Nightmare, drug-resistant superbugs, including one that kills half the people who get it, are a big threat

"Nightmare bacteria" leading to deadly infections that are difficult and sometimes impossible to treat are on the rise in American hospitals, and threaten to spread to otherwise healthy people outside of medical facilities, according to a federal Centers for Disease Control Vital Signs report published Tuesday.


These superbugs, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, have become resistant to nearly all the antibiotics available today, including drugs of last resort. According to the report, CRE infections are caused by a family of germs that are a normal part of a person's healthy digestive system, but can cause infections when they get into the bladder, blood or other areas where they don't belong.

The report says almost all CRE infections are found in patients receiving serious medical care, and they kill up to half of patients who get bloodstream infections from them. In addition to spreading among people, CREs easily spread their antibiotic resistance to other kinds of germs, making those potentially untreatable as well.

Only 10 years ago, such resistance was hardly ever seen in this group of germs. Although these superbugs are uncommon, their prevalence has quadrupled in the past decade in medical facilities in 42 states, the CDC says.

The report calls for immediate action to stop the spread of these deadly infection; it is a critical time for U.S. doctors, nurses lab staff, medical facility leaders, health departments, states, policymakers and patients to help fight the spread through coordinated and consistent efforts.

The report asks patients to do three things: Tell your doctor if you have been hospitalized in another facility or country, take antibiotics only as prescribed, and insist that everyone wash their hands before touching you. For more details, click here for the Vital Signs report.

"Nightmare bacteria" leading to deadly infections that are difficult and sometimes impossible to treat are on the rise in American hospitals, and threaten to spread to otherwise healthy people outside of medical facilities, according to a federal Centers for Disease Control Vital Signs report published Tuesday.


These superbugs, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, have become resistant to nearly all the antibiotics available today, including drugs of last resort. According to the report, CRE infections are caused by a family of germs that are a normal part of a person's healthy digestive system, but can cause infections when they get into the bladder, blood or other areas where they don't belong.

The report says almost all CRE infections are found in patients receiving serious medical care, and they kill up to half of patients who get bloodstream infections from them. In addition to spreading among people, CREs easily spread their antibiotic resistance to other kinds of germs, making those potentially untreatable as well.

Only 10 years ago, such resistance was hardly ever seen in this group of germs. Although these superbugs are uncommon, their prevalence has quadrupled in the past decade in medical facilities in 42 states, the CDC says.

The report calls for immediate action to stop the spread of these deadly infection; it is a critical time for U.S. doctors, nurses lab staff, medical facility leaders, health departments, states, policymakers and patients to help fight the spread through coordinated and consistent efforts.

The report asks patients to do three things: Tell your doctor if you have been hospitalized in another facility or country, take antibiotics only as prescribed, and insist that everyone wash their hands before touching you. For more details, click here for the Vital Signs report.

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Commission says drastic changes to doctor pay and cuts to wasteful services can fix Medicare problem without tax hikes

A national advisory panel says “drastic changes” in how Medicare reimburses doctors and other providers are needed to shore up Medicare's finances, improve patient outcomes and rein in health care costs, and there is no need to seek more taxpayer money.

Medicare needs $138 billion over the next decade to avoid steep cuts in physician pay, and avoiding those cuts has become an annual scramble in Congress known as "the doc fix."  A panel dominated by internal-medicine specialists, The National Commission on Physician Payment Reform, has concluded that reduction of wasteful medical services can help solve the problem and "our nation cannot control runaway medical spending without fundamentally changing how physicians are paid," it says in its report.

Source: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Congressional
Budget Office, Budget and Economic Outlook, January 2011

The U.S. spends nearly $3 trillion a year on health care, and that level of spending is unsustainable. The report says that as a proportion of the federal budget, the cost of Medicare has risen from 3.5 percent in 1975 to 15.1 percent in 2010 in 2010). In 2020, it is projected to consume 17 percent, or 4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.

