Ethnographic study of incidence and severity of intravenous drug errors.

Taxis K, Barber N.

Department of Practice and Policy, School of Pharmacy, University of London, London WC1 1AX.

[email protected]

OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence and clinical importance of errors in the preparation and administration of intravenous drugs and the stages of the process in which errors occur.

DESIGN: Prospective ethnographic study using disguised observation.

PARTICIPANTS: Nurses who prepared and administered intravenous drugs.

SETTING: 10 wards in a teaching and non-teaching hospital in the United Kingdom.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number, type, and clinical importance of errors. RESULTS: 249 errors were identified. At least one error occurred in 212 out of 430 intravenous drug doses (49%, 95% confidence interval 45% to 54%). Three doses (1%) had potentially severe errors, 126 (29%) potentially moderate errors, and 83 (19%) potentially minor errors. Most errors occurred when giving bolus doses or making up drugs that required multiple step preparation.

CONCLUSIONS: The rate of intravenous drug errors was high. Although most errors would cause only short term adverse effects, a few could have been serious. A combination of reducing the amount of preparation on the ward, training, and technology to administer slow bolus doses would probably have the greatest effect on error rates.

While internet ads are definitely taking advantage of the SARS epidemic, the logic used to criticize some ads leave something to be desired. For example, some people do get infected with SARS and their immune system kills or suppresses it with no clinical symptomology. You die from SARS because your immune system cannot fend off the onslaught of the corona virus, the metapneumovirus, and a suspected parasite infection simultaneously. The inability of the immune system to deal with the viruses causes the lungs to fill up until you can’t breath any more. Then body systems start shutting down. There are plenty of radiology images in the literature that graphically show this happening.

Virtually all deaths from SARS occur in people over 40, some of them in good health. This is the age when the immune system begins to start degrading noticeably.

Since there is (apparently) no conventional treatment for SARS, the only cure for SARS accepted by conventional medicine is your own immune system and strengthening your immune system should be the top priority for anyone concerned about SARS, particularly if they are over 40, and even if they are (apparently) healthy. This is effectively done by a good exercise program and nutritional supplements. There are literally thousands of papers in the leading medical journals that support this statement.

The Life Extension Foundation provides a good review of the literature for documented effects of nutritional supplements and exercise on enhancements to the immune system. If you read it carefully, you will know more than most physicians. Even if your physician is familiar with this literature, you are not likely to get a recommendation to follow the advice in the literature. For example, surveys have shown that about 80% of cardiologists take Vitamin E supplements, whereas virtually none of them recommend Vitamin E to their patients. It is clear why cardiologists take Vitamin E. The large Harvard epidemiologic studies show significantly reduced heart disease in people who take Vitamin E supplements. It is not so clear why your cardiologist will not mention Vitamin E to you in most cases. The FDA has created an atmosphere of fear in the physician community that prevents them from recommending what articles in the leading medical journals demonstrate to be excellent treatment. Therefore, your health is at risk if you do not read the medical literature yourself.

However, there is a possible convention treatment for SARS. The Life Extension Foundation reports: “The U.S. government has released information stating that there is no effective treatment for SARS, yet the Chinese report excellent results using the drug ribavirin (sold in the United States under the brand name Rebetol®). According to Hong Kong health officials, at least 90 percent of patients treated with ribavirin have recovered.” Check out the Life Entension Foundation Protocol.

As for beta glucan mention by the New York Times, it will help your immune system but not as much as Transfer Factor Plus (which contains some beta glucan as a component). An individual with SARS reported some relief with Transfer Factor Plus. In any event, you can check out the New York Times article below.

CASHING IN

Internet Ads Promising Cures or Protection

By MELODY PETERSEN, New York Times 14 Apr 2003

Young Again Nutrients, which also advertises on the Internet, says its supplement, Beta Glucan, can bolster the immune system and help protect against SARS.

“We’re just saying that a strong immune system is your best defense,” said John Livingston, the company’s chief executive.

But Dr. Turner said the company’s advertising claims were speculative. He said it was not clear that the product would actually strengthen the immune system, and if it did, whether that would even help against SARS. People do not become infected with SARS, he said, because their immune systems are weak.

The SARS caronavirus with frequency 33566 is associated with the metapneumovirus shown above from the University of Iowa Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases. I’ve now seen the frequency for both of these viruses in multiple individuals. The metapneumovirus frequency is 255616.

