MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Apr 2012
Pseudomonas aeruginosa respiratory tract infections associated with contaminated ultrasound gel used for transesophageal echocardiography - Michigan, December 2011-January 2012.
In late December 2011, the Department of Epidemiology at Beaumont Health System (BHS) in Royal Oak, Michigan, noted an increase in the number of positive respiratory cultures in one surgical intensive-care unit (ICU), prompting further investigation. The increase in positive cultures was attributed entirely to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Investigation by BHS staff members found that all of these positive cultures were related to use of ultrasound transmission gel from a single manufacturer during transesophageal echocardiography. ⋯ On January 23, all implicated ultrasound gel in multiuse bottles was removed from BHS facilities and replaced with a single-use, sterile ultrasound gel for all potentially invasive procedures. On April 18, FDA issued a Safety Communication* advising health-care professionals and facilities not to use certain lot numbers of the ultrasound transmission gel and further advising that the only ultrasound gel that is sterile is unopened gel in containers labeled as sterile. To date, no further respiratory cultures have been positive for P. aeruginosa.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Apr 2012
Vital signs: Unintentional injury deaths among persons aged 0-19 years - United States, 2000-2009.
Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death in the United States for persons aged 1-19 years and the fifth leading cause of death for newborns and infants aged <1 year. This report describes 10-year trends in unintentional injury deaths among persons aged 0-19 years. ⋯ From 2000 to 2009, the overall annual unintentional injury death rate decreased 29%, from 15.5 to 11.0 per 100,000 population, accounting for 9,143 deaths in 2009. The rate decreased among all age groups except newborns and infants aged <1 year; in this age group, rates increased from 23.1 to 27.7 per 100,000 primarily as a result of an increase in reported suffocations. The poisoning death rate among teens aged 15-19 years nearly doubled, from 1.7 to 3.3 per 100,000, in part because of an increase in prescription drug overdoses (e.g., opioid pain relievers). Childhood motor vehicle traffic-related death rates declined 41%; however, these deaths remain the leading cause of unintentional injury death. Among states, unintentional injury death rates varied widely, from 4.0 to 25.1 per 100,000 in 2009. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE: Although the annual rate is declining, unintentional injury remains the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States, led by motor vehicle traffic-related deaths. Death rates from infant suffocation and teen poisoning are increasing. The 2012 National Action Plan for Child Injury Prevention provides actions in surveillance, research, communication, education, health care, and public policy to guide efforts in saving lives by reducing injuries.