Medscape Public Health & Prevention Headlines

House Passes Healthcare Reform Bill

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 01:03:47 EST

In the face of near unanimous Republican opposition and a last-ditch effort to make changes, the US House of Representatives voted 220 to 215 for legislation to overhaul the nation's healthcare system.
Medscape Medical News

Infant Rotavirus Vaccine Reduced Diarrhea-Related Hospitalizations, ED Visits, and Outpatient Visits

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 14:56:32 EST

The pentavalent rotavirus vaccine is safe and effective and greatly reduces resource use and expenditures related to diarrheal illness in infants younger than 1 year of age.
Medscape Medical News

Dutch Pull Pfizer Vaccine Batch After Infants Die

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 18:13:39 EST

Dutch authorities say they have banned use of a batch of Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) Prevenar, or Prevnar, after three infants died within two weeks of receiving the anti-infection vaccination.
Reuters Health Information

PTSD Linked to Patient-Reported Cardiovascular Health Status

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 14:01:12 EST

In the Heart and Soul Study of patients with heart disease, posttaumatic stress disorder was more associated with patient-reported cardiovascular health status vs objective cardiac function measures.
Medscape Medical News

Varenicline Effective for Highly Nicotine-Dependent Smokers With COPD

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:32:27 EST

Varenicline was associated with a 42.3% quit rate at 40 weeks for the hard-to-treat population of smokers with mild to moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Medscape Medical News

Gram-Negative Hospital Infections Now Showing Resistance to Polymixin B

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:03:41 EST

Resistance is slowly growing to polymixin B, a drug once rejected but brought back to life to treat the growing numbers of resistant gram-negative infections in hospitalized patients.
Medscape Medical News

A Successful Campaign Against Antibiotic Overuse

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:02:36 EST

Antibiotic overuse was addressed by a multiyear national program that was successful in reducing use. Commentary offered by John G. Bartlett, MD.
Medscape Infectious Diseases

Limiting Working Hours May Compromise Surgeons' Education and Patient Care

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 11:56:16 EST

Reducing the number of hours physicians in training can work may compromise their education and put care of patients in jeopardy, surgeons warn.
Medscape Medical News

Video Intervention May Improve Treatment for Partners of Teen Girls With Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 11:49:12 EST

In a randomized controlled trial, girls assigned to a community-specific video intervention were 3 times more likely to have their partners treated than those in the control group.
Medscape Medical News

Obesity Linked to Many Cancer Cases in U.S.

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 11:22:11 EST

Researchers say excess body fat may be a cause of multiple cancers.
WebMD Health News

Most Medicaid Programs Fail to Provide Unrestricted Access to Smoking Cessation Therapies

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 10:06:25 EST

Although the majority of state Medicaid programs offer coverage for some tobacco-dependence treatment, the majority fall far short of a stated mandate to provide unrestricted access to therapies.
Medscape Medical News

Newer Fluoroquinolones May Improve Outcome in Extensively Drug-Resistant TB

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:57:23 EST

Later-generation fluoroquinolones, such as levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and sparfloxacin, show efficacy in the treatment of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB).Later-generation fluoroquinolones, such as levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and sparfloxacin, show efficacy in the treatment of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB).
Medscape Medical News

Prehospital Triage "Immediately Successful" in Boosting Rates of Thrombolytic Therapy for Stroke

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:56:01 EST

Toronto researchers report that a citywide prehospital protocol raised their rates of thrombolytic treatment to among the highest in North America, underlining, they say, the critical importance of organized stroke care.
Medscape Medical News

"Striking Increase" in Papillary Thyroid Cancer in Volcanic Area

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 07:17:17 EST

The identification of the elements within the volcanic environment that might be responsible could eventually help in developing prevention measures, say researchers.
Medscape Medical News

Status of State Electronic Disease Surveillance Systems -- United States, 2007

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST

This study, a first look at the status of implementation of state electronic disease surveillance systems, hints there is considerable room for improvement.
Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report

Meningococcal Vaccines: A Neglected Topic in Travel Medicine?

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST

Awareness of the risk for meningococcal disease among travelers is generally poor, even though case fatality rates are high and the disease can be fatal within 24 hours.
Expert Review of Vaccines

FDA Launches Program to Reduce Drug-Related Injuries

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 17:49:39 EST

The FDA has announced the launch of the Safe Use Initiative program to reduce drug-related injuries from patient errors or procedural errors by pharmacies or other healthcare providers.
Medscape Medical News

Will There Ever Be a Big Brown Ribbon Outside the White House?

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 15:52:42 EST

In his latest video blog, Dr. John Marshall questions why the pink ribbon/breast cancer awareness promotion attracts more publicity than any other disease campaign.
Medscape Hematology-Oncology

Statins Associated With Lower Risk for Death Among Hospitalized Influenza Patients

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 14:54:24 EST

Statin users hospitalized for influenza experienced a 54% lower risk for death than patients not taking statins.
Medscape Medical News

Vaccine Effective for HPV-Related Vulvar Intraepithelial Neoplasia

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 13:18:31 EST

An experimental vaccine induced a high rate of response in women with human papillomavirus (HPV)-16-positive, high-grade vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia.
Medscape Medical News