DC Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blog

Officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to investigate an ongoing multi-state outbreak of a strain of salmonella known as Salmonella Saintpaul, believed to be linked to the consumption of certain types of raw tomatoes.  The Washington Post reports that investigators are looking at jalapeno peppers and ingredients used to make salsa, such as cilantro and serrano peppers as possible causes of the salmonella outbreak.  Tomatoes will continue to be investigated as well. 

Rotavirus cases in the current 2007-2008 season showed up much later than usual and have been less severe, overall, than during any previous season on record, according to an interim report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Electronic medical record systems have been touted as the wave of the future in healthcare and research has demonstrated their value in preventing medical errors.  According to new data published in the New England Journal of Medicine, however, only 4% of physicians have extensive, fully-functioning electronic systems, and only 13% have even a basic system.

Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, has recently sued the FDA over the organization's failure to respond to a petition addressing the risks of prescribing Darvon, Darvocet, and other medications containing propoxyphene.  Public Citizen filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC alleging the FDA's failure to respond to their petition to ban the drug within the six months mandated by law.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 23 U.S. companies and two international manufacturers have been warned to cease their production and marketing of fraudulent cancer remedies.  The agency is also warning consumers not to purchase the products, which include ingredients such as bloodroot, coral calcium, cesium, shark cartilage and Cat's Claw, among others. 

The reliability of mammography results varies significantly between medical facilities, according to new research published in a recent edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).  Even more importantly, certain organizational characteristics tend to predict which facilities will return a more accurate reading.

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), over 20 million adults and children are living with diabetes, and another 54 million are affected by pre-diabetes.  Type 2 diabetes is the most common type (between 90-95% of all diabetes cases) and is often referred to as adult-onset diabetes.  It occurs when the body can no longer process insulin properly, which may lead to hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.

The ADA has issued new guidelines lowering the glucose level range for what is considered pre-diabetes and diabetes and recommends all adults over the age of 45 have their blood sugar screened every three years.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) -- a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recently launched an educational campaign to encourage patients (particularly those 50 years of age or older) to speak openly with their primary care providers about complementary and alternative medicines.  The campaign, known as Time to Talk, focuses on medical practices and products that aren't presently considered to be conventional medicine -- items such as herbal supplements, meditation and acupuncture.

Bacterial infections such as E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus -- sometimes acquired in medical facilities -- may be responsible for many cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).  The finding is the result of new research published in a recent edition of the British medical journal The Lancet.

According to statistics reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost one in three Americans will develop shingles (herpes zoster) during their lifetime.  The disease is particularly dangerous to people over age 60 and those who are immunocompromised.  Fortunately, there is a way to reduce the risk of developing shingles and the long-term pain that often follows an outbreak of the disease.

Women who quit smoking lower their risk of dying from coronary heart disease by 47% within five years of smoking their last cigarette.  The risks associated with dying from other smoking-related diseases also decreases, but after different lengths of time, depending on the disease.  The findings are the result of new research recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

In the hottest months of summer the shimmering of a clear, blue pool of water can seem like the best part of the season.  Unfortunately, swimming pools can harbor strains of bacteria that can ruin your summer vacation if you're not careful.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated the week of May 19 - 25, 2008 as Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week.  The event is designed to draw attention to the potential dangers posed by improperly maintained swimming pools and the importance of healthy swimming practices. 

The 2008 edition of the schedule of recommended immunizations for people 18 years of age and younger has been posted by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) -- a division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The advisory committee releases new recommendations annually to reflect changes in vaccine formulations and current recommendations for the use of licensed vaccines. 

This summer, don't wait until the last few busy weeks before fall school registration begins to make your child's vaccination appointment -- schedule an appointment now, and enjoy a safer summer. 

Changes from the 2007 immunization schedule are as follows:

A recent survey conducted in 13 states and the District of Columbia has indicated that most people lack awareness of the 5 most common stroke symptoms.  According to researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that lack of awareness could lead to critical delays in life-saving treatment.  Prompt treatment following the onset of a stroke is critical in saving brain tissue and improving functional outcomes for survivors.

