Safety

Alerts for safety of heart device

Heart devices may go wrong sometimes.There has been a rise in the number of safety warnings concerning devices that regulate the heart rhythm. Many depend on either a pacemaker or an implantable defibrillator to keep their heart beating rhythimically. However sophisticated and accurate devices they may be, sometimes they to do go wrong. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Ho...

Surgery a safety in senility

Elderly patients with heart disease are twice as likely to have a better quality of life after an operation than with medication, research suggests. Researchers in a Swiss study looked at patients with an average age of 80 who suffered from chronic angina. Doctors either gave them medication, or referred them for an angioplasty - a treatment where a fine tube with a small inflatable b...

Surgery a safety in senility

Elderly patients with heart disease are twice as likely to have a better quality of life after an operation than with medication, research suggests. Researchers in a Swiss study looked at patients with an average age of 80 who suffered from chronic angina.// Doctors either gave them medication, or referred them for an angioplasty - a treatment where a fine tube with a small inflatable...

Surgery a safety in senility

Elderly patients with heart disease are twice as likely to have a better quality of life after an operation than with medication, research suggests. Researchers in a Swiss study looked at patients with an average age of 80 who suffered from chronic angina.// Doctors either gave them medication, or referred them for an angioplasty - a treatment where a fine tube with a small inflatable...

New standards for Human Research Safety

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations and the National Committee for Quality Assurance recently announced plans to set up a program to review the safety of clinical tests// in humans. This announcement came close on the heels of U.S. officials moving to suspend gene therapy studies pending an investigation of side effects in a French study, which found a cure for "bubble...

Safety of soy under suspicion

A new study by scientists at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health has caused concerns about the safety of soya. The scientists have called for urgent research into the impact of soya on unborn children following tests on rats which suggest a chemical in soya can damage the male reproductive organs. Though there is no evidence to suggest it has a similar effect on humans, its effects on rats...

The Safety Of Prenatal Ultrasounds Questioned

Repeated ultrasound exposures during pregnancy may not cause long-term harm to infants, according to a new study. // For the study 2,700 children were evaluated, half of whom had been exposed to repeated ultrasound and half of whom had only one ultrasound exposure before birth. The children were followed up at 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8 years of age. While researchers note there may be a slight ef...

Report on the Safety and Effectiveness of Melatonin supplements

The report on the scientific evidence to date for the benefits of melatonin supplements used for disorders due to sleep schedule alterations and primary and secondary sleep disorders were reviwed.// Disorders due to sleep schedule alterations can stem from flying across time zones or working night shifts. Primary sleep disorders, which include insomnia, can be caused by factors such as stress or...

Monitoring Drug Safety

FDA has said that that it will promote a culture of openness and enhanced// oversight within the agency. As part of this vision, FDA will create a new independent Drug Safety Oversight Board to oversee the management of drug safety issues, and will provide emerging information to health providers and patients about the risks and benefits of medicines. Specific proposals for immediate a...

Testosterone patch for women Rejected For safety Reasons

The experimental testosterone patch used for treating women with sexual difficulties was rejected by a panel of advisors to the US Food// and Drug Administration recently . Procter & Gamble, global manufacturer of household products, wants to market the patch to women who have become menopausal after ovarian surgery however due to the rejection by members of the FDA panel the drug is k...

Law ensuring safety and quality of Herbal drugs

The European Union has introduced a new law by which the consumers using herbal products for medical remedies are informed of the composition of the drugs, toxicity levels and the safety of these drugs by the manufacturers. // The new directive will provide consumers with labelled information about the quality and safety of the herbal drug. The new directive will not allow registering...

Safety Of Indian Sex Workers At Risk Due To Poor Condom Usage

Despite the massive educational programs conducted regarding safe sex and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the red light areas of West Bengal, there has been unwillingness regarding using a condom amongst visitors to the above areas//. The West Bengal State AIDS Prevention and Control Society (WBSACS), with an aim of improving safety of the commercial sex workers has proposed to distribute f...

Safety Of Heart Drug Questioned

Reports of increased incidence of kidney failure following use of the drug aprotinin, marketed as Trasylol, has prompted necessity for reconsidering the use of the drug in heart surgery patients.// The clotting drug is commonly used to prevent excessive bleeding in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. It has now been found from the present study that Trasylol injected patients were tw...

Race Was Used To Determine Safety Of Blood

The race of a person was used as a basis to judge the safety of the donated blood in South Africa, according to report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. //The blood of native Africans were considered more risky than that of their Indian and White compatriots, where HIV and hepatitis infections are concerned. The policy is said to have been implemented by t...

