Headlines in Health

H1N1 influenza activity continues to increase steadily in the United States and flu activity is now widespread in 46 states (FluView, October 2009). Nationwide, visits to doctors for suspected H1N1 influenza are higher now than what is usually seen at the peak of regular flu seasons.

As a healthcare professional it is most likely that you have administered heparin many times to many patients over the course of your career, without careful consideration of the risks of anticoagulation therapy. Heparin administration has almost become a routine procedure today, especially for those working in surgical settings. However, Heparin is a potent drug that can have lethal consequences if administered incorrectly. 

Children born to women who had low levels of vitamin B12 in their blood shortly before and after conception may have an increased risk of a neural tube defect, according to the Irish National Institutes of Health. It has been documented that women with the low B12 levels are five times more likely to have a child with a neural tube defect than women with the higher B12 levels.

Tylenol (acetaminophen) has been in the news lately. Did you know that acetaminophen appears not once, but twice in the top 10 list the American Association of Poison Control Centers of substances linked to the highest number of fatalities?  It has appeared at #4 as “acetaminophen in combination” and at #8 as “acetaminophen alone."

The U.S. healthcare system is currently in a state of crisis. Although political debates rage over the issue of healthcare reform, one factor all sides agree upon is the need for more health care providers. The existing nursing shortage will only worsen if we succeed in expanding coverage to all of the estimated 47 million Americans who currently lack healthcare coverage.