Omni Health Services, Ltd. » Emergency Medicine

Home Births in the US: Rising or falling?

Paul Rega, MD — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:30:43 +0000

Home Births in the United States: 1990-2009
After a decline from 1990 to 2004, the percentage of U.S. births that occurred at home increased by 29%, from 0.56% of births in 2004 to 0.72% in 2009.

Cervical Cancer

Paul Rega, MD — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:54:49 +0000

Cervical Cancer: The Preventable Gynecologic Cancer
Most cases of cervical cancer are easily preventable with regular screening tests and follow-up. It also is highly curable when found and treated early. Now vaccines are available to protect against the most common cause of cervical cancer.

National Wear Red Day®

Paul Rega, MD — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:53:39 +0000

Wear Red for a Million Hearts
Wear red on February 3, National Wear Red Day®, the first Friday in American Heart Month and learn how to prevent heart disease

Morgellons

Paul Rega, MD — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:37:05 +0000

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0029908

To Tdap or not to Tdap……

Paul Rega, MD — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:03:20 +0000

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6103a4.htm?s_cid=mm6103a4_e

Notes from the Field : Use of Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis Vaccine (Tdap) in an Emergency Department — Arizona, 2009–2010

Weekly

January 27, 2012 / 61(03);55-56Because of an increasing incidence of reported pertussis cases attributed to waning immunity among adults and adolescents, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in 2005 recommended administration of a new, combined tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap) for adolescents and adults aged 11–64 years (1). ACIP recommended that they receive a single dose of Tdap to replace tetanus and diphtheria toxoid vaccine (Td) for booster immunization against tetanus and diphtheria if they had not previously received Tdap. Adults aged ≥65 years were to receive Td according to ACIP recommendations (1). To learn whether these age-specific recommendations were…

MMWR: Gang Homicides

Paul Rega, MD — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:37:37 +0000

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…

Moratorium

Paul Rega, MD — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:05:09 +0000

January 20, 2012

Scientists to Pause Research on Deadly Strain of Bird Flu

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…

The Choking Game

Paul Rega, MD — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:55:47 +0000

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. …”

…

Minor TBI + Coumadin: What to do??????

Paul Rega, MD — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:54:58 +0000

http://pubget.com/paper/22244878?title=Management+of+Minor+Head+Injury+in+Patients+Receiving+Oral+Anticoagulant+Therapy%3A+A+Prospective+Study+of+a+24-Hour+Observation+Protocol

Management of Minor Head Injury in Patients Receiving Oral Anticoagulant Therapy: A Prospective Study of a 24-Hour Observation Protocol

Vincenzo G Menditto, Moira Lucci, Stefano Polonara, Giovanni Pomponio and Armando Gabrielli

Ann Emerg Med () (2012) PMID 22244878

“…. For patients receiving warfarin who experience minor head injury and have a negative initial head CT scan result, a protocol of 24-hour observation followed by a second CT scan will identify most occurrences of delayed bleeding. An initial international normalized ratio greater than 3 suggests higher risk.”

Headphone-Wearing Pedestrians: Beware!!!!!!

Paul Rega, MD — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:12:29 +0000

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-16/deaths-of-headphone-wearing-pedestrians-increase-study-finds.html

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…..”