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Blood Pressure Association Comment On CARDIA Sleep Study
UK charity the Blood Pressure Association has responded to the American Medical Association CARDIA Sleep Study - "Association Between Sleep and Blood Pressure in Midlife", published in Archives of Internal Medicines (volume 169, no. 11)
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Ambulance Diversion Studied
When a hospital"s emergency department is overcrowded with seriously sick and injured patients, it may "go on diversion," re-routing ambulances to other emergency departments. But the benefits of "diversion" are largely unproven. Often those emergency departments are just as crowded, and the greater distance to that other hospital can worsen the condition of some patients.
News of the day
Los Angeles County's Commission On HIV Reconsiders Plan To Cut Nutrition Programs
The Los Angeles County"s Commission on HIV this week backed down on a proposal that would have cut $350,000 from nutrition programs that serve people living with HIV, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. The commission members voted on Thursday to send the proposal back to a committee for further review after protests by food pantry clients and volunteers and staff from AIDS Project Los Angeles, Project Angel Food and other organizations attending a hearing on the issue. While this year"s Ryan White Program funds, which the county uses for its programs, were increased from last year, the bad economy and increasing medical and pharmaceutical costs for people living with HIV prompted the commission to consider using the $350,000 slated for nutrition for other services, according to the Daily News. Roughly 3,000 people use the nutrition services monthly (Abram, Los Angeles Daily News, 6/11).
Medical Devices

Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis And Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents

Even at very high doses, gadolinium-based contrast agents alone are not sufficient to cause nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with kidney problems, according to a study performed at the Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, FL. NSF is a rare and serious syndrome that leads to fibrosis of the skin, joints and even internal organs. Some research indicates NSF is caused by gadolinium-based contrast agents that are commonly used today during MR procedures. The study examined the records of 61 patients. "Our patients had been given high doses - from two to ten times the usual MRI dose. These high doses were used because the patients were undergoing interventional procedures and the procedures were done before there were any reports linking gadolinium to NSF," said Mellena D. Bridges, MD, lead author of the study. "Fortunately, one of these patients, a 58-year-old diabetic man with end-stage kidney disease and significant blood vessel blockages, developed NSF. Gadolinium seems to be necessary to trigger NSF, but it doesn"t seem to be enough to cause the disease, even at very high doses," said Dr. Bridges. This study appears in the June issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. Click here for abstract. Heather Curry American Roentgen Ray Society


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