November 5th, 2011 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Health Tips, News
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Most of us are familiar with the need to achieve immunization against tetanus (“lockjaw”) and diphtheria. Fewer are familiar with the need to immunize against pertussis (“whooping cough”). Boostrix is a vaccine used to achieve immunity against all three. Until recently, there had not been a vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against pertussis intended for use in elders (ages 65 years and older). On July 8, 2011, the FDA approved Boostrix for use in this population of seniors.
The link to the FDA announcement is http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm262390.htm
Whooping cough is not a trivial disease. It is a highly communicable infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It is transmitted by respiratory secretions or large droplets from the respiratory tract of an infected person. In children, whooping cough is typified by Read more »
This post, FDA Approves Tetanus/Diphtheria/Pertussis Vaccine For Adults Over 65, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
November 2nd, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Opinion, Research
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I read with astonishment that a class of cancer drugs known as VEGF Inhibitors (ie, Avastin and Erbitux) used to treat colorectal, lung, breast, and kidney cancers can also be used to potentially treat a type of chronic ear infection known as glue ear… at least in theory and in mice. Glue ear is when an individual suffers from repetitive ear infections or upper respiratory infections to the point where the fluid in the ear turns into a maple syrup consistency. It’s thick, sticky and tough to get rid of with standard antibiotic medications. Standard treatment to address glue ear is placement of ear tubes to allow ventilation and drainage of the ear as well as antibiotic/steroid ear drops.
British researchers using the mouse model have determined that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
October 26th, 2011 by MelissaSchaeferMD in Announcements, Health Tips
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As clinicians, we know that the nearly one million patients who receive outpatient cancer treatment each year are at risk for serious infections that may lead to hospitalization, disruptions in chemotherapy schedules, and in some cases, death. Even so, it appears that outpatient oncology facilities may vary greatly in their attention to infection prevention. As one example – at an oncology clinic in Nebraska, it was discovered that syringes were reused to access bags of saline that were shared among multiple patients. This unsafe practice led to the transmission of hepatitis C virus to at least 99 cancer patients, resulting in one of the largest healthcare-associated outbreaks of its kind.
To help address this problem, CDC is launching a new program called Preventing Infections in Cancer Patients, featuring tools to help both clinicians and patients prevent infections.
As a cornerstone of this new initiative, CDC worked with Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Safe Healthcare*
October 25th, 2011 by GruntDoc in News
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Wow, that is awful beyond belief.
Army seeking troops bitten by stray animals following rabies death – Army – Stripes.
SEOUL – The Army is redoubling its search for anyone who might have been bitten by a wild animal in Iraq or Afghanistan following the Aug. 31 death of a soldier from rabies, the service’s public health command stated Wednesday.
…
“The death of this soldier is very tragic, and we are taking actions to Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at GruntDoc*
October 21st, 2011 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Research
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Dehydration is a common phenomenon in those suffering from infectious diseases, particularly if the diseases cause vomiting and/or diarrhea. We are all familiar with having the “stomach flu,” “traveler’s diarrhea,” or food poisoning. However, severe infections of all sorts can cause profound illness, debilitation, and fluid losses. In many developing countries, very large numbers of small children are afflicted with non-gastrointestinal infectious diseases that rapidly cause relatively large fluid losses, and therefore profound, life-threatening dehydration, which is manifested in part by dangerously low blood pressure and subsequent failure to deliver precious liquid, nutrients and oxygen to the tissues of the body. This is called “shock.”
The following discussion is cutting edge information, but not simplistic or necessarily easy to understand or apply. However, I have learned that my readers are often volunteers in settings where intensive care medicine must be applied, and want to read more than simple approaches to therapy. So, I am going to do my best to interpret for you what has recently been published in the New England Journal of Medicine in an article entitled “Mortality after Fluid Bolus in African Children with Severe Infection” (N Engl J Med 2011; 364:2483-95) written by Kathryn Maitland and her colleagues.
The focus of their investigation was Read more »
This post, Study Investigates The Role Of Fluid Resuscitation In Treatment Of Life-Threatening Infections, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
