Radiology Departments, Not The Safest Place


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The researchers said that the most dangerous time in the hospital is that to when the patients are being taken from their room to the Radiology Department for a test or a procedure.

According to United States Pharmacopeia, which is a nonprofit organization that sets the standards for the drug industry, they say that the harm to the patients is seven times more frequent in the radiological services than in other hospital settings.

The researchers said that the patients must ask whenever they are being taken from their room to another location as to where they are being taken, and what is the purpose of their visit to the other department they are being taken to.

The researchers also added that they hope that their report will help the hospital system to find better ways to examine the problem and find as to how to minimize the errors and they should raise a red flag at the times when the patient is going to such departments where the chances of errors in patient handling are high.

There are different reasons as to why the harmful errors can take place in the Radiology Department.

There are a variety of reasons that harmful errors are much more likely in the radiology suite. These comprise of receiving potentially fatal drugs such as dyes, sedatives, blood thinners, and at that point their care is being handed off from department to another and there are a whole lot chances of communication error that can occur and this can result in harm occurring to the patients.

Therefore the major thing that occurs in patient handling among different departments is lack of communication among them.

The Radiology Department performs different studies, x-rays, tests, procedures, which include cardiac catheterization and diagnosing heart problems.

The experts added that the data that was being brought up was surprising, as this has not received a lot of attention and there is a whole lot of work that needs to be done to minimize fatal errors.

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Medical Errors Are Reduced Through New Drug Labels

Recently the Food and Drug Administration announced that they are going to overhaul entirely the drug labels on the drugs that contain information, which is all confusing to the patients and they hope that this will reduce the injuries and the deaths being caused by it.

It was also said that it does not affect the drug information sheets that the patients receive, but they said that it will change as to how the drugs will be advertised and may offer liability protections to drug makers.

According to the stats there are about 300,000 people that are injured and there are about 100,000 who are killed every year from the medical errors and they said that prescribing errors is a major cause of this.

The data also suggests that only one in ten physicians routinely read drug labels, which gives the complete information about the drugs, its side effects and benefits. Even after reading the drug labels there is very little information that the doctors gain from that.

The doctors even say that the labels are a whole lot confusing and there is tons of information that one can find there but it is all jumbled up and one can get easily confused.

Now according to the Food and Drug Administration, they say that the drug labels will now have highlights section that will summarize the important information that is needed to prescribe the drug safely. They also said that this new section will also list safety warnings and also summarize the recent changes. It also mentioned that this section will also add the advice as to how to use and write the dosage of drug and as to what the doctors must tell their patients about the drugs.
The doctors mentioned that avoiding preventable medication errors is a major issue and this is a major step making this possible in the future.

Another important thing that the drug agency added was that there is an estimate of about $4 billion to $4.8 billion dollars that are spent on medical errors and can be avoided by providing all the information necessary to the doctors to prevent those errors and this can be achieved through better labeling of the drugs.


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Kids Teeth Could Be Harmed With Cough Syrup

According to a new study that suggested that the children should brush their teeth after they swallow their cough syrup.

The researchers added that there are medications that are of a lot of help to the patient’s health, but they can be very bad for the teeth, so therefore one must maintain good oral habits at bedtime.

These findings are based on a study that involved a cough medicine that is involved in treating respiratory allergies. It was found that the syrup was pretty acidic and it had no fluoride but only a small amount of calcium in it and these are all the factors that could lead to tooth erosion.
In the study the team of researchers collected samples of tooth enamel and they dipped it in various solutions so as to stimulate the normal oral setting during the 24 hour period of time for about 10 days. The researchers found that the antihistamine syrup led to erosion in a few of the tooth samples to which the antihistamine was applied to, whereas the tooth samples to which the fluoride was applied showed signs of protected enamel and thus showed its capability of decreasing the effect of an erosive product.

The researchers wanted to warn the parents that they need to be aware long term use of the cough syrups that are acidic in nature can result to increased risk of tooth decay.

This effect of acid on teeth can occur in the same way if the children drink orange juice at nighttime, which leads to have them increased sugar, increased attack from acid producing bacteria and this leading to increased risk of decay.

The decaying can be prevented if good dental habits are maintained, so it is truly important that regular brushing is done so as to prevent the decaying of teeth.

