The “New & Interesting” series is a biweekly compilation of select research findings, news articles, and random tidbits in bullet-point format. The entries are highly abbreviated, but provide links to the original articles or abstracts if you desire to read further.

General Articles

• Comparison of health care systems from around the world. The BBC graphs the health care expenditures, life expectancy, infant mortality, and out-of-pocket spending in four different health care systems. The United States represents a private payer system. The United Kingdom has a universal, tax-funded system. France has a social insurance system, and Singapore has a dual system. (BBC)

Technical Articles

• Randomized trials have demonstrated that aspirin use reduces the risk of colorectal cancer. A recent study published by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital evaluated the relationship between aspirin and survival after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer. They found that regular aspirin use was associated with decreased mortality. (JAMA)

• Hospital-acquired MRSA from discharged patients is transmitted to nearly 20% of household contacts (Arch Intern Med)

• Training residents on patient simulators resulted in fewer catheter-related bloodstream infections in the ICU (Arch Intern Med)