The good news is that these frequencies appear to be stable across individuals and do not break into reconstituting fragments like a flu virus. The bad news is that they are likely to be spread by a parasite infection. This would be consistent with the droplet exposure phenomenon of SARS and the fact that certain individuals spread the virus more than others. I have seen more and more lung and throat parasite infections that spread viruses via a parasite in droplets after coughing or sneezing. The SARS infection is characterized by a dry cough which is common in a lung infection with a microscopic parasite. The deadly infections are likely a combination of parasite and the two viruses above. Those that die are likely to be more infectious because they probably have a severe parasite infection along with the viral infection.

I have killed a parasite infection in a person that tested negative for SARS frequencies. After killing the parasite, the individual tested positive for SARS frequencies. It was a light infection which was knocked out in a few minutes indicating it was probably released by dead parasites. This is typical of the Herxheimer effect that is seen when killing parasites.

By parasite, I mean a multicelled creature with four stages of its life cycle. The adult lays eggs which then grow through two larval stages. Each life cycle stage has a different frequency and all stages must be killed simultaneously to cure the parasite infection. The medical community is notoriously inept at identifying parasite infections. The leading parasitology lab in the country will only test stools samples (some of the worst parasite infections are in the brain), and only for certain well known parasite infections like Giardia. Even when identified, the conventional treatment for parasites has many negative side effects and does not eliminate all the parasites in the body in most cases. I have treated many people with residual Giardia infections, for example.

Coronavirus as a possible cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome

J S M Peiris, S T Lai, L L M Poon, Y Guan, L Y C Yam, W Lim, J Nicholls, W K S Yee, W W Yan, M T Cheung, V C C Cheng, K H Chan, D N C Tsang, R W H Yung, T K Ng, K Y Yuen, and members of the SARS study group

The Lancet Volume 361, Number 9365, 12 April 2003

Background: An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has been reported in Hong Kong. We investigated the viral cause and clinical presentation among 50 patients.

Methods: We analysed case notes and microbiological findings for 50 patients with SARS, representing more than five separate epidemiologically linked transmission clusters. We defined the clinical presentation and risk factors associated with severe disease and investigated the causal agents by chest radiography and laboratory testing of nasopharyngeal aspirates and sera samples. We compared the laboratory findings with those submitted for microbiological investigation of other diseases from patients whose identity was masked.

Findings: Patients’ age ranged from 23 to 74 years. Fever, chills, myalgia, and cough were the most frequent complaints. When compared with chest radiographic changes, respiratory symptoms and auscultatory findings were disproportionally mild. Patients who were household contacts of other infected people, and had older age, lymphopenia, and liver dysfunction were associated with severe disease. A virus belonging to the family Coronaviridae was isolated from two patients. By use of serological and reverse-transcriptase PCR specific for this virus, 45 of 50 patients with SARS, but no controls, had evidence of infection with this virus.

Interpretation: A coronavirus was isolated from patients with SARS that might be the primary agent associated with this disease. Serological and molecular tests specific for the virus permitted a definitive laboratory diagnosis to be made and allowed further investigation to define whether other cofactors play a part in disease progression.



A lot of people have been asking me about the possible frequency of SARS. A picture of the suspected virus above is from an unkown web site. Let me know if you know the link. There are a number of additional photos that can be found on the CDC briefing site.

On further analysis, the frequency of the virus in the all of the photos appears to be 33566. This is a nasty bug that is atypical of most viral diseases I encounter and may not respond to usual complementary treatments. It is associated with another virus with frequency 255616 which may be a metapneumovirus.

It would be extremely wise to take large amounts of Transfer Factor Plus as I believe this will at least slow the progression of the disease. Time of initial treatment with an FSCAN should be at least one hour and 15 minutes and treatment would probably need to be repeated for several days to eliminate symptoms. Any fragmentation of the virus would need to be detected, along with appropriate frequencies for elimination.

Current testing indicates that Oscillicoccinum may affect these viruses. This should be taken immediately as recommended by the manufacturer to see if it is effective.

That’s my best guess from available information and it should serve as a good starting point for a DIRP scan with an FSCAN.

