Ebola: Local hospitals cannot be prepared
Recently at our community hospital, after we concluded a nearly two-hour standing room only Ebola preparedness meeting, I practiced donning and doffing the personal protective equipment (PPE) for Ebola cases.
PPE is the protective wardrobe health workers wear when examining a patient with a contagious infectious disease. Each disease has a different level of transmission and requires an appropriate level of protection. I wear gloves 25 times a day to examine each patient I see. (Not all doctors do this; in my specialty of infectious diseases, though, it is prudent.) I dress in a gown a dozen times when entering a room of a...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 25, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Manoj Jain, MD, MPH Tags: Physician Hospital Infectious disease Source Type: blogs
Healthcare Update Satellite — 09-15-2014
This study should be required reading in every emergency medicine residency in this country. In fact, the concepts in the studies should be tested on the emergency medicine board exams.
Now if the study only compared the type of a patient’s insurance with the likelihood of emergency department recidivism.
How else can the media try to tarnish this guy’s reputation? The doctor who oversaw Joan Rivers’ fatal endoscopy was once *sued* 10 years ago. Gasp.
The former patient’s attorneys are really trying to create their 15 minutes of fame. They alleged that 10 years ago the patient received no informed ...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - September 15, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: WhiteCoat Tags: Healthcare Update Source Type: blogs
Obama’s Foreign Policy Is Linked to a Healthy, Restrained Immune System
With 58% of Americans disapproving of Obama’s foreign policy, mounting Ebola virus deaths, and flu season around the corner, I think it is important to synthesize an overlapping theme between how our country fights perceived threats, and how our bodies successfully or unsuccessfully fight disease. In short, I think Obama’s continued restraint and use of soft power is evidence of a good prognosis for the country.
In this analogy, our bombs and military are the most caustic weapons of the country’s immune system, akin to a fever of 105 degrees and impending sepsis. Does “nuke them all” work?
Diplomacy, espionage,...
Source: The Examining Room of Dr. Charles - August 16, 2014 Category: Primary Care Authors: drcharles Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Public Distrust of Pharmaceutical Industry Could Harm Research and Development of Important Antibiotics
A recent article in Forbes argues that misplaced public distrust of the pharmaceutical industry could harm the research and development of important antibiotics. Entitled, "Pharma's Poor Reputation Doesn't Help in the Fight of Superbugs," the article examines the industry's reputation in light of the antibacterial resistance epidemic.
As a background, an April report published by the World Health Organization stated that antibiotic resistance is an increasingly serious threat in every part of the world and a "problem so serious that it threatens the achievements of modern medicine." The report gets pretty gloomy: "A post-...
Source: Policy and Medicine - August 12, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Research and Reviews in the Fastlane 039
Welcome to the 39th edition of Research and Reviews in the Fastlane. R&R in the Fastlane is a free resource that harnesses the power of social media to allow some of the best and brightest emergency medicine and critical care clinicians from all over the world tell us what they think is worth reading from the published literature.
This edition contains 13 recommended reads. The R&R Editorial Team includes Jeremy Fried, Nudrat Rashid, Soren Rudolph, Anand Swaminathan and, of course, Chris Nickson. Find more R&R in the Fastlane reviews in the R&R Archive, read more about the R&R project or check out the f...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - July 14, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Soren Rudolph Tags: Anaesthetics Cardiology Emergency Medicine Emergency Medicine Update Featured Infectious Disease Intensive Care Pre-hospital / Retrieval Resuscitation critical care literature R&R in the FASTLANE recommendations research and revi Source Type: blogs
Advocate Groups Reach Out to President's Science Advisors Ahead of
Antibiotics Meeting | Food Safety News
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will meet Friday to discuss its work on antibiotic resistance and nanotechnology and to hear from speakers about oceans policy.A group of public health, consumer, and environmental protection organizations have sent a letter to PCAST expressing concern that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Guidance for Industry #213 and a proposed Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) rule do not go far enough in addressing antibiotic overuse on farms.By March, FDA had heard from 25 of the 26 drug manufacturers affected by Guidance #213...
Source: PharmaGossip - July 8, 2014 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Research and Reviews in the Fastlane 036
This study found that a high percentage (49%) of patients with serious adverse outcomes after an ED visit for COPD were not initially admitted to the hospital. The authors used logistic regression to derive a decision instrument to aid in determining which patients with COPD exacerbation should be admitted based on risk stratification. The study does not show that admission improves outcomes but the instrument may prove useful for risk stratification if it is prospectively validated.
Recommended by: Anand Swaminathan
Emergency Medicine, Critical care, Anaesthetics
Barends CRM ,Absalom AR. Tied up in science: unknotting ...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - June 25, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Nudrat Rashid Tags: Anaesthetics Emergency Medicine Evidence Based Medicine Featured Health Infectious Disease Intensive Care Respiratory Resuscitation critical care literature R&R in the FASTLANE recommendations research and reviews Source Type: blogs
Find yourself a physician who is stingy with prescriptions
Antibiotic use is the direct cause of the rise of untreatable superbugs that are killing people.
