OTC Acetaminophen Meds OTS (off the shelf)?

From CNN: A government advisory panel began voting Tuesday on recommendations for reducing the risk of serious liver injury associated with acetaminophen, found in over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol and NyQuil. The panel, assembled by the Food and Drug Administration, is weighing several options, including reducing recommended dosages of acetaminophen or pulling combination drugs, such [...]

Overweight, Critical Patients To Pay More For Ambulance Transports

From WIBW: People who are overweight or critically injured will soon pay more for an ambulance ride in Shawnee County. AMR’s Ken Keller told Shawnee County Commissioners Monday those patients take more manpower and equipment. Commissioners approved raising rates for critical care patients and patients who weigh more than 350-pounds from $629 to $1172. The [...]

The Effects of Deep Breathing Training on Pain Management in the Emergency Department

From the Southern Medical Journal: Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of deep breathing exercises on the pain levels in patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) with pain as their chief complaint. A secondary purpose was to measure the impact of deep breathing teaching on indicators of [...]

I avoided the Michael Jackson story until now…

From MedPage Today: Cardiologists Question Jackson’s CPR in Bed LITTLE FALLS, N.J., June 29 — Michael Jackson’s personal physician should not have performed CPR on the late pop star while he was in bed, if that was indeed the case, prominent cardiologists said today. Standard procedure would have been to put Jackson on a hard [...]

LUCAS 2 Automatic Chest Compressor Gets US Green Light

From Medgadget: The LUCAS™ 2 chest compression system from Jolife AB, out of Lund, Sweden, has just been approved by the FDA. The battery powered unit can be taken directly to the patient without the need for a compressed air supply, unlike the last model. The system can then pump the chest for up to [...]

FDA weighs options to reduce painkiller overdoses

From Business Week: Tylenol, Excedrin, NyQuil. These household brands and others have come to symbolize safe, convenient relief from the aches and pains of everyday life. But this week the Food and Drug Administration is focusing on a seldom-discussed side effect of the medications: severe liver damage. Since the drugs first became widely available in [...]

Psychiatric services faulted at many hospitals in Iowa

From the Des Moines Register: Several Iowa hospitals, including one at the center of a controversy involving the shooting death of a Parkersburg coach, have been accused in recent years of discharging psychiatric patients before they were stabilized. The problems in Iowa are not unique. Nationally, patient access to hospital psychiatric services has long been [...]

Hospital Worker Accused of Raping Unconscious Woman

From KTLA: An emergency room technician accused for raping an intoxicated woman at an Orange County hospital is scheduled to be arraigned Monday. Jesse Karim Pena, 31, was arrested Thursday at his mother’s home in Ontario after DNA evidence collected from the victim’s hospital gown was reportedly linked to him, according to Orange County Sheriff’s [...]

Minnesota, Dakotas’ ERs among the fastest (… as is Iowa)

From Minnesota Public Radio: Hospitals in five Upper Midwest states, including Minnesota, are among the country’s fastest in getting patients in and out of emergency rooms, according to a recent report by a leading adviser to health care organizations. The Emergency Department Pulse Report by South Bend, Ind.-based Press Ganey Associates analyzed the experiences of [...]

Prehospital Fibrinolytics

From the Peninsula Daily News: PORT TOWNSEND — An 88-year-old man suffering a heart attack was the first to benefit from new protocols for paramedics in East Jefferson County. The fire department, Jefferson Healthcare hospital, Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue, Harrison Medical Center, Kitsap Cardiology and the Poulsbo Doctors Clinic have created the protocols that [...]