Dabigatran & The Risk of Acute Coronary Events
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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.
Click Here for Complete ArticleThey sure don’t make opiates like they used to…..
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…
Click Here for Complete ArticleBath Salts Epidemic in Maine
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
Why patients linger……..
NYT
January 2, 2012
Nowhere to Go, Patients Linger in Hospitals, at a High Cost
By SAM ROBERTS
“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…..”
To steal an ambulance …..
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…..”
Click Here for Complete ArticleHerpes vaccine research
Primary source: New England Journal of Medicine
Source reference:
Belshe RB, et al “Efficacy results of a trial of a herpes simplex vaccine” N Engl J Med 2012; 366: 34-43.
In a study population that was representative of the general population of HSV-1– and HSV-2–seronegative women, the investigational vaccine was effective in preventing HSV-1 genital disease and infection but not in preventing HSV-2 disease or infection.
Infrascanner Model 1000
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…
Click Here for Complete ArticleSimultaneous T-Wave Inversions in Anterior and Inferior Leads
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.
Massive PE looking like an MI
Massive Pulmonary Embolism with Acute Coronary Syndrome-like Electrocardiogram
Mimicking Acute Left Main Coronary Artery Obstruction
Published online: 06 December 2011
Paolo Ciliberti, Claudio Rapezzi, Caterina Villani, Giuseppe Boriani
DOI: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2011.03.037
Journal of Emergency Medicine, The,
http://www.jem-journal.com/article/S0736-4679%2811%2900891-2/abstract
H1N1 & Pneumococcal Pneumonia
Weinberger DM, Simonsen L, Jordan R, et al. Impact of the 2009 influenza pandemic on pneumococcal pneumonia hospitalizations in the United States. J Infect Dis 2011 Dec 7
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/12/07/infdis.jir749.abstract
The 2009 influenza pandemic had a significant impact on the rate of pneumococcal pneumonia hospitalizations, with the magnitude of this effect varying between age groups and states, mirroring observed variations in influenza activity.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/239274.php
MNT
Magnetic Stimulation Of Brain For Stroke Recovery
“…..The study, published in Neurology……explains the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation, a treatment that involves placing large electromagnetic coils against the scalp. It creates electrical currents that stimulate nerve cells….The research so far has only involved 20 people, with…..hemispatial neglect…….
10 patients were treated for two weeks, while the other 10 received a placebo treatment. Tests on those who did not receive the real treatment showed little improvement, while those who underwent the real magnetic stimulation had a 16% improvement at the end of the two weeks and a 22% improvement two weeks later……”
14 California Hospitals Fined $850,000
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/page-1/QUA-274180/Immediate-Jeopardy-14-CA-Hospitals-Fined-850000##
Immediate Jeopardy: 14 CA Hospitals Fined $850,000
Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media, December 12, 2011
Another 14 California hospitals have been ordered to pay fines totaling $850,000 in the latest round of medical errors involving immediate jeopardy to patients………
These incidents include seven retained foreign objects, including a 2.5 cm temporary pin used in a woman’s spine surgery……..
Other incidents that placed patients in immediate jeopardy of harm or death included a “Code Pink,” in which a newborn was abducted from a labor and delivery unit despite the use of a bracelet designed to signal an alarm if an infant is taken from the area; a morphine overdose which resulted in a patient’s death; and the administration of “compromised” medications and vaccines, which were incorrectly refrigerated to freezing temperatures,…
Colorectal Cancer & Younger Adults
By Shalmali Pal, Contributing Editor, MedPage Today
Published: December 12, 2011
“The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) among adults younger than 50 has increased by 2.1% in the past decade, according to results from a study of the National Cancer Database.
“The median age for young-onset CRCs was 44 years, with most (75.2%) occurring between ages 40 and 49 years…..”
Click Here for Complete ArticleIV Access & ERs
IV Access Difficulty: Incidence and Delays in an Urban Emergency Department
Published online: 05 December 2011
Michael D. Witting
DOI: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2011.07.030
Journal of Emergency Medicine, The, http://www.jem-journal.com/article/S0736-4679%2811%2900907-3/abstract
In an urban, tertiary care ED, mild and moderate IVAD (Intravenous access difficulty) was common and led to mild delays, but severe IVAD, requiring a physician, caused substantial delays.
Click Here for Complete Article