Recognizing the way that physicians are paid contributes substantially to the high cost of health care, The Society of General Internal Medicine convened the commission in March 2012 to make recommendations for payment reform. According to the report, some of the factors that drive up health care expenditures are:

• Fee-for-service reimbursement
• Consolidation in the health-care industry
• Reliance on technology and expensive care
• Reliance on a high proportion of specialists
• Paying more for the same service or procedure when done in a hospital setting as opposed to an outpatient setting
• A disproportionate percentage of health care spending directed to a small number of people who are very sick and costly to treat
• High administrative costs
• Fear of malpractice lawsuits
• Fraud and abuse

The commission says increased taxes are not needed to fix the Medicare problem, and the Medicaid shortfall could be entirely found by reducing overuse of services within Medicare. See the chart to the right for a breakdown of those excess medical costs.

The commission developed 12 recommendations to reduce health costs, calling for drastic changes to the current fee-for-service payment system and a five-year transition to a physician payment system that rewards quality and value-based care and not the volume of care.

The 12 recommendations were based on the principles that payment reform should improve care quality and efficiency, encourage care for the medically disadvantaged, reduce marginal and ineffective services, increase transparency to the public and should reward patient-centered comprehensive care. (Click here to see those recommendations)

A national advisory panel says “drastic changes” in how Medicare reimburses doctors and other providers are needed to shore up Medicare's finances, improve patient outcomes and rein in health care costs, and there is no need to seek more taxpayer money.

Medicare needs $138 billion over the next decade to avoid steep cuts in physician pay, and avoiding those cuts has become an annual scramble in Congress known as "the doc fix."  A panel dominated by internal-medicine specialists, The National Commission on Physician Payment Reform, has concluded that reduction of wasteful medical services can help solve the problem and "our nation cannot control runaway medical spending without fundamentally changing how physicians are paid," it says in its report.

Source: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Congressional
Budget Office, Budget and Economic Outlook, January 2011

The U.S. spends nearly $3 trillion a year on health care, and that level of spending is unsustainable. The report says that as a proportion of the federal budget, the cost of Medicare has risen from 3.5 percent in 1975 to 15.1 percent in 2010 in 2010). In 2020, it is projected to consume 17 percent, or 4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.

Recognizing the way that physicians are paid contributes substantially to the high cost of health care, The Society of General Internal Medicine convened the commission in March 2012 to make recommendations for payment reform. According to the report, some of the factors that drive up health care expenditures are:

• Fee-for-service reimbursement
• Consolidation in the health-care industry
• Reliance on technology and expensive care
• Reliance on a high proportion of specialists
• Paying more for the same service or procedure when done in a hospital setting as opposed to an outpatient setting
• A disproportionate percentage of health care spending directed to a small number of people who are very sick and costly to treat
• High administrative costs
• Fear of malpractice lawsuits
• Fraud and abuse

The commission says increased taxes are not needed to fix the Medicare problem, and the Medicaid shortfall could be entirely found by reducing overuse of services within Medicare. See the chart to the right for a breakdown of those excess medical costs.

The commission developed 12 recommendations to reduce health costs, calling for drastic changes to the current fee-for-service payment system and a five-year transition to a physician payment system that rewards quality and value-based care and not the volume of care.

The 12 recommendations were based on the principles that payment reform should improve care quality and efficiency, encourage care for the medically disadvantaged, reduce marginal and ineffective services, increase transparency to the public and should reward patient-centered comprehensive care. (Click here to see those recommendations)

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Vaccines causing seizures is more common in U.S. than ever

 

 

Vaccines were once undoubtedly regarded as the first line of defense against diseases and internal infections, but it is now being reported that vaccines do no good to  human health. Natural News reports that vaccines nowadays contain a large number of toxic agents that make the body sick instead of helping it recover from illness. A Madison-based vaccine company is all set to introduce a new vaccine called Redee Flu, which the company claims to be more efficient in resisting the advent of flu. But this vaccine is also likely to contain harmful and toxic chemicals like all other flu shots as revealed in the news article posted in

http://www.naturalnews.com/039344_universal_flu_shot_vaccines_chemical_adjuvants.html#ixzz2MZt6RYbg