Patient Safety Forces Closure Of Hospital

It has been decided to stop admitting patients to the Altrincham General Hospital on account of patients’ safety. The decision been taken by NHS managers// who had gathered at a board meeting, this Tuesday. Although patient safety is believed to be responsible for the closure, some health officials admit that cash factor is the sole reason. The rehabilitation wards that provide in-pat...

Botox Treatment Now With A Lesser Dose And Increased Safety

The fight against the unsightly wrinkles and for smooth complexion just could be getting better. Researchers have discovered a new and interesting// way to increase the potency of botulinum neurotoxin treatments also called Botox. They feel that this new method would soon allow patients to receive the injections less frequently while maintaining or even enhancing its cosmetic benefits....

Farm Boy Airlifted by PSNI helicopter To Safety

A teenage boy, badly hurt in a farm accident, claimed a chance for survival after he was airlifted by a Helicopter//. The 16 year old teenage boy had suffered grave injuries on his upper body, and was lifted by a PSNI helicopter. Insp Roger McConnell, who accompanied the boy in the helicopter, said “I don't want to take all the credit, because the fire service, paramedics and local po...

Strict Safety Measures On Import of Poultry From China

The Health, Welfare and Food Bureau of Hong Kong is working in coordination with Chinese mainland authorities to ensure maximum safety and quality of poultry imported by Hong Kong from China. // Enforcements an...

Safety Measures Pose an Added Expenditure for the Airlines

The bird flu pandemic has caused the health officials to request the airlines for detailed information about the travellers//. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have asked them to collect information such as personal details full name, address, emergency contact numbers and detailed flight information, to help track a potential epidemic. But these pose an additional expend...

Health Service Holds Fort on Safety Measures

The Health Service in charge of the North Coast Area has risen to the occasion to offer protection to its staff on duty//. After a patient caused the death of another fellow patient in 2001, and also caused bodily harm to several other patients at Kempsey hospital, the state government got its act together to beef up the security at hospitals. Yet, the nurses’ association is not satisf...

Nurses Outsmart Surgeons When It Comes Safety And Team Wok

A study conducted to analyze the competence of medical staff in the operating room, has revealed that nurses exhibit the highest level of teamwork and increased awareness regarding operating room safety. // Surprisingly, doctors were found to rate the lowest with respect to teamwork. The survey, called the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), was adapted from an airline industry ques...

Hot Tubs and Spas in the News for Safety Measures

The hot summer attracts children towards water to chill out. Places such as backyard pool, hot tub and spa are filled with fun. //But youngsters should be very for cautious and always follow the instructions of their parents. In some places to avoid facing dangerous situations parents have taken all the safety measures such as installing the pool fences and pool alarms. But in case of spas and ho...

Pfizer vouches safety of long-term inhaled insulin.

Los Angeles: Pfizer has indicated that recent clinical trials of inhaled insulin has received the approval from the drug regulators and is found to be useful in regulating blood sugar levels spanning a 2 year period. // This product, named Exubera, is slated to be introduced into the United States market soon after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves it for use in adults wit...

Antibacterial Products Ensure Food Safety and Health

Health authorities suggest that adding antibacterial products, disinfectants, and sanitizers to food benefits people more than the minimally// processed foods and preservative-free foods. According to the Institute of Food Technologists, surplus use of decontaminants, sanitizers and other antimicrobial treatments in the manufacturing processes of food have found to create bacterial resi...

Voluntary Error-Reporting System Ensures Patient Safety

According to a study by the investigators at John Hopkins Children’s Center//, patient’s safety system can be improved by reporting as well as recording the medication errors into a computer database. Hopkins researchers said ‘Human error rates are minimized by identifying, fixing and reporting on the errors voluntarily plus steps taken to overcome it in the future’. Voluntar...

Uncertainty Still Hangs Over The Safety Of Dioxin

The National Academics of Science (NAS) had published a report on Tuesday, which states that the Dioxin, called one of the most toxic chemicals known to science//, may not be quite as dangerous as once thought. The NAS while making this statement also said that the government would not know just how dangerous Dioxin really is until researchers try different ideas and change the way in...

Safety of Cancer Therapeutic Viruses Enhanced

Cancer killing viruses have been made more specific to cancer tumor cells in addition to enhancing its therapeutic effectiveness by Mayo Clinic researchers working with colleagues in Germany.// This was a much-needed multilevel safety feature for viruses used to treat cancer. They did this by engineering a modified measles virus that turns on only in the presence of secretions specific...

