Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Nursing for June 2006. 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.
FDA Approves Generic Zoloft, Macular Degeneration Drug
FRIDAY, June 30 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic version of sertraline tablets (Zoloft) as well as a new drug, ranibizumab injection (Lucentis), for treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration.
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FDA Warns of Ketek-Associated Liver Problems
FRIDAY, June 30 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to health care professionals and patients to be aware of the potential of rare, but serious risks of liver injury with the antibiotic Ketek (telithromycin).
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Too Much Iodine Can Increase Autoimmune Thyroiditis
WEDNESDAY, June 28 (HealthDay News) -- Too much iodine consumption has been linked to an increase in hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroiditis cases in China, according to a study in the June 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Low-Fat Dairy Products May Help Prevent Hypertension
WEDNESDAY, June 28 (HealthDay News) -- Consuming low-fat dairy products may help prevent hypertension, according to a report published online June 26 in Hypertension.
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Chest X-Rays May Increase Risk of Breast Cancer
WEDNESDAY, June 28 (HealthDay News) -- Women with inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes may be at greater risk of developing breast cancer after exposure to chest X-rays compared with BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers who aren't exposed to X-rays, according to a report published online June 26 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Nighttime Blood Pressure May Predict Heart Failure
WEDNESDAY, June 28 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly men with a nighttime blood pressure that stays the same or increases compared with the daytime pressure have more than twice the risk of developing heart failure, according to a report in the June 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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U.S. Surgeon General Issues Report on Secondhand Smoke
TUESDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- Secondhand smoke exposure increases non-smokers' heart disease and lung cancer risk and causes early death in non-smoking children and adults, according to a new scientific report issued June 27 by U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D.
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Vitamin K Supplements Can Cut Bone Loss, Fractures
TUESDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- Oral vitamin K supplements may reduce bone loss and prevent osteoporosis-related fractures, according to a review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials published in the June 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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QT Prolongation Linked to Methadone Therapy
MONDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- Intravenous drug users who receive methadone maintenance therapy to curb their habit are at an increased risk for developing long QT syndrome, according to a report in the June 26 Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Hot Flashes Are Linked to Insomnia
MONDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- In perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, hot flashes are strongly associated with insomnia, according to a study in the June 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Factors Associated with Aggression in Elders Identified
MONDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- Depression, delusions and hallucinations may be associated with physically and verbally aggressive behavior among nursing home residents, according to a study in the June 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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MRSA Skin Infections in Three States Linked to Tattoos
FRIDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- Forty-four people in the United States who received tattoos from 13 unlicensed practitioners in three states have contracted community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) skin infections, according to a report in the June 23 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Ultramarathon Can Cause Exertional Rhabdomyolysis
THURSDAY, June 22 (HealthDay News) -- Prolonged, moderate intensity exercise experienced by ultramarathon runners may cause a significant rise in indicators of muscle and liver damage and cause serum enzyme activity changes similar to those which occur in an acute myocardial infarction, according to a report in the June issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. However, this rise in creatine kinase and other factors is not accompanied by severe symptoms that require hospitalization, they note.
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Cheap Pedometers Tend to Inaccurately Record Steps
THURSDAY, June 22 (HealthDay News) -- Pedometers have become widely available, but many cheaper models are not useful for health purposes because they do not accurately monitor the steps taken, according to a study published online June 21 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
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Company-Sponsored Trials Affect Physician Choice of Meds
TUESDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians participating in a company-sponsored clinical trial are not likely to stray from recommended treatment guidelines but they do tend to prescribe more of the company's drugs, according to a report in the June 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Brief CPAP Does Not Ease Hypertension in Sleep Apnea
MONDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- Short-term continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) does not significantly alleviate high blood pressure in patients with arterial hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, according to a report in the June issue of Chest.
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Chlorhexidine Reduces Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia
FRIDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) can be reduced by topical application of chlorhexidine into the buccal cavity instead of antibiotics, according to a study published in the June 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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Editorial
Dramatic Rise Predicted for Hip Fractures
FRIDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- The estimated number of hip fractures worldwide may increase from 1.7 million in 1990 to 6.3 million in 2050 if incidence rates remain stable, and may rise to 8.2 million if incidence rates increase by 1 percent per year, according to a report published in the June 17 issue of The Lancet.
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FDA Targets Unclear Medical Abbreviations
THURSDAY, June 15 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has launched a national health professional education campaign to eliminate a common but preventable cause of medication errors: unclear and potentially confusing abbreviations written by health care professionals and others.
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In-Home Intervention Reduces Mortality in Older Adults
WEDNESDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) -- In older adults with functional difficulties, mortality may be reduced by in-home occupational and physical therapy sessions, according to a study published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
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FDA Approves Wellbutrin XL for Seasonal Affective Disorder
TUESDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Wellbutrin XL has become the first drug to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The drug, approved on June 12, can be used for the prevention of major depressive episodes in SAD patients.
