Houston-based Texas Children's Hospital — the nation's largest pediatric hospital —  has halted prescribing gender-affirming hormone therapies after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on state officials to investigate such care as child abuse, The Houston Chronicle reported March 6. 

One recent study has found some symptoms of long COVID-19 may be related to nerve damage, and another identified the proportion of patients who require new healthcare services upon discharge from being hospitalized for COVID-19. 

Most (89.1 percent) adult COVID-19 patients who were eligible for but didn't receive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation owing to a lack of resources during the peak of the pandemic died in the hospital, even though they were young and had few underlying health issues, according to findings published Feb. 24 by the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Healthcare workers are burned out and exhausted from juggling pandemic-related stressors and additional burdens linked to workforce shortages for more than two years. These issues pose serious consequences for employees and patients, as numerous studies link clinician burnout and stress to an increased likelihood of medical errors. 

Amid the pandemic, officials have struggled to piece together an accurate picture of patient safety and care quality in the U.S., with healthcare systems overwhelmed and data backlogs prevalent.

Costly intravenous vitamin cocktails — usually administered through at-home concierge services or in spalike "drip bars" — have gained steam in recent years, but experts say they offer no real benefit to most people, The Washington Post reported Feb. 24. 

Pandemic-related stress brought on by societal and lifestyle disruptions may lead to brain inflammation  — even among those not infected with COVID-19, according to early findings from researchers at Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard University. 

The number of U.S. women who died during pregnancy or after childbirth increased during 2020, especially among Black and Hispanic women, according to a report released Feb. 23 by the National Center for Health Statistics. Officials attribute the rise in part to COVID-19 and pandemic-related disruptions. 

A CMS inspection has tied four patient deaths at Warm Springs-based Montana State Hospital to noncompliance with federal rules, according to a Feb. 23 report by the Helena Independent Record.

Children's hospitals nationwide are keeping a close eye on cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, in the wake of the omicron wave, CNN reported Feb. 22.

The number of serious patient safety incidents reported to The Joint Commission jumped in 2021, reaching the highest annual level seen since the accrediting body started publicly reporting them in 2007, according to a report shared with Becker's Feb. 22. 

As social determinants of health become more widely recognized for their effects on health outcomes, the policies that create such determinants are also important to understand, the American Medical Association reported Feb. 21. 

Disability Rights Rhode Island is alleging patient abuse at Cranston, R.I.-based Eleanor Slater Hospital after a video showed 12 correctional officers conducting a contraband search and stepping over a patient, according to a Feb. 19 report by USA Today.

People who had COVID-19 were 39 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression in the months after their infection compared to those without COVID-19, according to a study of nearly 154,000 COVID-19 patients at the Veterans Health Administration. 

In 2021, a record-setting number of organ transplants were performed in the U.S., with more than 40,000 transplants performed annually for the first time in the nation's history, according to preliminary data from the United Network for Organ Sharing. 

A U.S. woman of mixed race has become the third person in the world believed to be cured of HIV, scientists said Feb. 15, according to The New York Times.

Infants born to mothers vaccinated for COVID-19 while pregnant were less likely to be hospitalized for the virus within the first six months of life, a new CDC study found. A separate report found vaccination lowers the risk of becoming a COVID-19 long-hauler. 

Recent studies have identified changes to a nerve that may explain why some people suffer from long COVID-19, while separate findings may point to a potential treatment option.

Intermountain Healthcare is rolling out a program to improve long-term care for patients with long COVID-19, the Salt Lake City-based health system said Feb. 14.

Cleveland Clinic performed 1,039 organ transplants in 2021, up 18 percent from 2020, and a record 210 liver transplants, it said Feb. 14.