Researchers Enhance Safety and Effectiveness of Therapeutic Virus that Fights Cancer

Mayo Clinic researchers working with colleagues in Germany have devised a much-needed multilevel safety feature for viruses used to treat cancer. In the process of making// cancer-killing viruses more specific to cancer tumor cells, they report having improved the therapeutic effectiveness of viruses. They did this by engineering a modified measles virus that turns on only in the presence of secr...

Committee Set Up to Review Safety of CT Scans

The Department of Health (DoH) has set up a special healthcare committee to look into the safety of CT scans on healthy people.// The Department of Health has asked the Committee on the Medical Aspects of Radiation (COMARE) to look into the safety of the CT scans in preventative healthcare to ensure that the long-term benefits are greater than the risks attached to radiation exposur...

Safety Of Dental Amalgam Fillings To Be Reviewed

The Food and Drug administration (FDA) has asked a panel of outside experts to review the safety of dental amalgam fillings due to the persistent complaints that the fillings may cause health problems.// The U.S. health officials found no evidence to suggest that the fillings were dangerous in dozen of studies conducted to review the safety of mercury in the silver fillings, and the FD...

Blood Safety, Supply, and Innovations Addressed at Conference

As the cost of blood rises, supplies shrink and new infectious agents threaten blood safety, how do medical institutions improve patient outcomes by implementing// transfusion alternatives in conjunction with blood conservation programs? These questions, and the positive steps that can be taken by individual physicians and medical institutions, will be discussed at the Society for the Advancement...

Food Safety Extension Specialist Provides Spinach E. coli Advice

AMES, Iowa -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an alert about a nationwide outbreak of E. coli traced to packaged spinach//. The alert advises consumers not to eat bagged fresh spinach at this time. Sam Beattie, a food safety extension specialist and assistant professor of food science and human nutrition at Iowa State University, tells consumers that it's almost impossible...

Appraisal of FDA’s Drug Safety Proces

A team of experts criticized Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for not being able to effectively track the safety of new drugs and take action promptly for problems.// The Institute of Medicine’s report probably will strengthen the discussion on the safety of the country’s drug supply and the competence of the FDA.’s supervision. A serious discussion began in September 2004 when Merck...

Compost Tea And Safety

Research conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists David Ingram and Patricia Millner has made it possible for new recommendations in growing compost tea.// Composting usually produces enough heat to kill harmful bacteria, but new research has found that adding solubles like soluble kelp, fish hydrolysates, humic acid, rock dust and proprietary nutrient solutions may infact trigg...

The FDA Will Do Well To Fine-Tune Drug Safety Norms

Washington: This is indeed a wake-up call to the food and drug watchdog, The FDA, to spruce up its scrutiny of prevailing medicines// in the market. This has been put forth vociferously by Editors of a medical journal and members of a drug-safety advisory panel. A report enabled by The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has beseeched the U.S. Congress to equip the FDA with more manpower, fin...

Patient Safety Not Addressed by NHS

Safety lapses that result in almost 34,000 deaths a year in hospitals are not being addressed by the NHS according to the Healthcare Commission which inspects the NHS.// The independent health watchdog alleges that patient safety and medical errors are a low priority for the NHS. Although the exact number of deaths caused by poor safety standards is not known completely previous stud...

Funds for mental patient safety pledged by government

Thirty million pounds have been pledged to mental hospitals around the country by British government to ensure improved safety for inmates. A report published early this year by// National Patient Safety Agency alleged that there have been incidents of attempted rape and specifically mentioned 19 incidents which caused ripples in the mental health department and has catapulted this decision from...

Safety In Healthcare , Need Of The Hour

Certainly not news for the faint hearted - there is a 1 in 300 chance of dying through a medical mistake or misjudgement// , a senior doctor in England Sir Liam Donaldson has said in a cautionary message . Sir Liam was hightlighting this issue on behalf of the WHO's campaign on the need for hospitals to address hygiene issues and improve the safety aspect of healthcare. These figures...

Novel Plans Of FDA To Monitor Safety Of Medical Devices

The Food and Drug Administration of U.S has chalked out a seemingly fool proof plan that will ensure stringent standards of safety //and efficiency of medical gadgets that are used as implants in the bodies of millions of patients requiring them for various medical reasons. The several medical devices available in the market today in the U.S accounts for a whopping $ 80 billion annually...

American Red Cross Face Fines After Blood Safety Lapses

The American Red Cross find themselves in a sticky situation having failed to meet the standards for blood safety procedures coined by FDA. Following lapses in// sticking to rules pertaining to blood safety, The American Red Cross has been penalized again. This brings the total penalty toll against the American Red Cross up to $15 million. The FDA divulged that the organization had be...