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Psychogenic, Epileptic Seizures Distinguished in Three Studies
MONDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- Three studies in the June 13 issue of Neurology may help identify the nearly 30 percent of patients diagnosed with epilepsy who actually have psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES).
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Editorial
Glucose Metabolism Impaired in Chronic Neuropathies
MONDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- More than half of patients with chronic neuropathic pain of unknown cause have impairments in glucose metabolism, with the two-hour oral glucose tolerance test (2h-OGTT) a better indicator than fasting plasma glucose levels, according to a study published online June 12 in the Archives of Neurology.
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Coffee Intake May Protect Against Liver Cirrhosis
MONDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- Coffee drinking is associated with a lower risk of liver cirrhosis, particularly cirrhosis due to alcohol consumption, as well as a reduced risk of having elevated aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels, according to a report in the June 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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FDA Approves Gardasil Cervical Cancer Vaccine
THURSDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a vaccine to reduce cervical cancer by preventing infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18. Gardasil is manufactured by Merck & Co. and is approved for use in females aged 9 to 26.
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Overweight Lactating Women Can Cut Fat and Sugar Intake
THURSDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight women who are breast-feeding can limit their fat and sugar consumption if they are careful to maintain their intake of calcium and vitamin D, according to a report in the June issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
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Low Birth Weight Infants at Risk for Hyperactivity
THURSDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- Children who are born prematurely or with a low birth weight are more likely to develop hyperkinetic disorder and have concentration problems than other children, according to a study published online June 5 in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
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Median Nerve Not Always Key in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
THURSDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- About 40 percent of patients with suspected carpal tunnel syndrome do not present with involvement of the median nerve, suggesting the importance of more awareness of all patterns of presentation, according to a study in the June issue of Pain.
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Breathing Techniques Can Cut Over-Use of Inhaler
THURSDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with asthma who use breathing techniques or upper-body exercises can reduce their use of reliever inhalers by up to 80 percent, according to a study published online June 5 in Thorax.
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Single-Dose Azithromycin Treats Severe Cholera in Adults
WEDNESDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- A single dose of azithromycin is more effective than a single dose of ciprofloxacin to treat cholera in adults, according to a report in the June 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Treating Pneumonia in Nursing Homes Reduces Costs
TUESDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- Treating pneumonia and other lower respiratory tract infections using a clinical pathway in the nursing home can be effective, while reducing hospitalizations and saving costs, according to a study in the June 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Revascularization Boosts Survival in Cardiogenic Shock
TUESDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- Early revascularization after acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock results in a 13 percent improvement in survival after six years compared with initial medical stabilization, according to a study in the June 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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High Temperatures Increase Risk of Death By a Third
TUESDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- High temperatures can increase the overall risk of death by about a third, with the elderly, women, widows, widowers and those with certain medical conditions being most vulnerable, according to a study in the May issue of Epidemiology.
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Lower Malpractice Costs in States with Damage Caps
MONDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- In states that have enacted tort reform to cap total or non-economic medical malpractice payments, costs and premiums tend to be lower, according to a report in the May/June issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
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Age, Education, Affect When U.S. Men Become Fathers
FRIDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. men agree with women when reporting whether their children were wanted, mistimed or unwanted at the time of conception, but how and when they become fathers is heavily influenced by age, education, income and ethnicity, according to a new comprehensive report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Study Compares Four Popular Weight-Loss Programs
FRIDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- A comparison of four commercial diets including the Atkins diet and Weight Watchers suggests that all four are about equally effective when combined with group support to lose weight and maintain the loss, according to a study published in the June 3 issue of BMJ.
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U.S. Policy on Immigrant Nurses Could Hurt Poor Nations
FRIDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- Instead of attracting nurses from developing countries that can ill-afford to lose them, the United States should raise wages and improve working conditions to attract more U.S. residents to the profession, according to an editorial in the June 3 issue of The Lancet. An immigration bill recently passed in the U.S. Senate would remove limits on the number of nurses who can emigrate to the USA to help reduce a shortage of nurses.
Editorial
Human Gut Teems with Over 1,000 Bacterial Species
THURSDAY, June 1 (HealthDay News) -- The human colon contains up to 100 trillion organisms representing over 1,000 species of bacteria, and they provide a host of genes necessary for the metabolism of vitamins, sugars and fiber, according to an analysis of the colon's microbiome published in a report in the June 2 issue of Science.
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SSRIs Linked to Short-Term Suicide Risk in Elderly
THURSDAY, June 1 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly patients who begin taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may have an increased risk for suicide during the first months of therapy, according to a report in the May issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
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