http://www.medpagetoday.com/EmergencyMedicine/EmergencyMedicine/tb/9649
SAEM: AHA Guidelines for Cardiac Arrest Treatment Increase Survival |
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WASHINGTON, May 30 — The rate of resuscitation after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests jumped nearly four-fold when new guidelines on CPR were fully implemented in a North Carolina county, according to researchers here.
The 2005 American Heart Association guidelines outlined a protocol calling for simple, continuous chest compressions, controlled ventilation, and early use of induced hypothermia. When the guidelines were fully implemented in Wake County, which has urban and suburban areas and a population of about 815,000, cardiac arrest survival increased 3.99-fold (95% CI 2.19 to 7.27), Brent Myers, M.D., M.P.H., medical director of the Emergency Medical Services System in Raleigh, N.C., reported at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine meeting here. Action Points
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May 31st, 2008
posted by Kelly Burkholder-Allen, RN, MSEd @ 11:40 am
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h7wLpfDIOFFLxuDYYau8_IHOZnXA Evolution of flu strains points to higher risk of pandemic: studyCHICAGO (AFP) — Some strains of bird flu are coming ever closer to developing the traits they need to cause a human pandemic, a study released Monday said. Researchers who analysed samples of recent avian flu viruses found that a few H7 strains of the virus that have caused minor, untransmissible infections in people in North America between 2002 and 2004 have increased their affinity for the sugars found on human tracheal cells. Subsequent tests in ferrets suggested that these viral strains were not readily transmissible. But one strain of the H7N2 virus, a low pathogenic avian flu strain isolated from a man in New York in 2003, replicated in the ferret’s respiratory tract and was passed between infected and uninfected ferrets suggesting it could be transmissible in humans. The investigators said the evidence suggests that the virus could be evolving toward the same strong sugar-binding properties of the three worldwide viral pandemics in 1918, 1957 and 1968. “These findings suggest that the H7 class of viruses are partially adapted to recognize the receptors that are preferred by the human influenza virus,” said Terrence Tumpey, a senior microbiologist with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta Email This Post
May 31st, 2008
posted by Kelly Burkholder-Allen, RN, MSEd @ 11:37 am
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,360741,00.html Deadly brain-eating amoeba strikes swimmers 12:01 AM EDT, May 30, 2008 A rare brain illness spread in freshwater lakes, rivers and hot springs killed six people in Florida, Texas and Arizona in 2007, the most in more than five years, according to a U.S. report. The infection, almost always fatal, typically affects boys swimming during the months of July, August and September, said the report released today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM, the infection has struck 121 people in 15 southern states over the last 71 years, the CDC said. It is caused when Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba found in fresh warm water, goes up the nose to the brain, leading to fatal damage. “An updated and consistent approach to N. fowleri risk- reduction messages, diagnosis and treatment is needed,” the CDC said in its report. In one instance, a 14-year-old Arizona boy was hospitalized with severe headache, stiff neck and fever. He died from the infection eight days after diving and splashing in shallow water in a lake. An 11-year-old Florida boy died of the infection 11 days after swimming and wakeboarding, the water equivalent of snowboarding, in a local lake. He was hospitalized as a possible case of bacterial meningitis, suffering headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and confusion. Another Florida boy, 10, died after two visits to a local water sports facility. A third boy in the state, 14, was confirmed to have the infection in an autopsy after his death, though the location he contracted it was unknown. A 12-year-old Texas boy was infected during water activities in a lake at summer camp. He was hospitalized when symptoms worsened after three visits to the camp nurse, and died five after admission. Also in Texas, a man, 22, died after wakeboarding in a lake.
