Archive for the ‘Public Health’ Category
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
A recent study published in the journal Health Affairs reported what anyone who has recently gone to an emergency room already knows; waiting times to be seen are increasing. The average wait time has increased by 36 percent or 30 minutes per patient. Fully one quarter of patients ...
Posted in Emergencies, News, Public Health | 226 Comments »
Monday, January 7th, 2008
Concerns regarding the link between childhood vaccinations and the development of autism have existed for some time. It has been suggested that the preservative Thimerosal, which contains mercury, that had been prevalent in vaccines prior to 2000 may be a causative factor. However, this relationship has never been proven, ...
Posted in Cognitive Dysfunction, Preventative Medicine, Psychiatry, Public Health, pediatrics | 66 Comments »
Friday, January 4th, 2008
A recent study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that almost 50% of internists polled in Chicago have prescribed their patients placebos during their career. Placebos are pill containing no actual medicine, just an inert substance like Dextrose ("sugar pills"). Many of those MD's ...
Posted in News, Pharmacology, Preventative Medicine, Psychiatry, Public Health | 1942 Comments »
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
A recent series of two studies was conducted to hopefully lend further support for the use of steroids (dexamethasone - not anabolic steroids illegally used by athletes) along with antibiotics in the treatment of bacterial meningitis. Researchers unfortunately found that the steroids were of no benefit - contradicting more positive ...
Posted in Emergencies, Infectious Disease, Neurology, Pharmacology, Public Health, Race | No Comments »
Friday, December 7th, 2007
A recent study from Denmark looked at the effect of the consumption of cow's milk on the foetus during pregnancy. The investigators collected data on diet from women in mid-gestation and then follow up post partum data via interviews. In those women who drank >6 glasses per day, there was a strong association ...
Posted in Diet, News, Pregnancy, Public Health | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
A large study recently published looked at Emergency Department vists for older adults caused by reactions or toxicity to certain medications. Between 2004 and 2005, a total of 177,504 visits to the ER were caused by adverse reactions to drugs in patients over 65. The top three offenders were Warfarin ...
Posted in Emergencies, News, Pharmacology, Public Health, toxicology | 3 Comments »
Friday, November 30th, 2007
A recent study published in the British Medical Journal found that simple policies such as regular hand-washing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns, may be more effective than drugs to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses such as influenza and SARS. This is of interest since in Britain, there is an ...
Posted in Hygiene, Infectious Disease, Influenza, Public Health, Viruses | No Comments »