The researchers also added that there is very little risk of decaying if the kids are on the cough syrups for a very short period of time.


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Inhaling Salt Water Improves Cystic Fibrosis

There was a recent research conducted that showed that people who are suffering from cystic fibrosis had improvement in their condition when they inhaled the salt water solution at least twice a day and there was reduction in half of the patients who used to get hospitalized with complications of cystic fibrosis and it improved their ability to clear the mucus from the lungs.

There was also included in the study that there was marked improvement in the lung function.
According to the statistics, there are about 30,000 children and young adults in the United States that are being affected by cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis is a fatal disease and in this disorder which causes a thick and sticky mucus to build up in the lungs. The inner surfaces of the lung in the patients with cystic fibrosis become dry, which makes the mucus both harder and stickier. During the normal process, the individual can cough up the mucus but in patients with cystic fibrosis the mucus does not come up that easily.

There was an incidental finding that the surfers who ride the waves and are suffering from cystic fibrosis had very fewer lung exacerbations.

This then led the researchers to think that this might have something to do with the salt water that the surfers who have cystic fibrosis have improved pulmonary functions.

The researchers added that the salt water adds a layer of lubricant to the inner lung surfaces and it rehydrates it and that helps make it a whole lot easier to clear the mucus.

The researchers conducted the study on 24 patients for 48 weeks and they found that the hypertonic saline were the ones who had the most benefit and on the other hand the patients who underwent treatment with amiloride, which is a diuretic drug to boost the hydration effect of salt water had no improvement at all.

It was found that people who had been getting the salt water through a nebulizer had marked improvement in lung function and they had about 56 percent fewer lung exacerbations.
The researchers also added that there is a whole lot need to perform more studies so that it could be learnt as to how the people would be able to tolerate the treatment.

It was also mentioned that the cystic fibrosis patients who are admitted for exacerbations at least one time a year can be reduced to half and this would be a whole big achievement.

The treatment with the salt water requires the patients to inhale it for about 15 minutes at a time. The researchers say that they need to find better ways of administering the drug for a less time possible.

This treatment can bring wonders for the patients who are suffering from the disastrous symptoms of cystic fibrosis and they will have a great chance to improve their quality of life.


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Take Your Temperatures Cautiously

A study was conducted by the nurses of University of Virginia where they mentioned that the mothers are right when they say that do not eat or drink anything before you take your temperature.

When we eat or drink, our temperatures change from baseline and this gives a false reading of our temperatures.

The research participants were given cold and hot beverages, and it was noted that the participants who consumed cold beverages, it took about 15 minutes to get their temperatures back to baseline, where on the other hand the participants who had hot beverages, it took them about 23 minutes to get their temperatures back to baseline.

Temperature is a vital sign that we take in an individual among blood pressure, respiration and pulse rate.

It is very important that the correct temperature is being recorded, as the variation in temperature is because of some pathologic process that is taking place in the body. Therefore taking the accurate temperature is one of the basic things.

The researchers also suggested that when a person plans to take their temperature, the individual must not be involved in any activities that may change body or mouth temperature and one must not exercise, smoke or chew gum before taking the temperature.

These researches have laid the foundation of evolving newer data and to identify ways as to how the health system, diagnosis and management and treatment can be delivered in the best possible way.

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Role Of Aspirin In Preventing Heart Disease

Aspirin plays a very different role in men and women from preventing them from heart diseases and strokes. In women, aspirin protects them from ischemic strokes, but they do not provide protection against myocardial infarction or death. On the other hand, aspirin provides men protection against myocardial infarction, but does not prevent them from strokes or cardiovascular mortality.

These results are derived from a meta-analysis study that was conducted in New York.

This is the first time ever that there is data available regarding women and there was no data that was available before for women and the doctors used to hesitate to prescribe aspirin for women. There was only data available on men regarding the use of aspirin. Therefore now it is much better as seen through the study that women can also use aspirin as men.

This study was conducted on 51,000 women and 44,000 men, and there were the differences in the cardioprotective effects between the two genders.

The common adverse effect that was found in both the sexes was that there was noted an incidence of major bleeding episodes.

The use of aspirin in the women was associated with a 12% reduction in cardiovascular events and about 17% reduction in stroke. There were no significant effects of aspirin that were reported on MI or cardiovascular mortality among women.