 

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has been able to establish a direct link between the tetanus and whooping cough vaccines and seizures in babies. In this study, almost 380,000 children who were born in Denmark between 2003 and 2008 were studied by Yuelian Sun and her colleagues from Aarhus University in Denmark. These children were given vaccines regularly. Over two percent of these children were reported to have suffered  seizures from fever by the time  they were one-and-a-half years old and the risk of having fever related seizures increased each time they were vaccinated. Read more in

http://www.naturalnews.com/035072_Dtap_vaccine_seizures_babies.html

 

On one hand, vaccines do little to save the public from the onslaught of diseases and on the other hand, injecting the wrong vaccine worsens the problem. Natural News reports that a British doctor has been charged with giving the wrong vaccines to children for over three years and the worst part is that the children now face serious health risks. Since January 2009, at least 221 children in the Barnsley area in United Kingdom have been subjected to the wrong vaccines and a faulty vaccination procedure. Instead of giving individual vaccines, the doctor is reported to have given the children a combination of whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, Haemophilus Influenza Type B, rubella, mumps and measles vaccines which has now placed their health in serious jeopardy. The story is covered in the link  http://www.naturalnews.com/038034_vaccines_children_health_risks.html

 

 

 

Vaccines were once undoubtedly regarded as the first line of defense against diseases and internal infections, but it is now being reported that vaccines do no good to  human health. Natural News reports that vaccines nowadays contain a large number of toxic agents that make the body sick instead of helping it recover from illness. A Madison-based vaccine company is all set to introduce a new vaccine called Redee Flu, which the company claims to be more efficient in resisting the advent of flu. But this vaccine is also likely to contain harmful and toxic chemicals like all other flu shots as revealed in the news article posted in

http://www.naturalnews.com/039344_universal_flu_shot_vaccines_chemical_adjuvants.html#ixzz2MZt6RYbg

 

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has been able to establish a direct link between the tetanus and whooping cough vaccines and seizures in babies. In this study, almost 380,000 children who were born in Denmark between 2003 and 2008 were studied by Yuelian Sun and her colleagues from Aarhus University in Denmark. These children were given vaccines regularly. Over two percent of these children were reported to have suffered  seizures from fever by the time  they were one-and-a-half years old and the risk of having fever related seizures increased each time they were vaccinated. Read more in

http://www.naturalnews.com/035072_Dtap_vaccine_seizures_babies.html

 

On one hand, vaccines do little to save the public from the onslaught of diseases and on the other hand, injecting the wrong vaccine worsens the problem. Natural News reports that a British doctor has been charged with giving the wrong vaccines to children for over three years and the worst part is that the children now face serious health risks. Since January 2009, at least 221 children in the Barnsley area in United Kingdom have been subjected to the wrong vaccines and a faulty vaccination procedure. Instead of giving individual vaccines, the doctor is reported to have given the children a combination of whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, Haemophilus Influenza Type B, rubella, mumps and measles vaccines which has now placed their health in serious jeopardy. The story is covered in the link  http://www.naturalnews.com/038034_vaccines_children_health_risks.html

 

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Opinions about early castration of cats

Pernestål K and Axnér E. An internet survey of breeders’ and cat rescue organisations’ opinions about early castration of cats. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 2012; 14: 849-56. 

Early castration, usually suggested to be castration before 4 months of age, is the only method to make sure that a cat will not produce a litter. Breeders of pedigree cats may use early castration as an effective means of preventing a kitten from breeding before it goes to a new home. There has been a concern that early castration may lead to depletion of gene pools leading to future inbreeding and health problems. Because of this concern in Sweden, it is one of the reasons for not recommending castration before a cat is 6 months old.
 
