cdistaffing.com Blog

Post ERCP Pancreatitis

Administrator — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:50:51 +0000

A simple anti-inflammatory drug significantly cuts the risk of painful pancreatitis after patients undergo a specialized scope exam of the digestive tract, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that a single dose of indomethacin administered rectally after the procedure — known as ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) — slashed the incidence of pancreatitis to 9.2 percent, compared with 16.9 percent in patients who received a placebo.

It also reduced the severity of post-ERCP infection. Of the 602 patients studied, moderate-to-severe pancreatitis developed in only 4.4 percent of the indomethacin group, compared with 8.8 percent among placebo patients.

“This is a very specific type of pancreatitis that occurs as a result of the ERCP, which is done an estimated 500,000 times annually,” said study author Dr. B. Joseph Elmunzer, an assistant professor of internal medicine in the division of gastroenterology at the University of Michigan. “This is not something that’s on everybody’s radar . . . but these problems are surprisingly common.”

The study is published April 12 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Doug

CDIstaffing.com

Anti organ rejection the easy way

Administrator — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:38:21 +0000

A new study suggests that patients receiving an organ that’s less than a perfect match can be protected against rejection by a second transplant — this time of the organ donor’s imperfectly matched stem cells.

Though preliminary, the new study is being hailed as a potential game-changer in the field of transplantation, a mystifying development that could offer hope to hundreds of thousands of patients who await or have received donor kidneys and depend on a harsh regimen of daily anti-rejection pills. Wouldn’t that be neat.

Doug

CDIstaffing.com

Exercise your muscles will remember

Administrator — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:55:58 +0000

Exercise can alter an inactive person’s DNA within minutes of them working up a sweat, Swedish researchers say.Scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm found that DNA molecules in muscles are chemically modified after just 20 minutes of hard pedaling on an exercise bike.Professor Juleen Zierath, the study leader, said, “Our muscles are really plastic. We often say ‘You are what you eat,’ well, muscle adapts to what you do.”She added, “If you don’t use it, you lose it, and this is one of the mechanisms that allows that to happen.”

Doug

Cdistaffing.com

Replacement joint nightmare

Administrator — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:00:07 +0000

Millions of people with metal on metal hip replacements may have been exposed to dangerously high levels of toxins that seeped into their bloodstreams, warned the researchers behind a British Medical Journal and BBC Newsnight investigation.

The investigation into the implants found that chromium and cobalt ions from this type of artificial hip can seep into the surrounding tissue to destroy muscle and bone and spread to the lymph nodes, spleen, liver and kidneys, potentially causing damage. The researchers were also concerned the ions could affect a person’s chromosomes, resulting in genetic changes.

“This is one very large uncontrolled experiment exposing millions of patients to an unknown risk,” Michael Carome, deputy director of the patient advocacy organization, Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, said in a BMJ written statement. “We will only find out about the safety of these devices after large numbers of people have already been exposed.”

The researchers say manufacturers of metal on metal hip implants changed the design of the hips over the past decade to increase movement for the recipient, but those changes may be responsible for the release of high levels of toxins into the body.

The study was published in the Feb. 28 issue of BMJ, and aired Tuesday night on BBC News.

The investigation also uncovered a 2005 internal memo from implant manufacturer DePuy Orthopaedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, that shows the company knew about the possible toxicity from implants in 2005.

“In addition to inducing potential changes in immune function,” the memo said, “there has been concern for some time that wear debris may be carcinogenic…Also worrying is the possibility of distant effects. One study suggested a threefold risk of lymphoma and leukemia 10 years after joint replacement.”

Despite the memo, marketing for the metal on metal hips “continued unabated,” according to the investigators.

Free STD testing Pensacola !

Administrator — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:46:54 +0000

Face book note today says that Pensacola has a free clinic for STD’s !

Anyone who wants FREE testing and treatment for HIV, Hepatitis (A, B, C), syphilis, gonorrhea, or Chlamydia can come to the Sexual Health Clinic on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at the AHF office in Madison Park.AHF SHC #850-470-8071, 4300 Bayou Blvd #37

High dose statins increased risk of D.M.

Administrator — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:34:31 +0000

Article in JAMA 2011;3035(24) warns that patients on high dose statins were at risk of developing Diabetes. The study still feels the meds are advised in cardiac patients. But advises to watch out as risk of D.M. increases with the dose of the statin. Doug

CDIstaffing.com

CVP readings of little help

Administrator — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:53:56 +0000

Article in AJN Jan ’12 points out little real value in getting CVP readings. According to the article the folks with low readings needed vasoactive meds about as often as they needed fluids! And vise versa ! Grief. Doug

CDIstaffing.com

Strike averted

Administrator — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:00:12 +0000

Nurses at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center have reached a tentative contract with management, averting a strike that was scheduled to begin next week.

The approximately 1,300 registered nurses at the two Manhattan hospitals are slated to vote on the four-year contract on Jan. 4.

In a memorandum to staff Stanley Brezenoff, CEO and president of Continuum Health Partners, the parent company, said the new contract “contains most of the parameters outlined” in a memo sent on Friday.

That memo referred to an offer that included “modest premiums” for health benefits—a sticking point in negotiations, as nurses currently pay no premiums—and an increased use of generic drugs. The offer included “generous lump sum payments” for this year and each of the next two years and wage increases between 2% and 2.5% per year in each of the next three years.

Doug

CDIstafing.com

Malaria vaccine hope

Administrator — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:49:00 +0000

British scientists have developed an experimental malaria vaccine that may have the potential to neutralize all strains of the most deadly species of malaria parasite.

Results from very early tests of the vaccine in mice and rabbits show it induces an antibody response able to halt many strains of the P. falciparum parasite, the form that causes almost all of the 655,000 malaria deaths worldwide each year.

Enough Nurses!

Administrator — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:14:11 +0000

Nationwide, the number of registered nurses ages 23 to 26 grew from 102,000 in 2002 to 165,000 in 2009, according to the study. The current cohort of young nurses is expected to be the largest ever, the study said.

If the trend continues, there may be enough nurses by 2030 to meet the projected needs of aging baby boomers and the expansion of the healthcare system, researchers said.