by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 26th, 2012
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6103a2.htm?s_cid=mm6103a2_e
Gang Homicides — Five U.S. Cities, 2003–2008
WeeklyJanuary 27, 2012 / 61(03);46-51
Gang homicides account for a substantial proportion of homicides among youths in some U.S. cities; however, few surveillance systems collect data with the level of detail necessary to gang homicide prevention strategies. To compare characteristics of gang homicides with nongang homicides, CDC analyzed 2003–2008 data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) for five cities with high levels of gang homicide. This report describes the results of that analysis, which indicated that, consistent with similar previous research, a higher proportion of gang homicides than other homicides involved young adults and adolescents, racial and ethnic minorities, and males. Additionally, the proportion of gang homicides resulting from drug trade/use or with other crimes in progress was…
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by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 25th, 2012
January 20, 2012
By DENISE GRADY
The scientists who altered a deadly flu virus to make it more contagious have agreed to suspend their research for 60 days to give other international experts time to discuss the work and determine how it can proceed without putting the world at risk of a potentially catastrophic pandemic.
Suspensions of biomedical research are almost unheard of; the only other one in the United States was a moratorium from 1974 to 1976 on some types of recombinant DNA research, because of safety concerns.
A letter explaining the flu decision is being published in two scientific journals, Science and Nature, which also plan to publish reports on the research, but in a redacted form, omitting details that…
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by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 23rd, 2012
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/240538.php
Medical News Today
Alarming Number Of Texas Teens Playing The Choking Game
“……The study was based on a survey completed by 837 students at a Texas university. Among the findings were:
- 16% percent of students reported having played the game; 72% reportedly played the game more than once
- Males were more likely to have played than females
- The average age when students first played the game was 14
- 90% of those who played the game first heard about it from peers
- Most students reported that others were present when they first played the game
- Curiosity about the effects of the Choking Game was a primary motivation for playing the game
- Learning about the potential dangers in engaging in this activity served as a deterrent for the majority of non-participants. …”
…
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by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 23rd, 2012
by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 17th, 2012
Deaths of Headphone-Wearing Pedestrians Increase, Study Finds
January 16, 2012, 6:52 PM EST
By Trista Kelley
Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) — “The number of headphone-wearing pedestrians seriously injured or killed near roadways and railways has tripled in six years, according to a U.S. study.
The number of cases rose from 16 in 2004-2005 to 47 in 2010-2011, according to the research published today in the online journal Injury Prevention. Thirty-four of the 116 total cases in the study specifically mention horns or sirens being sounded before the victims were struck…..”
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by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 17th, 2012
Postneonatal Mortality Among Alaska Native Infants — Alaska, 1989–2009
Weekly
January 13, 2012 / 61(01);1-5
“Alaska’s postneonatal mortality rate of 3.4 deaths per 1,000 live births during 2006–2008 was 48% higher than the 2007 U.S. rate of 2.3 per 1,000 (1,2). Among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) infants, the Alaska rate of 8.0 per 1,000 was 70% higher than the U.S. rate of 4.7. The Alaska Division of Public Health analyzed a linked birth-infant death file for 1989–2009 to examine temporal trends in postneonatal mortality in Alaska, specifically in the Alaska Native (AN) population. Overall and non-Alaska Native (non-AN) rates declined during the entire period, but no significant trends in AN-specific mortality were apparent. Infant mortality review committee findings indicated a decline during 1992–2007 among all postneonatal deaths attributed to…
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by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 13th, 2012
by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 13th, 2012
Uchino K, Hernandez A “Dabigatran association with higher risk of acute coronary events” Arch Intern Med 2012; DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2011.1666.
ONLINE FIRST
Dabigatran Association With Higher Risk of Acute Coronary Events
Meta-analysis of Noninferiority Randomized Controlled Trials
Ken Uchino, MD; Adrian V. Hernandez, MD, Phd
Arch Intern Med. Published online January 9, 2012. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.1666
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/archinternmed.2011.1666
Conclusions Dabigatran is associated with an increased risk of MI or ACS in a broad spectrum of patients when tested against different controls. Clinicians should consider the potential of these serious harmful cardiovascular effects with use of dabigatran.
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by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 11th, 2012
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm286226.htm
FDA Public Health Advisory on Certain Opiate Products Made for Endo Pharmaceuticals
FDA is advising healthcare professionals and patients of a potential problem with opiate products manufactured and packaged for Endo Pharmaceuticals by Novartis Consumer Health at its Lincoln, Nebraska manufacturing site. Due to problems that occurred when these products were packaged and labeled at the site, tablets from one product type may have carried over into packaging of another product. This could result in a stray pill of one medicine ending up in the bottle of another product. The likelihood of this occurring in medication dispensed to patients is estimated to be low.
Endo Pharmaceuticals reports that they are aware of only three product mix-ups with respect to these products since 2009; all three were detected…
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by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 11th, 2012
http://www.ems1.com/medical-clinical/articles/1216507-Maine-medical-center-develops-bath-salts-protocol/
EMS1
Maine medical center develops bath salts protocol
Hospitals from around the state that want to send bath salts patients who are in severe crisis to EMMC for specialized care also may have to temporarily paralyze them for the trip
By Nok-Noi Ricker
Bangor Daily news
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by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 11th, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/nyregion/nowhere-to-go-patients-linger-in-hospitals-at-a-high-cost.html?_r=1&nl=nyregion&emc=ura1
NYT
January 2, 2012
Nowhere to Go, Patients Linger in Hospitals, at a High Cost
“Hundreds of patients have been languishing for months or even years in New York City hospitals, despite being well enough to be sent home or to nursing centers for less-expensive care, because they are illegal immigrants or lack sufficient insurance or appropriate housing.
As a result, hospitals are absorbing the bill for millions of dollars in unreimbursed expenses annually while the patients, trapped in bureaucratic limbo, are sometimes deprived of services that could be provided elsewhere at a small fraction of the cost…..”
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by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 9th, 2012
http://www.ems1.com/ems-news/1211731-man-steals-ambulance-to-drive-himself-to-fla-hospital/
EMS1
13News, 1/1/12
TAMPA, Fla. — “The suspect who allegedly stole an ambulance in Tampa on Thursday night told officers he had been attacked and was driving himself to the hospital…..”
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by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 7th, 2012
by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 6th, 2012
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm283520.htm
FDA NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Dec. 13, 2011
Media Inquiries: Erica Jefferson, 301-796-4988, erica.jefferson@fda.hhs.gov �
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
FDA permits marketing of the first hand-held device to aid in the detection of bleeding in the skull
Helps to determine if immediate CT scan is needed
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first hand-held device intended to aid in the detection of life-threatening bleeding in the skull called intracranial hematomas, using near-infrared spectroscopy.
The device, called the Infrascanner Model 1000, can help health care providers identify patients with critical head injuries who need an immediate brain imaging study.
Intracranial hematomas occur when blood from a ruptured blood vessel collects within the brain or between the skull and the brain. As blood expands within the brain or in the narrow…
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by Paul Rega, MD — published on January 6th, 2012
Simultaneous T-Wave Inversions in Anterior and Inferior Leads: An Uncommon Sign
of Pulmonary Embolism
Published online: 06 December 2011
Michael D. Witting, Amal Mattu, Robert Rogers, Christian Halvorson
DOI: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2011.07.026
Journal of Emergency Medicine, The, http://www.jem-journal.com/article/S0736-4679%2811%2900903-6/abstract
Simultaneous T-wave inversions in anterior and inferior leads were associated with PE but are seen in only 4–11% of cases.
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