Meningitis :: FDA expands age range for use of bacterial meningitis vaccine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved age range for Menactra, a bacterial meningitis vaccine, to include children ages 2 to 10 years.
Medical
Weight Loss :: Weight loss before bariatric surgery linked to shorter hospital stay, faster weight loss
High-risk morbidly obese patients who lose 5 to 10 percent of their excess body weight before undergoing gastric bypass surgery appear to have shorter hospital stays and more rapid postoperative weight loss, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Surgery, a theme issue on bariatric surgery.
MRSA :: MRSA screening essential to stop hospital infections
Betsy McCaughey, Ph.D., Chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID) and a former Lt. Governor of New York State, is announcing a model MRSA screening bill and calling on state lawmakers to enact this lifesaving measure. In New York State, the bill will be carried by Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn of Flushing, New York. Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey have already enacted screening bills.
Ear :: Ear infection superbug discovered to be resistant to all pediatric antibiotics
Researchers have discovered a strain of bacteria resistant to all approved drugs used to fight ear infections in children, according to an article published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). A pair of pediatricians discovered the strain because it is their standard practice to perform an uncommon procedure called tympanocentesis (ear tap) on children when several antibiotics fail to clear up their ear infections. The procedure involves puncturing the child’s eardrum and draining fluid to relieve pressure and pain. Analyzing the drained fluid is the only way to describe the bacterial strain causing the infection.
Urinary Tract Infection :: FDA approves new drug to treat complicated urinary tract and intra-abdominal infections
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved doripenem injection, 500 mg intravenous infusion, for the treatment of complicated urinary tract and intra-abdominal infections. Doripenem injection, sold under the trade name Doribax, has been shown to be active against several strains of bacteria.
Genome :: Consortium Publishes Phase II Map of Human Genetic Variation
The International HapMap Consortium today published analyses of its second-generation map of human genetic variation, which contains three times more markers than the initial version unveiled in 2005. In two papers in the journal Nature, the consortium describes how the higher resolution map offers greater power to detect genetic variants involved in common diseases, explore the structure of human genetic variation and learn how environmental factors, such as infectious agents, have shaped the human genome.
Colon Cancer :: Mayo Clinic research shows minimally invasive treatment for bowel obstruction is effective
A new Mayo Clinic study has found that relieving bowel obstructions with a minimally invasive procedure to place a self-expanding metal stent in the intestine is a safe and effective therapy for colon and rectal cancer patients.
Health Insurance :: Private/public insurance mix is most practical way to achieve universal coverage
Health insurance reform plans that build on a mix of private and public health insurance, where costs are shared among government, employers, and enrollees would have great potential to move the system to high performance and would be the most practical to implement according to a new report released today by The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System. Commissioners are a diverse group of leading health policy experts from government, private industry, health care delivery organizations, academia, and professional associations.
Endoscopy :: Patients may have sweet and effective way to prepare for upper GI endoscopy – an anesthetic lollipop
Researchers at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon have found that administering a lidocaine lollipop as a single-agent anesthetic to patients undergoing an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy procedure eliminated the need for sedation in the majority of patients. The research appears in the October issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
HIV :: A low prevalence of H pylori in HIV-positive patients
Helicobacter pylori has been extensively studied and proven to be the main cause of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer in the HIV-negative population. Patients with chronic active gastritis have evidence of H pylori infection in over 90% of cases and in 70-100% of those with peptic ulcer disease. However, the reason for low incidence of H pylori infection in HIV-positive patients was still not very clear.