Responses by 66 breeders (covering a total of 17 breeds) and 29 cat rescue organisations were obtained by using a web-based questionnaire asking them to choose perceived advantages and disadvantages to castration. While the reasons to apply early castration differed between breeders, the possibility of counteracting irresponsible breeding (such as overuse of strains within the breed or production of cross-breeds) seemed to be one of the main reasons. Of all the pedigree kittens covered in the study, 45.1% were kept intact while 54.9% were neutered before re-homing. Few breeders had experienced any negative side effects of early castration; overweight being mentioned by four breeders. Though the questionnaire was emailed to 102 cat rescue groups, 29 responded with 19 (65.5%) believing that early castration could be beneficial in reducing the number of homeless cats. Only six (20.6%) of the groups had applied early castration. 

The authors considered the poor response rate by cat rescue groups may be due to the fact that the issue had not been discussed in all organisations and that these cats do not have one specific owner.
The authors conclude from evaluating the responses there was no evidence in this study that early castration of pedigree kittens will inevitably cause a depletion of gene pools. They did not believe there were conflicting interests between keeping genetic variation in pedigree breeds and the possibility of limiting the population of homeless cats by castrating kittens before they are re-homed. [VT]

See also: Joyce A and Yates D. Help stop teenage pregnancy! Early-age neutering in cats. J Feline Med Surg. 2011; 13: 3-10.

Related blog posts:
The best age to spay and neuter (March 2008)

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Google+

Pernestål K and Axnér E. An internet survey of breeders’ and cat rescue organisations’ opinions about early castration of cats. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 2012; 14: 849-56. 

Early castration, usually suggested to be castration before 4 months of age, is the only method to make sure that a cat will not produce a litter. Breeders of pedigree cats may use early castration as an effective means of preventing a kitten from breeding before it goes to a new home. There has been a concern that early castration may lead to depletion of gene pools leading to future inbreeding and health problems. Because of this concern in Sweden, it is one of the reasons for not recommending castration before a cat is 6 months old.
 
Responses by 66 breeders (covering a total of 17 breeds) and 29 cat rescue organisations were obtained by using a web-based questionnaire asking them to choose perceived advantages and disadvantages to castration. While the reasons to apply early castration differed between breeders, the possibility of counteracting irresponsible breeding (such as overuse of strains within the breed or production of cross-breeds) seemed to be one of the main reasons. Of all the pedigree kittens covered in the study, 45.1% were kept intact while 54.9% were neutered before re-homing. Few breeders had experienced any negative side effects of early castration; overweight being mentioned by four breeders. Though the questionnaire was emailed to 102 cat rescue groups, 29 responded with 19 (65.5%) believing that early castration could be beneficial in reducing the number of homeless cats. Only six (20.6%) of the groups had applied early castration. 

The authors considered the poor response rate by cat rescue groups may be due to the fact that the issue had not been discussed in all organisations and that these cats do not have one specific owner.
The authors conclude from evaluating the responses there was no evidence in this study that early castration of pedigree kittens will inevitably cause a depletion of gene pools. They did not believe there were conflicting interests between keeping genetic variation in pedigree breeds and the possibility of limiting the population of homeless cats by castrating kittens before they are re-homed. [VT]

See also: Joyce A and Yates D. Help stop teenage pregnancy! Early-age neutering in cats. J Feline Med Surg. 2011; 13: 3-10.

Related blog posts:
The best age to spay and neuter (March 2008)

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Google+

Read More

Study finds only counties in Appalachia, mostly in Kentucky, had increasing rates of death among both sexes as century turned

By Molly Burchett
Kentucky Health News

More than 40 percent of counties saw increases in female death rates as the 21st Century began, while the death rate for men rose in just 3 percent of counties, a study shows. Only Appalachian counties, mostly in Kentucky, had worsening rates for both sexes. (Click on a map for a larger version.)

Change In Male Mortality Rates From 1992–96 To 2002–06

Change In Female Mortality Rates From 1992–96 To 2002–06

On the Health Affairs maps above, blue counties showed substantial improvement, while those in aqua showed minimal improvement and worsening counties are in red.