It has also been stated in the research that when an aspirin therapy is given for an average duration of 6.4 years, this resulted in an complete benefit with about cardiac events in 1000 women and about four events per 1000 men.

It has also been stated that the physicians must outweigh the risks and benefits of aspirin before they prescribe the aspirin therapy to any of the sexes.

The researchers also mentioned that as is reported in the study that there were very few cases of strokes in women and myocardial infarctions in men, it must be noted that the dose of aspirin, the duration for which it was used and the follow up was not uniform.


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Obesity Going High

Obesity is a world wide problem and it is on a constant rise. There is a research that was conducted in Canada and it showed that the Canadians who are obese are getting more obese.

The scientists still do not know as to why there is a constant rise in the population who are obese and getting more obese.

The researchers say that they do not yet know as to what is the exact cause of the steep high rise in the number of the obese people getting more obese, as well as the relation of the medical and the social factors that are contributing to this problem.

The researchers also added that it is really difficult to lose weight or even maintain weight when the person is at extremes level of obesity.

There was a study that was published in a journal, which mentioned that the people whose weight consists of 35 to 40 percent or more of fat have quadrupled since 1985.

There was a study that was released in 2004 in Canada where they found that about 7.8 percent of population was morbidly obese.

In those same statistics it was showed that there were about 36.1 percent of adults were overweight and there are another 23.1 percent who are obese and this makes the total to about 59.2 percent.

When the data was collected according to the ages, the children and adolescents between ages 2 and 17, there were about 26 percent who were overweight and about 8 percent who were obese and that makes the total to about 34 percent.

The research mentions that the Canadians are putting on weight much faster than they are taking it off. It also said that that the people who were overweight in 1994 had become obese by 2002. The rate with which the people gained back in the range of normal weight was about 10 percent.

The people who are morbidly obese are the ones who suffer a lot of health problems at a younger age, which include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, osteoarthritis, cancer and fertility issues.

It is also mentioned that when the person is obese, lifestyle changes do not help such as diet and exercise and the person needs drugs and bariatric surgery to control their weight.

There are a lot of other issues that the obese people face, which include not able to fit in the ambulances, wheelchairs etc.

Body mass index is an approximation of body fat, which is based on height and weight. It has been established that a person who has a body mass index of 25 or more is considered as an overweight individual, and a person who has a body mass index of 30 or more is called as obese.

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Inhaled insulin

There has been a recent development in the mode of delivery of the insulin treatment where the patients who are suffering from diabetes can now administer insulin in their body through inhalers and not have to inject that in their body.

During the last few weeks, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the new inhaled insulin that was being produced by Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company, which came in the market with the name of Exubera, which is the insulin treatment both for type 1 and type 2 diabetics. This is a new alternative that is there for people to use as it is pretty easy to get the required dosage of insulin through inhalers. This alternative is there for about 5 million people in America.

The pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, has not yet disclosed the price of the drug, Exubera. The company is thinking to bring the drug into the market in about six months or so. There is a general opinion by the analysts that this drug is going to be much expensive than the insulin injections. According to an estimate, the price of the drug, Exubera is expected to be at a price of about $4 a day, which is about three to four times more than the daily cost of insulin that is being administered through injection.

In order to briefly discuss about diabetes, it is a disease in which the insulin production is affected, which produces an imbalance of the sugar control in the body. The mechanism with which the Exubera works is that it is inhaled into the lungs and then it gets into the blood stream and controls the sugar in the blood. The pharmaceutical company says that the patients will be taking this medicine before each meal or at least three times a day to control their blood sugars.

As a word of caution, the doctors stated that there is no data yet to support the history and efficacy, as is established in case of injections; the people who are using the inhaled medicine should use this medicine cautiously.

Since Exubera is a high priced drug therefore it is going to be a lot expensive for the consumers to use, though on the other hand the insurance companies that are providing the prescription plans to their clients would prefer older remedies over the newer ones, as the new modes are expensive. If these medicines would be on the list of the companies, these medicines would be in an expensive tier, which is known as formulary. In this process the patients had to copay as high as $40 to $50 for Exubera, where for the injected insulin it would be $10 to $25.

Since the insulin dosage varies among different patients, each prescription of Exubera will include about 30 days of insulin.

