Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA articles from April 2000

Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA archives from April 2000

CDC Reports Increased Incidence in the U.S. from 1993-1998.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Cases of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne tropical disease marked by excruciating muscle and joint pain, rose sharply in the United States from 1993 to 1998, the government said. Increased travel,...

Vaccine May Make Booster.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- The widely used chickenpox vaccine seems to reactivate itself when an individual's immunity lessens, possibly creating its own booster mechanism, researchers have discovered. The vaccine, called Oka, was...

Overweight Is Serious Health Issue for Navajos.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- The results of a recent study show that overweight is a major public health concern for the Navajo population that begins in childhood. Additionally, Navajo children are heavier today than they were 10 years...

Study Disproves Myths About Herpes.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Dr. Anna Wald, a researcher at the University of Washington, says people with genital herpes could be infectious even when they do not realize they are shedding virus People infected with genital herpes...

Compliance with Screening for Methicillin-Resistant Staph. aureus Only Moderate.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers from the McGill University Hospital in Montreal, Canada, recently conducted a study examining hospital compliance with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) screening. They...

Multidrug Susceptibility Tests May Help Diagnose Community-Acquired Staph. aureus.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Reviewing multiple susceptible methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may help detect community-acquired MRSA infection, according to a recent study. "Community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) is...

Healthy Start Program Effective in Reducing Fat Consumption among Children.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- A two-year nutrition education and food service intervention program called "Healthy Start" resulted in lower-fat meals and reduced fat intake among preschool children. Christine L. Williams and...

Low Immunization Rate Among Health Care Workers Associated with Outbreak.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- In a recent study concerning influenza outbreak in a hospital setting, researchers reported that close to half of health care workers did not want to be vaccinated and this may have been a contributing factor...

Targeted Screening for Resistance as Sensitive and More Cost-Effective than Systematic Strategy.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- A recent study examining methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus screening strategies suggests screening targeted to at-risk patients is as sensitive and more cost-effective than a systematic screening...

ALS Association Applauds Launch of U.S. Study.(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association (ALSA) extends its full support and gratitude to those Federal agencies, led by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Department of Defense...

Symposium Will Address Controlling Airborne Infection in Hospitals Using Engineering-Based Approach.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Controlling airborne infection in hospitals using engineering measures is the focus of a unique one-day symposium to be held at the University of Leeds, Leeds, U.K., on July 12, 2000. Organized by a...

FDA Advisory Panel Votes Triage BNP Test Not Approvable.
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Biosite Diagnostics, Inc. (BSTE), San Diego, California, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Toxicology Device Panel has voted not to approve the...

Internet-Based Software Application Launched.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- PPD Discovery, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PPD, Inc. (PPDI), Wilmington, North Carolina, announced the release of First Pass, an internet-based software application used to outline the parameters and costs...

Epilepsy Foundation Applauds Clearance for Zonegran.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Citing its recent report on the large number of people still having seizures despite the treatment they are getting for epilepsy, the Epilepsy Foundation welcomed news of the regulatory clearance of Zonegran...

FDA Approves Zonegran as Add-On Therapy to Control Seizures.
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Elan Corporation, plc (ELN), Dublin, Ireland, announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market Zonegran (zonisamide) capsules, an anti-epilepsy drug. ...

Innovations in Diagnosis and Management of Vascular Disease Discussed.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has the potential to revolutionize clinical practice by offering a cost-effective and rapid method to diagnose and manage vascular disease when used with novel contrast agents...

Patent Granted for Standardization of Saw Palmetto.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- PharmaPrint Inc. (PPRT), Irvine, California, announced the issuance of U.S. Patent Number 6,039,950 for its PharmaPrint Process technology for saw palmetto. The company has previously announced a notice...

FDA Advisory Committee Recommends Approval of Zyvox.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee has recommended approval of Zyvox (linezolid injection, tablets, and oral suspension Pharmacia & Upjohn) for the treatment...

Free Hepatitis C Screenings for Veterans Conducted.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- In response to growing evidence that U.S. veterans are at increased risk for hepatitis C, the American Liver Foundation, in conjunction with several Veterans Service Organizations in select cities, conducted...

FDA "Approvable" Letter for Balsalazide Disodium Announced.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2000... 2000 APR 11 - (NewsRx.com) -- Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (SLX), Palo Alto, California, announced the receipt of an "approvable" letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the company's new drug application (NDA)...