Antibiotic use is also the cause of most cases of C. diff colitis in kids, a potentially life-threatening, difficult-to-treat gut disorder. Antibiotics have also been linked with recurrent wheezing in infants and inflammatory bowel disease. They can also trigger allergic reactions that can be severe or life-threatening. (I was going to link to photos of Stevens Johnson Syndrome, but decided not to be cruel. Go ahead and Google at your risk. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.)
Continue reading ...
Your patients are ratin...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 5, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Roy Benaroch, MD Tags: Meds Medications Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
Do Elite Academic Centers Provide Better Hospital Care?
A well-to-do patient recently boasted to me about an expensive insurance plan that he had purchased to “guarantee” that he had access to the best healthcare in the United States. Coverage included access to elite academic centers (all the usual suspects) and a private jet service for emergencies. He was utterly confident that his investment was worth the price, but I withheld my own misgivings.
Hospital quality data suggest that “fancy, brand name hospitals” provide better patient care. But unfortunately there is no guarantee of good outcomes for anyone who sets foot in a hospital. My experience doe...
Source: Better Health - May 1, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Dr. Val Jones Tags: Health Tips Opinion Academic Medical Centers Attention Best Care Drug Resistance Electronic Medical Records EMR Health Insurance Hospital Quality Platinum Plans Private Jets Residency Training Super Bugs Source Type: blogs
Urinary Catheter Can Flush Itself to Prevent Biofilm Infections
The yellow cast of an innovative new catheter design created by a 3D printer is shown on the left along with the finished prototype on the right. The markings indicate the urinary duct (U), the flexible inner wall (i.w.) between the urinary duct and the inflation channel (I) and the stiff exterior wall (e.w.). Pressurizing the narrow chamber deforms the main channel, dislodging biofilm so that it can be flushed from the tube.
Urinary catheters are notorious hosts for bacterial colonies, forming biofilms that resist easy removal. These biofilms also tend to welcome pathogenic bacteria to settle nearby, causing dangerous inf...
Source: Medgadget - March 25, 2014 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Editors Tags: Medicine Urology Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, March 21, 2014
From MedPage Today:
More of the Bugs Kids Get Are Resistant. The rate of antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections in children is increasing in inpatient and outpatient settings.
Salt, Obesity May Prematurely Age Young Cells. High sodium intake and obesity may act synergistically to accelerate cellular aging in adolescents, according to new research.
Breast-Sparing Tops Mastectomy in New Analysis. Breast-conserving surgery led to improved cancer-specific survival in early breast cancer as compared with mastectomy, with or without radiation therapy.
BMI Loss Lasting With 3 Bariatric Surgery Options. Three co...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 21, 2014 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Cancer Infectious disease Obesity Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
How social media facilitates peer review
Much has been written about how Web 2.0 tools can change the healthcare landscape. It would appear a recent set of circumstances has upped the ante.
This story begins with a recent study that attempted to tackle the problem of ICU infections. ICU infections are a challenging problem, patients who are admitted to the ICU are at risk of worsening illness and death from infections such as MRSA which can be acquired while in the ICU setting. To counteract this risk, current practice is the performance of surveillance cultures on people who are admitted to intensive care. If the person tests positive for certain infections th...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 12, 2014 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Social media Hospital Source Type: blogs
In memoriam: Robert C. Moellering, Jr.
This announcement arrived from Harvard Medical School:Dr. Robert C. Moellering, the HMS Shields Warren-Mallinckrodt Professor of Medical Research and a renowned infectious disease researcher, was physician-in-chief and chair of the Department of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center from 1981 to 2005. He died on Feb. 24, 2014, at the age of 77.Dr. Moellering made major advances in the investigation, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, in particular studying the mechanisms of antibiotic action and bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents. His work led to the development of laboratory tests tha...
Source: Running a hospital - March 2, 2014 Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, February 28, 2014
From MedPage Today:
A Targeted Treatment for Scleroderma? A monoclonal antibody that binds to the type 1 interferon-alpha receptor showed an acceptable safety profile in a phase I trial for systemic sclerosis, but efficacy was less clear.
CMS: More ‘Meaningful Use’ Exemptions Coming. Some healthcare providers struggling to meet the second stage of the incentive program for electronic health records (EHRs) may receive a bit of relief.
MRSA: Physician Clean Thy Stethoscope. Stethoscopes carried more methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other bacteria after a physical exam than most areas of th...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 28, 2014 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Infectious disease Psychiatry Rheumatology Source Type: blogs
If I Only Knew Then, What I Know Now
What do I know now? It’s not about me.Marilyn Raichle+Alzheimer's Reading Room As much as I write about how delightful it is to visit my mother—and it is delightful—it was different and far more complex with my father.Both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s run in Dad’s family with Alzheimer's usually hitting around the age of 80.As Mom is sunny, Dad’s family runs darker, with anger, aggression and isolation as the common experience.But, if I knew then what I know now, my visits to my father would have been different.Dad was, by turns, totally lucid and moving in and out of dementia. He was profoundly bored, frustr...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 25, 2014 Category: Dementia Authors: Bob DeMarco Source Type: blogs