Elevated levels of allergens in the home are associated with asthma symptoms in allergic individuals, and asthmatics who experience allergies may improve their health by reducing allergen exposures.  The findings are the result of new research published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and reported in a recent press release by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Those who routinely work outdoors in the sun face a higher rate of skin cancer due to repeated overexposure to the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.  Recent research, however, has found that outdoor workers such as those in construction, forestry, fishing and farming fields are among the least likely people to be screened by medical professionals for skin cancer.

Regular mammography reduces the risk of being diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer in women 80 years of age or older, but only about 20% of U.S. women over 80 have regular mammograms.  The finding is the result of new research published in a recent edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.  Authors of the study note that women over 80 years of age account for 17% of all breast cancer cases in the U.S.

A newly updated annual ranking of state medical boards by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has revealed widespread discrepancies in both the numbers of disciplinary actions taken against physicians' licenses, and the rates of those disciplinary actions from state to state.  Though the specific numbers have changed again this year, a pronounced trend of significant discrepancies between individual states has held constant for years.  Unless geography influences a physician's competence, these state-by-state discrepancies point to a dangerously inadequate national system of physician oversight -- one that could conceivably allow dangerous, incompetent physicians to continue to practice medicine by moving from state to state.

New hemoglobin-based artificial blood -- still unapproved for use in the U.S., but heavily studied -- appears to raise a patient's risk of heart attack and death according to an exhaustive review of clinical research data.  This latest research was published in a recent edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).  The findings have spurred critics to allege that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put clinical trial participants in imminent danger by failing to detect or act on research data illustrating significant increases in the rates of heart attack and death reported in trials of these blood substitutes.

Melanoma is one of the deadliest skin cancers, but new research demonstrates that melanomas located on the scalp or neck are even twice as deadly as those found on other parts of the body.  The finding is the result of a study published in a recent edition of the medical journal Archives of Dermatology. 

The American Heart Association has issued new pediatric recommendations that call for heart fitness screenings prior to stimulant treatment for all children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).  The new patient safety guidelines were published in a recent issue of the journal Circulation -- official journal of the American Heart Association -- and they address growing fears that stimulant medications can cause serious heart complications in children with underlying, undiagnosed heart disease.

New figures released by the federal government have revealed a steep and potentially deadly spike of a serious, hospital-based infection that gives patients blood poisoning and sometimes incurable diarrhea.  This latest public health research data, released by the U.S.Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) shows an increase of 200% in the prevalence of Clostridium difficile (C. Diff.) infections among U.S. hospital patients between the years of 2000 and 2005.

Heart attack patients who arrive at a hospital during regular weekday hours tend to receive faster, higher-quality care than those who show up in the evenings, over the weekend or on holidays, according to new research published in a recent edition of the medical journal Circulation.

The first biological indication that a man will face a higher risk of heart disease than a woman of equivalent age appears as early as adolescence, according to new research published in the medical journal Circulation.   The finding is somewhat unexpected, as boys tend to lose body fat and gain muscle during adolescence, while girls tend to gain body fat.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) -- the sexually-transmitted virus responsible for cervical cancer in thousands of women -- has now been implicated in a rapidly increasing rate of mouth and throat cancers among young men.  Researchers are hoping that a recently-approved HPV vaccine will soon be approved for boys, and tested for its effectiveness in preventing head and neck cancers.  A news article in a recent edition of the Baltimore Sun features Dr. Maura Gillison, an oncologist at Johns Hopkins University's Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, whose research has been credited with linking the virus and tumors.

Nalgene Outdoor Products will stop using its trademark plastic to produce water bottles following the release of new research linking one of its main ingredients to precancerous tumors, urinary tract problems and an early onset of puberty in laboratory animals.  According to the New York Times, the sporting goods company made the decision to drop bisphenol-a (better known as BPA) from the ingredients list of its popular, hard, plastic bottles after the Canadian government moved to declare the chemical toxic.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that some flavors of the dietary supplements "Total Body Formula" and "Total Body Mega Formula" have been found to contain dangerously high levels of selenium -- a naturally-occurring mineral that is toxic in high doses.  The sole distributer of the product, Total Body Essential Nutrition, Inc., has issued a voluntary recall. 

This year's flu season was worse that the previous three, partly because the flu vaccine didn't effectively defend people against the viruses that made them sick, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The flu season started slowly this year, peaked in February, and seems to finally be declining.

