CDC: Contaminated syringes may be causing blood infections in nursing homes – McKnight’s Long Term Care News
Contaminated syringes may have caused more than 150 bloodstream infections across several states, with long-term care residents being disproportionately hit, the Centers for Disease Control said last week.
The infections, caused by the bacteria Burkholderia cepacia, have been in 58 healthcare facilities, most of which are long-term care. Symptoms of the infection include fever, chills,...
Mazda recalls 70,000 RX-8 sports cars in U.S.
Mazda Motor Corp. will recall about 70,000 RX-8 sports cars from the 2004-08 model years in the United States because of an issue with fuel pump sealing rings that may leak and catch fire, U.S. safety regulators said on Tuesday.
"The affected vehicles have fuel pump sealing rings that may deteriorate due to exposure to...
Suit settled in airbag death of Fort Bend teen
The parents of 17-year-old Huma Hanif, who filed a lawsuit in April after their daughter's death from a malfunctioning airbag subject to a historic recall, have settled with all parties.
The Fort Bend County teen was the second person in the Houston area and the 10th nationwide to be killed by an airbag in a...
Lawsuit against Medtronic questions the company’s handling of spinal device
Medtronic faces a federal false claims and misbranding lawsuit that accuses the company of designing products for one purpose but tricking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) into approving them for another to avoid expensive and time-consuming safety testing.
The suit, by a former Medtronic sales representative, alleges that...
Carmakers responsible for airbag recalls with or without Takata, safety chief says
There are still about 70 million cars in the United States equipped with Takata airbags that could prove fatal in even a minor accident, like the one that killed Huma Hanif, 17, fatally injured by shrapnel from the airbag when her Honda Civic rear-ended another car at low speed in Houston.
Airbags in older cars like Hanif's,...
Big $ Spent Marketing Not-So-Healthy Baby, Toddler Foods: Study
Two additional patient deaths linked to Medtronic infusion pump
Medical device maker Medtronic PLC said two people have died following dosing errors with its problem-plagued SynchroMed II infusion pump, an implanted device made in Minnesota that slowly injects pain medications into a patient's spinal canal.
More than 238,000 of the devices have been implanted in patients with advanced metastatic cancer, chronic pain and severe...
Robotic Surgical Tools Tough to Keep Clean
Even with repeated cleanings, it's virtually impossible to remove all contamination from robotic surgical instruments, a new study suggests.
"One of the top priorities for hospitals is to treat patients safely and with minimal risk of infection," said study author Yuhei Saito, an assistant professor at the University of Tokyo Hospital in Japan.
"Our results show...
Buzzkill: Energy drinks may cause acute liver failure
Pounding too many energy drinks could wreck your liver — just as much as too many beers.
A 50-year-old construction worker developed acute hepatitis, likely from gulping up to five energy drinks a day for three weeks, according to a BMJ Case Report released Tuesday.
Although the man had chronic hepatitis C, his doctors...
St. Jude halts pacemaker implants due to data, battery issues
n">Medical device maker St. Jude Medical Inc said on Friday it has notified doctors to stop implants of one of its cardiac pacemakers, citing reports of problems with electronic data reporting caused by a battery malfunction that could put patients at risk.
The affected device is the Nanostim leadless cardiac pacemaker (LCP). St. Jude, which...