The study identifies some shared characteristics among the 1,334 counties where more women are dying prematurely, but the main factors weren't medical or behavioral, according to David Kindig and Erika Cheng, authors of the study report.

Although counties with high rates of smoking and obesity had increased mortality rates, the report found socioeconomic factors in the Appalachian states of Kentucky and West Virginia, such as the percentage of a county’s population with a college education and the rate of children living in poverty, had more to do with increased mortality rates.

In Kentucky, Owsley County has been ranked last on health-related measures by the Population Health Institute. Areas like this in Appalachia suffered rising death rates in both sexes because college education is a rarity, child poverty is normal, recreational facilities are scarce, restaurants are mostly fast-food outlets, and adults lack social support, reports Geoffrey Cowley of msnbc.

The chart below shows how Kentucky compares to the national average in premature death and that Owsley County suffers from tremendously high rates.

County Health Rankings by University of Wisconsin's Population Health
Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (countyhealthrankings.org)

These findings provide supporting evidence for the ever-increasing need for significant health improvement efforts in Appalachia. According to the report, efforts must extend beyond a focus on health care delivery and include stronger policies affecting health behaviors and the social and environmental determinants of health,with corresponding investments in those areas. (Read more)

Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

By Molly Burchett
Kentucky Health News

More than 40 percent of counties saw increases in female death rates as the 21st Century began, while the death rate for men rose in just 3 percent of counties, a study shows. Only Appalachian counties, mostly in Kentucky, had worsening rates for both sexes. (Click on a map for a larger version.)

Change In Male Mortality Rates From 1992–96 To 2002–06

Change In Female Mortality Rates From 1992–96 To 2002–06

On the Health Affairs maps above, blue counties showed substantial improvement, while those in aqua showed minimal improvement and worsening counties are in red.

The study identifies some shared characteristics among the 1,334 counties where more women are dying prematurely, but the main factors weren't medical or behavioral, according to David Kindig and Erika Cheng, authors of the study report.

Although counties with high rates of smoking and obesity had increased mortality rates, the report found socioeconomic factors in the Appalachian states of Kentucky and West Virginia, such as the percentage of a county’s population with a college education and the rate of children living in poverty, had more to do with increased mortality rates.

In Kentucky, Owsley County has been ranked last on health-related measures by the Population Health Institute. Areas like this in Appalachia suffered rising death rates in both sexes because college education is a rarity, child poverty is normal, recreational facilities are scarce, restaurants are mostly fast-food outlets, and adults lack social support, reports Geoffrey Cowley of msnbc.

The chart below shows how Kentucky compares to the national average in premature death and that Owsley County suffers from tremendously high rates.

County Health Rankings by University of Wisconsin's Population Health
Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (countyhealthrankings.org)

These findings provide supporting evidence for the ever-increasing need for significant health improvement efforts in Appalachia. According to the report, efforts must extend beyond a focus on health care delivery and include stronger policies affecting health behaviors and the social and environmental determinants of health,with corresponding investments in those areas. (Read more)

Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

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Smoking ban gets 'a good scrubbing' before Judiciary Committee

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

The bill for a statewide smoking ban is favored by three-fifths of Kentucky adults, but is dead for this session of the General Assembly. However, its supporters think they made some headway Monday as they laid groundwork for getting it through the state House a year from now.

The House Judiciary Committee held an informational hearing on House Bill 190 to "give it a good scrubbing" before a committee that is more skeptical of it than the Health and Welfare Committee, which approved it early in the session, the bill's sponsor, Rep, Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, said afterward.

Westrom said she was encouraged by the hearing because it exposed weaknesses in the bill that she will correct for the next regular session, beginning in January 2014. For example, she said, Rep. Steven Rudy, R-Paducah, argued that the bill's language would make it illegal to use smoke in barns to cure the dark tobacco grown in Western Kentucky, largely for smokeless consumption.

"This is about vetting," Westrom told Rudy. "You have a different mindset that I do sitting on the Health and Welfare Committee."

