Nelson Chao, MD, MBA, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Hematological Malignancies and Cellular Therapy, was featured recently in a story by WRAL about a study he is conducting comparing in-home stem cell treatments to those done in the hospital setting.
Watch a video on WRAL's website.
"We are comparing the results to the patients that are in the hospital at the time that they are here," said Dr. Chao.
Chao is interested in the organisms that live in a person versus what has been discovered in hospital environments.
"A lot of the bugs in the hospital are not very friendly bugs, and the question is, if (a patient) stays at home, will those bugs be the same bugs they have always been used to," he said.
With certain infection controls established in the home, Chao says it is possible that patients will fare better at home. The benefits include lower costs, better diet and exercise and overall quality of life.