State Surgeons Unit

Kids’ ER visits resulting from battery exposure have doubled in two decades

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:15:24 +0000

Emergency room visits resulting from children swallowing batteries or sticking them into other orifices doubled between 1990 and 2009, researchers said Monday. There were an estimated 5,525 ER visits caused by batteries in 2009, with the bulk of them occurring in children under the age of 5, according to a team from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Most of them were caused by button batteries, the small, disc-like batteries found in many games and other electronic devices.

Swallowing a battery is often harmless, but the devices can cause serious problems if they become lodged in the esophagus, the nose or the ear. If they are surrounded by liquid, they can generate an external current that causes electrolysis of tissue fluids and the generation of corrosive hydroxide at the battery’s negative pole, with potentially lethal results in as little as two hours. Cylindrical batteries can produce problems if their corrosive alkaline contents leak, either from faulty construction or from a child chewing on them. A 2010 study suggested an “alarming” 6.7-fold increase in severe and fatal outcomes from swallowing button batteries between 1985 and 2009.

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Merchant Preferred Processing Network has partnered with SSU!

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:51:17 +0000

SSU has teamed up with Merchant Preferred Processing Network to lower your credit card processing fees. The average practice will have their effective rate lowered .50% to 1.00% from current rates. On a $20,000 per month practice, that could be a $3,000 per years savings! SSU members receive many benefits including:

A Lifetime Pricing Guarantee – Your Visa, MasterCard & Discover margin will never increase!

SSU Savings Guarantee – MPPN will save you money off your present fees or your SSU annual membership for next year will be paid!

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Nurses balance technological advances with old-fashioned patient care

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 08:48:10 +0000

Yvonne Yacoub has been a nurse for half a century.

n 50 years, she has seen her profession redefine itself to meet the challenges of change, yet continue to struggle with shortages of new practitioners.

Yacoub, 72, who has worked at Cape Canaveral Hospital here for 36 years, is decades older than the 46-year-old average age of employed registered nurses. Some veteran nurses continue to work, but many more have hung up the scrubs for good or are counting the days until retirement.

“In several years, we will see many nurses semi-retire or retire completely,” said Bonnie Rudolph, vice president/chief nursing officer for Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Fla., and Health First’s chief nursing officer. “Nursing is a very physical job, and many nurses cannot continue to stand, lift patients and continue to work the required shifts.”

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Can Getting Sick Give You Cancer? New Research Says Sometimes, Yes

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 23:17:33 +0000

The prestigious journal The Lancet came out with a study today that merits a double-take. After reviewing the data for 27 different cancers in 184 countries, the researchers concluded that two million cases of cancer a year — or one in in six cases — are caused by viruses, bacterial infections, or parasites. Which means, according to the researchers, that one sixth of all cancers are preventable. Yikes.

Which viruses and bacteria can lead to cancer?

Helicobacter pylori
Hepatitis B
Human papilloma virus (HPV)
Hepatitis C

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Which commute is the healthiest?

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:16:21 +0000

The longer you commute, the worse your health, according to the latest in a string of studies showing that sitting—even in a car—is bad for you. The study, published in the June issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that those who have the longest drives to work have decreased cardio fitness, are heavier and have higher blood pressure than those with shorter commutes.

That’s bad news, since the average time driving to work increased from 17.6 minutes in 1983 to 22.5 minutes in 2001.

The question: Is it being sedentary for so long that raises the risk or is it the stress of driving, or both? And is another type of commute, like taking a train or bus any better for you?

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HPV causing rise in male throat cancer

admin — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:42:54 +0000

In the past decade, oncologists have noted an increase in cancers at the back of the tongue, in the tonsils and into the throat, especially in healthy, nonsmoking men.

More than 7,000 new cases of oropharyngeal cancers are diagnosed each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most are in men, and those who don’t use tobacco often find another common cause: the human papillomavirus, better known as HPV.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says at least half of all sexually active people will get genital HPV at some time in their lives.

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‘One in six cancers worldwide are caused by infection’

admin — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:30:38 +0000

One in six cancers – two million a year globally – are caused by largely treatable or preventable infections, new estimates suggest.

The Lancet Oncology review, which looked at incidence rates for 27 cancers in 184 countries, found four main infections are responsible.

These four – human papillomaviruses, Helicobacter pylori and hepatitis B and C viruses – account for 1.9m cases of cervical, gut and liver cancers.

Most cases are in the developing world.

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Controlling Obesity Will Save Over Half A Trillion Dollars

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:46:19 +0000

With the tobacco problem on the back burner, diet and obesity are coming into the cross hairs as a focus for public health. Controlling the rise in obesity, promoting quality of life, whilst saving on public healthcare costs is clearly an admirable goal. It is unfortunate that the body’s genetic makeup from our prehistoric existence urges it to store large amounts of fat, but the ramifications for health and subsequent health care costs are clear.

Research from Duke University, RTI International and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that an additional 32 million more obese people are likely to become a burden not only to themselves but to the heathcare system. The study is entitled Obesity and Severe Obesity Forecasts through 2030 and is available online at: www.ajpmonline.org

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People Love Talking About Themselves, Brain Scans Show

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:46:06 +0000

Got something to report about yourself? An opinion, perhaps, or a status update? Nobody may care except you, but new brain research suggests you can make yourself feel good simply by sharing.

Participants who talked about themselves showed signs of activity in the areas of the brain that are linked to value and motivation, said Diana Tamir, lead author of a study published in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“This helps to explain why people so obsessively engage in this behavior. It’s because it provides them with some sort of subjective value: It feels good, basically,” said Tamir, a graduate student in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab at Harvard University.

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Sports & Energy Drinks Damage Teeth

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:34:32 +0000

Sports drinks hit the wire today with a red light that their level of acidity is increasingly responsible for irreversible damage to teeth, especially amongst adolescents and younger adults, their predominant target market.

The report is published in the May/June 2012 issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry. Lead author of the study, Poonam Jain, BDS, MS, MPH confirms the findings:

“Young adults consume these drinks assuming that they will improve their sports performance and energy levels and that they are ‘better’ for them than soda … Most of these patients are shocked to learn that these drinks are essentially bathing their teeth with acid.”

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