Rudy acknowledged that secondhand smoke is not beneficial, but asked, "Has there ever been a death certificate that secondhand smoke killed this person?"

Dr. Sylvia Cerel-Suhl, Central Kentucky president of the American Heart Association, replied that Lexington recorded a significant drop in acute heart attacks after enacting a smoking ban, and said "thousands of studies" of secondhand smoke have shown exposure to it can cause premature death.

"The evidence is absolutely overwhelming," she said, and asked if anyone else had any questions. No one did, but the committee was one member short of a quorum.

Advocates told the legislators that 37 jurisdictions, covering 34 percent of the state's population, limit smoking in some way. Mark Hayden, a trial lawyer and former Campbell County commissioner, said a statewide ban is needed because enacting ordinances, writing regulations and enforcing them is a burden for local officials.

The bill would give local health departments power to enforce the ban. Scott Lockard, president of the Kentucky Health Departments Association and the health director in Clark County, said his agency has issued no court charges, only warning citations, since its board passed a ban, and Woodford County has issued only three citations.

Others appearing at the hearing included Dr. Stephanie Mayfield, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, and Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson, who was invited by the Kentucky Smoke-Free Kentucky Coalition. He discussed enforcement of of the ban in Louisville, where he was mayor.

Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, said the ban is "one of the most important pieces of legislation that has been brought before this body, because it literally affects every Kentuckian. . . perhaps the most important piece."

Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

The bill for a statewide smoking ban is favored by three-fifths of Kentucky adults, but is dead for this session of the General Assembly. However, its supporters think they made some headway Monday as they laid groundwork for getting it through the state House a year from now.

The House Judiciary Committee held an informational hearing on House Bill 190 to "give it a good scrubbing" before a committee that is more skeptical of it than the Health and Welfare Committee, which approved it early in the session, the bill's sponsor, Rep, Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, said afterward.

Westrom said she was encouraged by the hearing because it exposed weaknesses in the bill that she will correct for the next regular session, beginning in January 2014. For example, she said, Rep. Steven Rudy, R-Paducah, argued that the bill's language would make it illegal to use smoke in barns to cure the dark tobacco grown in Western Kentucky, largely for smokeless consumption.

"This is about vetting," Westrom told Rudy. "You have a different mindset that I do sitting on the Health and Welfare Committee."

Rudy acknowledged that secondhand smoke is not beneficial, but asked, "Has there ever been a death certificate that secondhand smoke killed this person?"

Dr. Sylvia Cerel-Suhl, Central Kentucky president of the American Heart Association, replied that Lexington recorded a significant drop in acute heart attacks after enacting a smoking ban, and said "thousands of studies" of secondhand smoke have shown exposure to it can cause premature death.

"The evidence is absolutely overwhelming," she said, and asked if anyone else had any questions. No one did, but the committee was one member short of a quorum.

Advocates told the legislators that 37 jurisdictions, covering 34 percent of the state's population, limit smoking in some way. Mark Hayden, a trial lawyer and former Campbell County commissioner, said a statewide ban is needed because enacting ordinances, writing regulations and enforcing them is a burden for local officials.

The bill would give local health departments power to enforce the ban. Scott Lockard, president of the Kentucky Health Departments Association and the health director in Clark County, said his agency has issued no court charges, only warning citations, since its board passed a ban, and Woodford County has issued only three citations.

Others appearing at the hearing included Dr. Stephanie Mayfield, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, and Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson, who was invited by the Kentucky Smoke-Free Kentucky Coalition. He discussed enforcement of of the ban in Louisville, where he was mayor.

Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, said the ban is "one of the most important pieces of legislation that has been brought before this body, because it literally affects every Kentuckian. . . perhaps the most important piece."

Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

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Legislature sends fix of last year's pill-mill bill to Beshear

"After more than a year of debate, a bill that would revamp Kentucky’s prescription-drug law to more strictly focus on pill abuse and ease requirements on patients is heading to the governor’s desk," Mike Wynn reports for The Courier-Journal. On a 36-0 vote, the Senate sent House Bill 217 to Gov. Steve Beshear, who said he will sign it tomorrow.