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May 31st, 2008
posted by Paul Rega, MD, FACEP @ 8:03 am
Intro: This study shows that a 10-day school closure was not an undue hardship for families. That’s nice, but can we extrapolate those results when schools may be forced to close 6-12 weeks during a pandemic? Citation: Johnson AJ, Moore ZS, Edelson PJ, et al. Household response to school closure resulting from outbreak of influenza B, North Carolina. Emerg Infect Dis 2008 Jul;14(7) [Full text] ABSTRACT: School closure is a proposed strategy for reducing influenza transmission during a pandemic. Few studies have assessed how families respond to closures, or whether other interactions during closure could reduce this strategy’s effect. Questionnaires were administered to 220 households (438 adults and 355 children) with school-age children in a North Carolina county during an influenza B virus outbreak that resulted in school closure. Closure was considered appropriate by 201 (91%) households. No adults missed work to solely provide childcare, and only 22 (10%) households required special childcare arrangements; 2 households incurred additional costs. Eighty-nine percent of children visited at least 1 public location during the closure despite county recommendations to avoid large gatherings. Although behavior and attitudes might differ during a pandemic, these results suggest short-term closure did not cause substantial hardship for parents. Pandemic planning guidance should address the potential for transmission in public areas during school closure. Email This Post
May 31st, 2008
posted by Paul Rega, MD, FACEP @ 7:48 am
http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/9018?src=nlcmealert&spon=45&uac=78937HJ Contents of This CME Activity
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May 31st, 2008
posted by Paul Rega, MD, FACEP @ 7:46 am
…On May 31, 1889, more than 2,000 people perished when a dam break sent water rushing through Johnstown, Pa. For more info: http://www.jaha.org/FloodMuseum/history.html
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May 31st, 2008
posted by Paul Rega, MD, FACEP @ 7:11 am
NY Times, 5/31/08 (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/world/asia/31myanmar.html?_r=1&th=&oref=slogin&emc=th&pagewanted=print): “They paddle for hours on the stormy river, or carry their sick parents on their backs through the mud and rain, traveling for miles to reach the one source of help they can rely on: Buddhist monks. At a makeshift clinic in this village near Bogale, an Irrawaddy Delta town 75 miles southwest of Yangon, hundreds of villagers left destitute by Cyclone Nargis arrive each day seeking the assistance they have not received from the government or international aid workers. Since the cyclone, the Burmese have been growing even closer to the monks while their alienation from the junta grows. This development bodes ill for the government, which brutally cracked down on thousands of monks who took to the streets last September appealing to the ruling generals to improve conditions for the people… In a scene the ruling generals are unlikely to see played out for themselves, a convoy of trucks carrying relief supplies, led by Buddhist monks, passed through storm-devastated villages in the delta this week. Hungry children and homeless mothers bowed in supplication and respect. ‘When I see those people, I want to cry,’ said Sitagu Sayadaw, 71, one of Myanmar’s most respected senior monks. Village after storm-hit village, it is clear who has won people’s hearts. Monks were among those who died in the storm. Now, others console the survivors while sharing their muddy squalor… While the government has been criticized for obstructing the relief effort, the Buddhist monastery, the traditional center of moral authority in most villages here, proved to be the one institution people could rely on for help. The monasteries in the delta that are still standing have been clogged with refugees. People who could help went there with donations or as volunteers. Monasteries that served as religious centers, orphanages and homes for the elderly have also become shelters for the homeless. The interdependence between monks and laypeople is age-old. Monks receive alms from the laity and offer spiritual comfort in return. In villages without government schools, a monastic education is often the only option. ‘The monks’ role is more important than ever,’ said Ar Sein Na, 46, a monk in the delta village of That Kyar. ‘In a time of immense suffering like this, people have nowhere to go except to monks.’” Email This Post
May 31st, 2008
posted by Paul Rega, MD, FACEP @ 6:58 am
CNN, 5/31/08: Chinese authorities had evacuated nearly 200,000 people by early Email This Post
May 31st, 2008
posted by Paul Rega, MD, FACEP @ 6:51 am
BBC, 5/31/08: Nine skydivers leapt to safety from a stricken aircraft above central Spain before it plummeted to earth with the loss of two lives, Spanish media say.
The pilot and another skydiver were killed when the plane, which had taken off from Lillo in the province of Toledo, came down after losing a wing. Four of the parachutists were injured, two of them seriously. It was not immediately known why the wing came off. The skydivers were said to include several non-Spaniards. The plane crashed shortly before 1600 (1400 GMT) on Friday, about 3km ( two miles) outside Lillo airfield, the Spanish news agency Efe reports. The injured skydivers, all four of them Spanish, were taken to La Mancha Centro hospital in Alcazar de San Juan, it says. One man, 23, suffered a back injury and another, 52, is being treated for a neck injury. The other two had light injuries while the other five jumpers were unhurt. The plane, a Pilatus PC-6 used for skydiving practice, burst into flames on impact. According to El Mundo newspaper, it appears the skydiver who died had been sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, and had been unable to jump. Email This Post
May 31st, 2008
posted by Paul Rega, MD, FACEP @ 6:47 am
Intro: According to CNN, 5/31/08, seven people died and more than 80 were injured when a commercial airliner overshot the runway into an adjoining
30 MAY 2008 Airbus A320-233 (EI-TAF) of TACA International Airlines, Tegucigalpa-Toncontin Airport (TGU)- 1(124 )Source: The Aviation Safety Network at http://aviation-safety.net/
ASN ACCIDENT DIGEST 2008-8 Date: 30 MAY 2008
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