Syphilis Appears to be a Cofactor for Women with HIV.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to a study reported recently in AIDS, the sexually transmitted disease syphilis tends to reflect a risk for HIV in certain geographical areas of the United States. Researchers at the U.S....

Dramatic Reduction in New HIV Infections Reported Among Injecting Drug Users in New York City.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers announced that there has been a sharp drop in the rate of new HIV infections among injecting drug users in New York City. During the 1980s, the rate of new infections was 4% to 5% per year...

Microbiologic Survey Turns Up Variety of Bacteria in Nursing Homes.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Cultures from residents in long-term care facilities in the U.S. grew a variety of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The finding has implications for antibiotic resistance. Researchers conducted a...

Study Finds Quarter of Cesarean Sections May Be Performed Too Early in Labor.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Nearly one quarter of women undergoing cesarean section (c-sections) may have had the procedure too early in their labor, according to a new Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) study. The...

Approval of New Drugs Takes Longer in Canada than Other Countries.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- New research published in Canadian Medical Association Journal says that the time required for new drugs to be approved in Canada is significantly longer than the required times in Sweden, the United Kingdom,...

Clogged Vessels Seen in AIDS Patients with Risk Factors.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- A multi-center study led by scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that the advent of thrombosis in AIDS patients is associated with certain risk factors. The...

Antibiotic Use Cut by Education and Policy Change.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- The use of broad-spectrum intravenous (IV) antibiotics was significantly reduced in an Australian hospital by educating medical staff and pharmacists and revising antibiotic policy, according to a recent...

Use of Vancomycin Benchmark Data Elicits Practice Changes.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- New research concludes that benchmarking vancomycin use data may be successful in leading hospitals to make practice changes related to use of the drug. After previously reporting that high rates of...

Hospital Sets Benchmark for Staff Flu Shots.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- As a result of an Ontario hospital's efforts to increase staff influenza vaccinations, a benchmark 84% response rate was achieved. Because flu vaccines among health care workers not only protect patients...

Vaccination Rates Increase for U.S. Health Care Workers.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, recently conducted a study on the trends of influenza vaccination (IV) among health care workers (HCWs). F.J....

Outbreak Effectively Controlled.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers recently reported on the effective control of an influenza A outbreak on a bone marrow transplant (BMT) unit at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City. The...

Bacterial Infection Straining Hospital Bed Resources.(Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus aureus)(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers studying a Canadian tertiary care center, found that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is causing a strain on hospital bed utilization. J.M. Embil and colleagues from the...

Effects of Tea Tree Oil as Decolonization Agent Examined.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- In a recent pilot study researchers examined the clinical efficacy of tea tree oil in the eradication of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). They found a combination of tea tree oil...

Researchers Attempt to Identify Characteristics.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- In a recent study from the United States, researchers attempted to identify characteristics of patients with suspected infection due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). N.A. Rezende and...

Alcohol-Based Handrub Improves Hand Hygiene.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- A recent study found that hand hygiene (HH) compliance increased in intensive care units (ICUs) when workers took advantage of alcohol-based handrubs (ABHs). Since adequate HH is the primary way to...

Campaign Improves Handwashing Compliance.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- A recent study found that when health professionals participated in the development of a persuasive campaign geared toward handwashing, that their actual rate of handwashing increased significantly. ...

Finger-Stick Device Transmits Hepatitis C Virus to Patients.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers recently reported on a cluster of patients who acquired hepatitis C virus (HCV) from a finger-stick device. Patients who became infected via this method of transmission were all treated at the...

Precautions Against Hepatitis C Crucial for Radiology Centers.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- A study presented at a recent conference on nosocomial infections suggests that health care workers who work in radiology wards or centers should be particularly vigilant about taking preventive precautions...

Antibiotics Often Unnecessarily Prescribed.(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Scientists say that antibiotics are overused in the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and that education on URTI management would help to decrease this overuse. Realizing that...

FDA Approves Stomach 'Pacemaker'.(Enterra implant)(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- Jennifer S. was a healthy mother of three when suddenly she got a mysterious stomach disorder that literally was starving her to death. She simply could not hold down any food and her weight dropped from 157...

Pneumococcal Vaccine Becomes Available.(Prevnar)(Brief Article)
April 18, 2000... 2000 APR 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of a new vaccine developed specifically for infants and toddlers is expected to have a significant impact in the number of cases of pneumococcal...