WHO doctor dies of respiratory disease

From the International Desk of United Press International

Published 3/29/2003 8:28 PM

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 29 (UPI) — Carlo Urbani, the Italian doctor who first identified a new deadly respiratory illness has himself died of the disease, the World Health Organization said Saturday.

Urbani, who detected the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, was 46.

“Carlo Urbani’s death saddens us all deeply at WHO,” Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, WHO’s director-general said in a statement. “His life reminds us again of our true work in public health. Today, we should all pause for a moment and remember the life of this outstanding physician.”

Medical resistance to innovation

Forman R.

Med Hypotheses 1981 Aug;7(8):1009-17

A certain amount of resistance to new ideas is normal and functional in science providing the innovations have a means of being tested. A number of differences between medicine and pure science are noted which can result in some medical innovations being ignored or rejected without an adequate assessment. Historical and current instances of resistance to innovation are given. Social-organizational factors in medicine appear to favor the acceptance of theoretically glamorous, pharmaceutical, and high technology innovations over simpler and less profitable ones.

First Do No Harm (1997)

Based on a true story that’s both inspirational and devastating, First Do No Harm stars Meryl Streep as a mother who goes to extraordinary lengths to help find a cure for her epileptic son. When the family’s insurance runs out, Streep immerses herself in medical research. In a last-ditch effort to save her son, she takes him to Baltimore for a controversial treatment.

Efficacy of the ketogenic diet for infantile spasms

Kossoff EH, Pyzik PL, McGrogan JR, Vining EP, Freeman JM.

Department of Neurology, Pediatric Epilepsy Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. [email protected]

Pediatrics 2002 May;109(5):780-3

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine whether the ketogenic diet is safe, well-tolerated, and efficacious in the treatment of infantile spasms.

METHODS: During a 4-year period, 23 children with infantile spasms, aged 5 months to 2 years, were started on the ketogenic diet; 9 (39%) had symptomatic infantile spasms, and 16 (70%) had hypsarrhythmia. Children had an average prediet exposure to 3.3 anticonvulsants. Two children were enrolled before any medication had been tried. Seizure reduction was analyzed retrospectively, using parent reports and electroencephalograms (EEGs) when available.

RESULTS: At 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, 38%, 39%, 53%, and 46%, respectively, of all patients currently on the diet were >90% improved (3 were seizure-free at 12 months); 67%, 72%, 93%, and 100% were >50% improved. Fifty-six percent remained on the diet at 12 months, 46% of whom were >90% improved and 100% were >50%. Fifty percent of those with hypsarrhythmia and follow-up EEGs had EEG improvement. Fifty-seven percent had their medications reduced or discontinued by 12 months. Fifty-seven percent had improvement in development, which was correlated with seizure control. Independent factors that predicted improvement included age younger than 1 year and previous exposure to 3 or fewer anticonvulsants. No child has died, and 7 children had diet-related adverse reactions (nephrolithiasis, gastroesophageal reflux).

DISCUSSION: The ketogenic diet is a safe, well-tolerated, and possibly effective potential alternative to other therapies for infantile spasms.

Kudos to Thomas Levy, MD, JD for putting this together in his book Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, & Toxins. “Sadly, it would seem that many pediatricians and pediatric neurologists do not know what is in the most current issues of their primary and specialty journals.”

SARS almost certainly caused by new type of coronavirus — diagnostic tests being prepared.

By Robert Walgate, April 4, 2003

The outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) that originated in China is, with “95–97% certainty,” caused by a completely new type of coronavirus, according to Julie Hall, who is responsible for the World Health Organization’s Global Alert, Response and Operations Network.

The new virus diverges by 50–60% from the three known groups of coronavirus, but that is typical of the variation between coronavirus groups, according to Stephan Günther of the Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine in Hamburg. Günther works with Christian Drosten, who along with researchers in several other laboratories has identified the coronavirus in SARS patients. The Scientist asked Günther if it could be a previously unknown animal virus. “The origin is completely unclear because no other coronavirus is closely related,” he said.

