H1N1 Declaration Gives Hospitals Flexibility - CNN

President Obama's declaration that the swine flu is a national emergency is supposed to give more flexibility for how the outbreak is handled.

So what exactly does that mean?

Fredricka Whitfield put that question to Dr. Manoj Jain, an infectious disease specialist in Memphis, Tennessee. Read more

H1N1, Vaccine, Flu, Virus, Illness - WREG

Misery Loves Company, but . . . - Washington Post

With Swine Flu Returning, Families Can Reduce Risk of Transmission
Published: September 08, 2009

Last winter, a few months before the first outbreak of H1N1 flu, my 13-year-old became ill, first with a cough and runny nose, and then with low-grade fever and nasal congestion. It was not severe enough to have her miss school, but we had her skip indoor soccer practice. A week later her older sister, who shares her room, had the same constellation of symptoms; then my wife and my youngest son. Over a three-week period I carefully tracked the passage of the virus within the family. Read More

For Doctors, Rationing Care Is Standard Practice - Washington Post

Published: August 04, 2009

A seasoned pulmonologist shakes his head. "Let's face it, we already ration care." And, pausing ever so slightly, he begins his story. "This family of an 80-year-old gentleman came to me a few days after he was admitted into the ICU. He had end-stage emphysema. 'We had a family conference last night,' they told me, 'and we have decided that we want our father to have a lung transplant.' " The doctor shakes his head again. "They were dead serious," he says. "I took them aside and tried to explain the situation: He is 80 years old and a smoker. He can't get a lung transplant." Read More

LETTERS : An Insidious Infection in Indiana - Newyork Times

Published: March 18, 2009

To the Editor :

“Our Pigs, Our Food, Our Health,” by Nicholas D. Kristof (column, March 12), addresses a topic of paramount importance, the epidemic of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in our community.

Mr. Kristof draws an association between the occurrence of community-acquired MRSA in a farm town in northwestern Indiana to the death of a family doctor. From the facts presented, there is no evidence that the doctor died of MRSA. Without a proper investigation, such anecdotal information may deter doctors from caring for MRSA patients. Recall the early stages of the H.I.V. epidemic. Read More

LETTERS : An Insidious Infection in Indiana - Newyork Times

Published: March 18, 2009

To the Editor :

“Our Pigs, Our Food, Our Health,” by Nicholas D. Kristof (column, March 12), addresses a topic of paramount importance, the epidemic of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in our community.

Mr. Kristof draws an association between the occurrence of community-acquired MRSA in a farm town in northwestern Indiana to the death of a family doctor. From the facts presented, there is no evidence that the doctor died of MRSA. Without a proper investigation, such anecdotal information may deter doctors from caring for MRSA patients. Recall the early stages of the H.I.V. epidemic.Read More

Even 'Snake Oil' Can Help Patients Heal - Washington Post

Published: March 17, 2009

"Our conference was being held over lunch, but Pat, a middle-aged health-care consultant, did not touch a bite of her food. When I asked if something was wrong, she revealed her lifelong battle with Crohn's disease, an inflammation of the bowels that causes diarrhea and abdominal pain.

I asked what her doctor advised. With some hesitation, she told me she was chiefly being treated by someone she called her "teacher," who helped her use her use qi gong, a Chinese system of breathing and energy exercise, to manage her illness. Read More

Want to Live a Bit Longer? Speak Up. - Washington Post

Published: February 17, 2009

"Did you know that women live longer than men?" I asked my wife.

Of course she did -- and not just because, like me, she is a physician. Anybody who walks into a nursing home can see the imbalance. Most people's grandmothers outlive their grandfathers, and 85 percent of centenarians are women. So my wife nodded, without paying much attention.Read More

A Skeptic Becomes A True Believer - Washington Post

Published: February 10, 2009

I was skeptical when my hospital embarked several years ago on an initiative to reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections in our intensive care unit.

These are infections that originate from the tubes and catheters inserted into the body -- for example, ventilator-associated pneumonia, related to a tube lodged in the windpipe to assist in breathing; urinary tract infection, related to a catheter inserted into the bladder to drain the urine; and bloodstream infection, related to a catheter threaded in the veins reaching the upper chamber of the heart. Read More