A safety alert issued this week notes that fingerstick and POC blood testing devices such as blood glucose meters and PT/INR anticoagulation meters used on more than one patient may not be safe for several reasons.
"Every 10 seconds, someone in the United States is treated in an emergency department for crash-related injuries, and nearly 40,000 people die from these injuries each year,” said Dr. Grant Baldwin, director of CDC’s Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
According to Terminix, reports of bedbug infestations in office buildings and retail shops are on the rise. The company offers tips for keeping the pests at bay.
"Good research and good intentions are not enough," said Otto Cars, chairman of the International Secretariat for ReAct. "Priorities need to be established, along with new guidelines, diagnostic methods and incentives to promote investments in pharmaceutical development. Global cooperation and concrete proposals are required."
Hospitals vary in how they detect and treat drug-resistant staph infections, but most follow national guideline recommendations, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Direct to consumer (DTC) genetic tests are increasingly being marketed to the public via television, print ads, and the Internet. These home genetic tests provide access to a person's genomic information without necessarily involving a doctor or insurance company in the process.
Following a review undertaken because of challenges presented by the H1N1 flu vaccine, the department wants a better pipeline to move vaccines, medical equipment, and supplies for medical emergencies.
Orthostatic hypotension is a condition in which patients are unable to maintain blood pressure in the upright position and, therefore, become dizzy or faint when they stand up.
“Employers who respond to disabled individuals with knee-jerk exclusions based on myths, fears, and stereotypes, rather than considering individual abilities, put themselves at risk,” said senior trial attorney Eduardo Juarez of EEOC’s San Antonio Field Office.
The agency's May 2010 request for information attracted comments for and against a rulemaking that would address workers' protection against exposure to H1N1, TB, and other diseases.
At least a quarter of patients who have suffered a stroke stop taking one or more of their prescribed stroke prevention medications within the first three months after being hospitalized--when the chance of having another stroke is highest--according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues.
EEOC filed the suit in New Jersey, saying the health care provider unlawfully fired employees who needed medical leave.
The American College of Emergency Physicians says a new report from CDC "once again debunks the myth that emergency departments are crowded with non-urgent patients."
Coronary events are a major health issue in firefighters, causing nearly half of all deaths on duty. Exposure to ultrafine particles could contribute to coronary disease in firefighters—not only as a long-term health risk, but also as a cause of coronary events while responding to fires.
“Controlling the mosquito vector can work, but it is very expensive and difficult to sustain,” says Anna Durbin, M.D., who is leading the study at Johns Hopkins. “In the long run, vaccination would be a more efficient and cost-effective approach.”
"Obesity continues to be a major public health problem," said CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden. "We need intensive, comprehensive and ongoing efforts to address obesity."
The Food and Drug Administration yesterday issued two comprehensive evaluations containing recommendations that address three key objectives of the agency's public health mission as it relates to medical devices--foster device innovation, create a more predictable regulatory environment, and enhance device safety.
Recent FDA testing has found Listeria contamination throughout the defendants' facility and in a sample of its finished product. Although the company promised to address and correct deficiencies following inspections in 2006, 2007, and 2009, a 2010 inspection confirmed that the company continued to operate without adequate controls, the agency said.
“Using the same interpreter from triage to discharge creates continuity of care and also ensures that we are not missing anything important when talking to the patient,” said study co-author Dr. Robert Eisenstein. “It has the potential to help us get a more accurate patient assessment on arrival in the emergency department as well as better patient compliance with discharge instructions because the patient actually understands what we’re telling them to do!”
The U.S. military has been criticized recently -- notably in a June 2010 series from NPR and ProPublica -- for how it has treated soldiers who suffered them during service in Iraq and Afghanistan.