn't likely to help much, a new study suggests.

Most babies who spit up don't have an acid reflux problem, researchers said, just a not-quite-developed upper stomach valve.

Still, an increasing number of those kids are being labeled as having GERD - even though a definitive diagnosis normally requires an invasive test.

Joint pain, function not always better after surgery

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Only about half of people who have a knee or hip replaced see meaningful improvements in pain and disability in the months after surgery, a new study from Canada suggests. Researchers found people who had worse knee or hip ...

Even in Canada, wealth influences treatment: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Poorer people have a harder time getting a doctor's appointment in Canada, a new study suggests - even though the country's universal health insurance pays doctors the same amount regardless of the type of patient they see....