A Mumps comeback in the U.S. in 2006 was alarming in its severity, and the disease may now take several years to completely eradicate, according to federal public health experts.  Interestingly, the viral outbreak occurred despite the routine administration of a second dose of a mumps vaccine throughout the early 1990s.  These findings were reported in a recent edition of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).  Among other data presented in the article is the fact that 84% of people between 18 and 24 years of age who contracted Mumps during the outbreak had already been given the second recommended dose of MMR vaccine -- a dose that should have protected them from Mumps.

New U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for oversight of "off-label" drug use -- still in draft form and unfinalized -- could allow pharmaceutical companies to market more drugs for unapproved uses.  The proposed guidelines are a step in the wrong direction according to Dr. Randall Stafford, an associate professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center.  His concern for patient safety was articulated in a recent edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Physicians treating chest pain in patients who are young, or in those who have no obvious risk factors for heart disease, should ask those patients about their potential cocaine use.  The advice is a key recommendation by the American Heart Association (AHA), recently published in the medical journal Circulation. 

If you see someone suffer a heart attack and go unconscious, immediately dial 9-1-1 and begin pushing on his or her chest as hard and as often as you can -- don't stop until someone else can take over, or until paramedics arrive.  Those are the latest instructions from the American Heart Association (AHA), which is now confident that hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be done in an emergency, even by people who have no CPR training.  Throat sweeping and mouth-to-mouth emergency breathing are still recommended, but not for bystanders -- those components are only encouraged for trained medical personnel.  The organization's new position appears in the March 29 issue of the medical journal Circulation.

This season, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) is advising the public to take the same summer sun precautions that it has recommended for years to prevent skin cancer -- despite some claims to the contrary.

Body art (including practices like tattooing and piercing) is a popular form of self-expression.  These permanent markings are typically created by professional artists, but the health and safety regulations they must follow vary according to the city, county or state regulations under which they practice.   Furthermore, certain aspects of body art, such as tattooing, entail unavoidable health risks, such as exposure to inks and dyes that have never been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use on human skin.  Some of those inks have also been known to react badly when exposed to diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

A complex assortment of pharmaceutical drugs has been found in the drinking water supplies of tens of millions of Americans, according to a recent Associated Press investigation.  The contamination affects the drinking water supplies of at least 24 major metropolitan areas across the U.S., including the DC Metro area.

Emergency Room patients treated for severe asthma often continue to have poorly controlled symptoms as much as one month afterward, according to new research published in a recent issue of  Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

West Nile virus infections can lead to significant long-term health problems, including mental and functional impairment and depression, according to data from an ongoing National Institutes of Health study recently presented at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta, Georgia.  The research data collected thus far, as reported by Reuters Health, suggests that the most common long-term symptoms include fatigue, weakness, depression, personality changes, difficulty walking, memory loss and blurry vision.

It has previously been documented that humans and dogs can infect one another with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but it now appears that humans and cats can spread the virulent bacteria back and forth between one another, as well.  What may be the first documented instance of such transmission has been reported in a recent edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. 

Nearly 10% of U.S. military personnel deployed to Afghanistan are not suitable candidates for mefloquine, an anti-malaria drug commonly administered by the military.  The drug is also known by its trade name Lariam.  The finding is the result of research published in a recent edition of Malaria Journal. 

An American woman's risk of developing particular skin cancers is influenced by where she lives, according to a new study published in a recent edition of Archives of Internal Medicine.

National survey findings released this month demonstrate that although most adults are aware of serious eye diseases commonly associated with visual impairment, they lack critical knowledge concerning how and when to seek timely detection and treatment of those diseases.  The Survey of Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Eye Health and Disease, was jointly sponsored by the National Eye Institute (NEI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF).  Conducted in 2005, the survey data was made available just this month. 

Colorectal cancer affects both men and women, and accounts for more deaths annually than all other cancers except lung cancer.  According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), colorectal cancer is most often diagnosed in people who are 50 years of age or older, and the risk of being diagnosed increases with age. 

World Kidney Day is observed on March 13th in 70 countries and 6 continents, according to the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the Internation Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF).  It's a day designated for raising international awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease, and the critical health consequences that often accompany it, such as heart attack and stroke.