This new discovery is going to bring a whole lot ease for the people and will improve the lifestyle and quality of life of a lot of people.


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Diet Pills On Shelves Now

There was a notification from the federal health advisers who voted and recommended that the sale of the weight loss pills should only be with a prescription.

The pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline are awaiting the final wording from the Food and Drug Administration to get approval on selling a nonprescription version of their diet pill, which is already being sell in the market under the brand name of Xenical.

It must be known that the Food and Drug Administration approval of the drug can take months before they can get to the shelves. The diet pills that were once available over the counter can now hit the shelves.

There were clinical trials that were run on the drug called orlistat and in that study there were people who were taking the placebo pills as well, it was found that the people who have been taking the placebo have not much difference in their weight, but the people who have been using orlistat have lost about 5.3 to 6.2 pounds more than what other categories lost who were taking the placebo. The company recommends that the people must take the pill only for about six months and not more than that.

Doctors state that the effect of the pill stops as soon as it is stopped and they also say that there is a very steep rise in weight of people who stop using the drugs. Therefore these drugs can be helpful but in the longer term they are not.

The specialists also added that people who use the drug to lose weight must also be on proper diet and exercise plan. The officials of the drug manufacturer company added that the effect of the drug is gradual, which is the best way of achieving the weight loss. It is also being said that this drug will help people control the calorie intake and modify their diet.

The nutritionist suggest that it is possible that we can diet and exercise and lose our weight in a natural way and that is the best route possible, though we can use the pills as an adjunct but not solely as a mode to lose weight without the diet and exercise regimen.

As a general estimate the orlistat costs the users of it about $12 to $25 a week and there was an estimate given by the company that there are about 6 million Americans a year who are buying the drug and there are about 22 million people who have used orlistat in the prescription form all over the world.

The mechanism of action of orlistat is that when it is taken with meals, this blocks the absorption of fat that is consumed and the fat just passes out of the body in stools and are loose or oily as a result of this medication. The side effects of this medicine includes gas, incontinence and oily spotting. The side effects were reported in about half of the patients that took part in the study.

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Dogs Can Do Wonders

It has been long known that dogs have amazing sniffing powers and are used to sniff out explosives, narcotics, and they are also known for their powers of sniffing out fake money.

A new research has been conducted where it is shown that dogs can detect lung and breast cancer through breath samples.

It has always been a wonder when there are devices or gadgets that were invented who have the ability to detect cancer in its earliest stages. It has always been a prime need to detect cancer in its early stages so that lives could be saved and the people who are suffering from cancer can be provided with good quality of life and now with dogs have the ability to sniff out cancer through breath samples in its earliest stages can provide an amazing help to the people who might have to go through the tough and prolonged treatment process with poor prognosis.

The researchers think that dogs would be the most important tool in recognizing tumor at a very early stage and the canines can pick up on the chemical differences that linger in the breath samples of an individual who is suffering from cancer.

The dogs that were trained to identify cancers at early stages were Labrador and the two Portuguese water dogs that were trained in three weeks by either laying or sitting after they have sniffed on the breath samples that were taken from the lung or breast cancer patients, while they were trained to ignore the healthy individuals.

These are ordinary household pets who have the power to sniff out cancers in individuals.

The research was conducted on a total of 169 breath samples that were collected in special tubes, out of which 55 patients were with lung cancer and 31 patients had breast cancer and about 83 people were healthy.

The cancer patients were the ones who were already being diagnosed through the conventional ways, either by CT scans or mammograms and were about to start the chemotherapy program. These samples to which the dogs identified the cancer patients were new and they were not exposed to them earlier during training.

It was shown that through the research that dogs were about 88 to 97 percent correct in identifying both early and late stage breast and lung cancers.

This study is yet to appear in March this year.

The best thing that will happen is that there will be a chance for more people to live a healthy life after the deadly cancers have been diagnosed at an early stage, as it is impossible to save a life when the cancers progress to advanced stages.

This ability of dogs with which they can detect cancer was discovered in 1989 and they were known to detect melanoma and bladder cancers.

The researchers are planning to start and develop the canine training centers where they can train dogs and can train them to detect different cancers.

The time the dogs took to detect cancer was very less, and the accuracy level that they gave was way high after such a short time of training.

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