Patient Care - Allergy & Immunology - October 2007 - (Page 1)

Research Digest Nonpharmaceutical measures may help with flu pandemic Nonpharmaceutical interventions such as school closures, prohibition of mass gatherings, isolation, and quarantine helped to reduce the excess death rate during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic and could help contain a future flu pandemic. Investigators analyzed data from 43 cities during the period between September 1918 and February 1919 to see if nonpharmaceutical interventions had an impact on excess death rates. During the 6-month period studied, there were 115,340 deaths from pneumonia and influenza, yielding an excess death rate of 500 per 100,000 population. In all the cities, nonpharmaceutical measures were adopted to some extent. Thirty-four cities (79%) introduced school closures and bans on public gatherings for a median duration of 4 weeks, which led to a significant reduction in the weekly excess death rate. Peak mortality was delayed the longest in cities that implemented nonpharmaceutical controls earliest. These cities also had lower peak mortality and total mortality rates. “Although these urban communities had neither effective vaccines nor antivirals, cities that were able to organize and execute a suite of classic public health interventions before the pandemic swept fully through the city appeared to have an associated mitigated epidemic experience,” the authors conclude. Markel H, Lipman HB, Navarro JA, et al. Nonpharmaceutical interventions implemented by US cities during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic. JAMA. 2007;298(6):644-654. A quick summary of recent reports from leading medical journals Permanent makeup can cause serious adverse reactions Permanent makeup can result in serious longterm adverse reactions, although the ink brand associated with most of the reactions has since been recalled, according to a letter to the editor in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers at the CDC conducted telephone interviews with 92 individuals who had reported inflammation for more than a week after permanent-makeup procedures in 2002-2004. The researchers found that 95% of patients reported tenderness, 91% reported swelling, 88% reported itching, and 83% reported bumps. Symptoms lasted for 5.5 months to 3 years. Healing occurred more quickly in patients without a selfreported history of allergy, which in some cases was confirmed through medical records. The percentage of sites with adverse reactions varied depending on the ink brand. According to the authors, the product line of ink associated with most of the reactions was recalled. Straetemans M, Katz LM, Belson M. Adverse reactions after permanent-makeup procedures [letter]. N Engl J Med. 2007;356(26): 2753. Underinsured children missing out on immunizations The near doubling of the recommended number of childhood vaccinations, the increased cost of fully vaccinating a child, and changes in the medical insurance system have created new gaps in immunization coverage. Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, Mass, conducted a study by interviewing immunization program managers across 48 US states. In 70% of the states, underinsured children were ineligible to receive publicly purchased meningococcal conjugate vaccine in the private sector, while in 50% of the states they were ineligible to receive pneumococcal conjugate vac- For more medical news that matters to primary care, please see Medicine in the News, page 5, and Clinical Clips, page 26. Research Digest is prepared by the editors of Patient Care and HealthDay’s Physician’s Briefing (http://www.physiciansbriefing.com). OCTOBER 2007 PATIENT CARE ALLERGY & IMMUNOLOGY 1 http://www.physiciansbriefing.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Patient Care - Allergy & Immunology - October 2007

Patient Care - Allergy & Immunology - October 2007 Research Digest Contents Medicine in the News When to Suspect Celiac Disease and How to Proceed From There Averting Angioedema’s Potentially Dire Consequences Is There a Role for Leukotriene Receptor Antagonists in Treating Allergic rhinitis? Clinical Clips Dermatology Case Challenge Classified Advertising

Patient Care - Allergy & Immunology - October 2007

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