Reducing the television and computer time of obese children by half can subsequently reduce the amount of food they eat and help them lose weight -- even if those children don't increase their physical activity at all.  The finding is the result of a new study published in a recent edition of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

A diet rich in fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains is an excellent defense against many chronic diseases -- even some cancers -- but routinely including them in your diet can seem challenging.  University of Michigan dietary experts advise this approach:  Include them for just one day.  One day of healthy lifestyle choices, they reason, can give you the perspective and direction needed to stay the course.  Erica Wald, registered dietitian for the University of Michigan's health promotion division, provides the following suggestions for eating healthier and removing many processed foods from your diet:

Children who grow up breathing traffic-polluted air have lower IQs and score lower on other types of intelligence and memory tests than kids who breathe higher quality air.  The finding is the result of research conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Patients suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are every bit as likely to have correlative long-term health complications as patients who have chronic disease risk factors such as elevated white blood cell counts and other biological symptoms -- but most physicians fail to screen for PTSD in the same manner that they would screen for other risk factors.  The finding is the result of recent research conducted at the Geisinger Health System and published in a recent edition of the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.

Some over-the-counter dietary supplements have been found to contain hormonal ingredients that speed up the development of colon cancer and also make important cancer-treating drugs less effective.  The finding is the result of recent research conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and published in a recent edition of Clinical Cancer Research.

An industry-wide culture of long hours, speedy service and staffing shortages contributes to millions of potentially serious medication errors in pharmacies across the United States, according to a recent investigative article by USA Today.

A new study conducted at Seattle Children's Hospital indicates that many children hosptalized with influenza have had a recent prior hospitalization that would have provided an opportunity to receive the flu vaccine.  Complete results of the study appear in a recent issue of Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

February is American Heart Month, but a report issued this month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that alarming numbers of adults do not recognize the warning signs and symptoms of heart attacks and strokes. 

Nighttime noise from airports or busy streets raises the blood pressure of sleeping people, even if the noise never awakens them from sleep.  The finding is the result of recent research by scientists at Imperial College London which appears in the current issue of European Heart Journal. 

Health complications during pregnancy can be scary and complicated, not to mention fatal.  Fortunately, there are a number of well-understood pregnancy-related health risks that can be eliminated through education and careful prevention measures.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offer the following infection prevention tips to ensure prenatal health, in observance of National Prenatal Infection Prevention Month:

February is National Children's Dental Health Month, and a great time to stress the importance of oral hygiene to your children, and ensure that they're brushing correctly and routinely, and keeping regularly-scheduled dental check-up appointments.  To help foster good oral health among children, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry offers the following information and advice regarding children's dental visits:

Approximately 36,000 U.S. deaths are attributed to the flu annually, but seeing your physician at the first signs of flu may not be as beneficial as you think -- last year, thousands of primary care physicians prescribed flu drugs that were known to be ineffective.  Furthermore, 88% of the influenza lab tests ordered last year produced false positive results nearly 30% of the time.  The findings are the result of research recently published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) -- a publication of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection affects 1 in 150 live births in the U.S., and 1 in 750 newborns suffer lifelong, debilitating injuries such as hearing loss, vision loss or cognitive impairment as a result of those infections.  Preventing CMV infection in babies can be as simple as instructing new mothers to wash their hands thoroughly after diaper changes -- 90% of OB-GYNs report their knowledge of this fact, but only 60% routinely counsel patients regarding hand-washing.  Only 44% counsel their patients specifically about CMV prevention.  These findings are the result of research published recently in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a publication of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Any serious football fan will tell you, the excitement of Super Bowl Sunday can make your heart skip a beat.  New cardiovascular research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests it could be true.

National Wear Red Day, observed on February 1st, is one component of a national awareness campaign called The Heart Truth, aimed at improving public understanding of women's heart disease risks.  The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute encourages men and women alike to wear red on the 1st of February as an act of national solidarity and to remind people that heart disease is consistently the number one killer of women.

Silvery dental fillings containing mercury have no effect on children's brain development or neurological status, according to a team of international researchers whose report will appear in the February edition of the Journal of the American Dental Association, according to an American Dental Association press release.

People who are overweight and who lower their weight substantially experience increased cardiovascular health as a result, regardless of whether they lose weight by eating less or exercising more.  The finding is the result of recent research conducted by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine, and published in the American Journal of Physiology.