Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Allergy for October 2009. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Medical School Enrollment Continues to Expand
MONDAY, Oct. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Almost 18,400 students enrolled in medical school in the United States in 2009, a 2 percent increase over the previous year, but even more expansion is needed to meet future demand, according to an Oct. 20 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
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Far Fewer H1N1 Vaccine Doses Than Expected Are Available
MONDAY, Oct. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Because of production delays, far fewer than the goal of 40 million doses of H1N1 influenza vaccine will be available in the United States by the end of October, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for the investigational antiviral drug peramivir intravenous in certain patients with suspected or confirmed H1N1 infection.
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Some Hospital Staff Predicted to Be Infection Superspreaders
THURSDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Hospital staff such as therapists and radiologists who are in contact with all patients have the potential to be superspreaders of infection if they fail to wash their hands regularly, according to a study published online Oct. 19 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Most H1N1 Hospitalizations Are in Young Patients
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 21 (HealthDay News) -- More than half of hospitalizations for H1N1 influenza are occurring in people younger than 25 years of age, and very few are occurring in the elderly, according to information presented at the Oct. 20 press briefing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Sources Find Different Numbers of Active Physicians
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Estimates from U.S. Census Bureau surveys find fewer older physicians remaining active compared with the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile data, according to research published in the Oct. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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CDC Says New Child Deaths Raise H1N1 Beyond Epidemic
MONDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- As of Oct.16, 11 more children in the United States had died of H1N1 influenza in the past week, elevating the disease above epidemic proportions, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced at an Oct. 16 news conference.
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FDA Launches Drug Disposal Advice Web Page
FRIDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has launched a new Web page for consumers to educate them on the safe disposal of certain medicines that can be dangerous or even fatal if they end up in the wrong hands.
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Health Care Disparities Among States Found to Be Widening
FRIDAY, Oct. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Increasing health care costs and growing disparities in coverage among U.S. states point to the urgent need for national health care reform, according to an Oct. 8 state-by-state report card from the Commonwealth Fund Commission, a private foundation supporting research on the health care system.
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Effect of H1N1 on Southern Hemisphere ICUs Assessed
THURSDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) -- During the winter of 2009 in Australia and New Zealand, the H1N1 flu virus had a significant effect on hospital intensive care units, according to a study published online Oct. 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Survey Finds Asthma Control Poorer in Minority Children
THURSDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) -- African-American and Hispanic children were found to have more poorly controlled asthma than Caucasian children in a four-state sample from a national asthma survey, according to an analysis from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in the October issue of Chest.
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Seasonal Flu Vaccine Protects Somewhat Against A/H1N1
THURSDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) -- There are early signs that the 2008/2009 trivalent inactivated seasonal flu vaccination offers some protection against influenza A/H1N1, particularly in its most severe forms, but this should not be taken to mean that vaccination against swine flu is superfluous, according to a study published online Oct. 6 in BMJ.
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Roundtable Discussion Tackles Health Care Reform
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- The health care payment system, the role of consumers in responsible health care spending, and the use of comparative-effectiveness research were topics covered in a roundtable discussion with several health economics experts published in the Oct. 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Roundtable
Perspective - Cutler
Medical Students Want More Practice of Medicine Training
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Medical students in the United States perceive that they are not getting enough training in the practice of medicine, particularly in medical economics, according to a study in the September issue of Academic Medicine.
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Effectiveness and Cost Help to Make Coverage Decisions
TUESDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Countries using evidence-based cost-effectiveness and effectiveness to help make drug coverage decisions show how these factors can successfully support decision making and can also be adapted to the specific conditions of other countries, according to a study in the Oct. 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Kidney Disease Risk May Be Higher in Allergic Diabetics
FRIDAY, Oct. 2 (HealthDay News) -- In male diabetics, there is a correlation between eosinophil counts and microalbuminuria that may point to increased risk of diabetic kidney disease in those with allergic rhinitis or asthma, according to a study published online Oct. 1 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
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Surgical Masks Found to Be Non-Inferior to Respirators
THURSDAY, Oct. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Surgical masks may be no less effective than N95 respirators in preventing influenza in health care workers, according to a study published online Oct. 1 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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CDC Says States Not Meeting Fruit and Veggie Objectives
THURSDAY, Oct. 1 (HealthDay News) -- In a Sept. 29 press release, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says no U.S. state is currently meeting the national Healthy People 2010 objectives for fruit and vegetable consumption.
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