The chief lobbyist for the Kentucky Medical Association said the physicians' group did not get all the changes it requested in last year's law but is satisfied with the bill. It "would exempt hospitals and long-term care facilities from many of the requirements that doctors must follow before prescribing drugs," Wynn writes. "It also creates a 14-day exemption for surgery patients and gives doctors more discretion in examining patients before a prescription is given." (Read more)

"After more than a year of debate, a bill that would revamp Kentucky’s prescription-drug law to more strictly focus on pill abuse and ease requirements on patients is heading to the governor’s desk," Mike Wynn reports for The Courier-Journal. On a 36-0 vote, the Senate sent House Bill 217 to Gov. Steve Beshear, who said he will sign it tomorrow.

The chief lobbyist for the Kentucky Medical Association said the physicians' group did not get all the changes it requested in last year's law but is satisfied with the bill. It "would exempt hospitals and long-term care facilities from many of the requirements that doctors must follow before prescribing drugs," Wynn writes. "It also creates a 14-day exemption for surgery patients and gives doctors more discretion in examining patients before a prescription is given." (Read more)

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Lesions in the oral cavity of cats

Santarelli GA, Matteo I, Bellucci C and Lepri E. Lesions of the oral cavity in the cat: a review on 228 cases (2005-2010). Veterinaria (Cremona). 2012; 26: 7. 
 
Oral lesions are common in cats. Many are associated with the teeth and supporting structures (e.g., tooth resorption, gingivitis, stomatitis, etc.) but other types of lesions occur not associated with dental disease. These lesions may appear as ulcerative or proliferative tumor-like abnormalities. In this retrospective study, the investigators examined biopsy findings from 228 cats with oral disease. 

Most lesions were not cancerous, but were inflammatory in nature (61%). Of the inflammatory lesions, the majority were classified as chronic lymphoplasmacytic stomatitis. Tumors were found in 25% of the cases, with squamous cell carcinoma being the most common type. Thus, the majority of oral lesions are not cancerous; when cancerous, they may be ulcerative in nature rather than proliferative. Only a biopsy with microscopic examination of tissues (histopathology) can definitively diagnose oral lesions in cats. [MK]

See also: Buelow ME, Marretta SM, Barger A and Lichtensteiger C. Lingual lesions in the dog and cat: recognition, diagnosis, and treatment. J Vet Dent. 2011; 28: 151-62. 

Related blog articles:
Improving treatment for feline oral cancer (Sept 2012)
Oral cancer in cats (August 2010)

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
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Santarelli GA, Matteo I, Bellucci C and Lepri E. Lesions of the oral cavity in the cat: a review on 228 cases (2005-2010). Veterinaria (Cremona). 2012; 26: 7. 
 
Oral lesions are common in cats. Many are associated with the teeth and supporting structures (e.g., tooth resorption, gingivitis, stomatitis, etc.) but other types of lesions occur not associated with dental disease. These lesions may appear as ulcerative or proliferative tumor-like abnormalities. In this retrospective study, the investigators examined biopsy findings from 228 cats with oral disease. 

Most lesions were not cancerous, but were inflammatory in nature (61%). Of the inflammatory lesions, the majority were classified as chronic lymphoplasmacytic stomatitis. Tumors were found in 25% of the cases, with squamous cell carcinoma being the most common type. Thus, the majority of oral lesions are not cancerous; when cancerous, they may be ulcerative in nature rather than proliferative. Only a biopsy with microscopic examination of tissues (histopathology) can definitively diagnose oral lesions in cats. [MK]

See also: Buelow ME, Marretta SM, Barger A and Lichtensteiger C. Lingual lesions in the dog and cat: recognition, diagnosis, and treatment. J Vet Dent. 2011; 28: 151-62. 

Related blog articles:
Improving treatment for feline oral cancer (Sept 2012)
Oral cancer in cats (August 2010)

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Google+

Read More