Exposure of human peripheral blood lymphocytes to electromagnetic fields associated with cellular phones leads to chromosomal instability

Maya Mashevich 1 3, Dan Folkman 2, Amit Kesar 2, Alexander Barbul 3, Rafi Korenstein 3 *, Eli Jerby 2, Lydia Avivi 1

Keywords

continuous RF fields • nonthermal effects • aneuploidy • centromeric DNA replication • carcinogenesis

Abstract

Whether exposure to radiation emitted from cellular phones poses a health hazard is at the focus of current debate. We have examined whether in vitro exposure of human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) to continuous 830 MHz electromagnetic fields causes losses and gains of chromosomes (aneuploidy), a major somatic mutation leading to genomic instability and thereby to cancer. PBL were irradiated at different average absorption rates (SAR) in the range of 1.6-8.8 W/kg for 72 hr in an exposure system based on a parallel plate resonator at temperatures ranging from 34.5-37.5 °C. The averaged SAR and its distribution in the exposed tissue culture flask were determined by combining measurements and numerical analysis based on a finite element simulation code. A linear increase in chromosome 17 aneuploidy was observed as a function of the SAR value, demonstrating that this radiation has a genotoxic effect. The SAR dependent aneuploidy was accompanied by an abnormal mode of replication of the chromosome 17 region engaged in segregation (repetitive DNA arrays associated with the centromere), suggesting that epigenetic alterations are involved in the SAR dependent genetic toxicity. Control experiments (i.e., without any RF radiation) carried out in the temperature range of 34.5-38.5 °C showed that elevated temperature is not associated with either the genetic or epigenetic alterations observed following RF radiation – the increased levels of aneuploidy and the modification in replication of the centromeric DNA arrays. These findings indicate that the genotoxic effect of the electromagnetic radiation is elicited via a non-thermal pathway. Moreover, the fact that aneuploidy is a phenomenon known to increase the risk for cancer, should be taken into consideration in future evaluation of exposure guidelines. Bioelectromagnetics 24:82-90, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Linus Pauling emphasized in our discussions years ago that Vitamin C excreted in the urine did not mean you had too much Vitamin C. He argued that maintaining high plasma vitamin C had all sorts of positive effects. Reduction in the risk of stroke is one of them. A couple of glasses of fresh orange juice a day contains enough vitamin C to cut stroke risk in half. Pauling felt that significantly more vitamin C in the bloodstream had far reaching systemic effects.

Plasma Vitamin C Modifies the Association Between Hypertension and Risk of Stroke

S. Kurl, MD; T.P. Tuomainen, MD; J.A. Laukkanen, MD; K. Nyyssönen, PhD; T. Lakka, MD, PhD; J. Sivenius, MD, PhD; J.T. Salonen, MD, PhD, MscPH

Stroke. 2002;33:1568.

Background and Purpose— There are no prospective studies to determine whether plasma vitamin C modifies the risk of stroke among hypertensive and overweight individuals. We sought to examine whether plasma vitamin C modifies the association between overweight and hypertension and the risk of stroke in middle-aged men from eastern Finland.

Methods— We conducted a 10.4-year prospective population-based cohort study of 2419 randomly selected middle-aged men (42 to 60 years) with no history of stroke at baseline examination. A total of 120 men developed a stroke, of which 96 were ischemic and 24 hemorrhagic strokes.

Results— Men with the lowest levels of plasma vitamin C (<28.4 µmol/L, lowest quarter) had a 2.4-fold (95% CI, 1.4 to 4.3; P=0.002) risk of any stroke compared with men with highest levels of plasma vitamin C (>64.96 µmol/L, highest quarter) after adjustment for age and examination months. An additional adjustment for body mass index, systolic blood pressure, smoking, alcohol consumption, serum total cholesterol, diabetes, and exercise-induced myocardial ischemia attenuated the association marginally (relative risk, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.2 to 3.8; P=0.01). Adjustment for prevalent coronary heart disease and atrial fibrillation did not attenuate the association any further. Furthermore, hypertensive men with the lowest vitamin C levels (<28.4 µmol/L) had a 2.6-fold risk (95% CI, 1.52 to 4.48; P<0.001), and overweight men (25 kg/m2) with low plasma vitamin C had a 2.7-fold risk (95% CI, 1.48 to 4.90; P=0.001) for any stroke after adjustment for age, examination months, and other risk factors. Conclusions— Low plasma vitamin C was associated with increased risk of stroke, especially among hypertensive and overweight men.

Grandma used to give the kids cod liver oil because it helped out the immune system. It tasted bad but it worked. These days, there are a lot of toxins in fish and concentrating the oil must be done by molecular distillation to avoid concentrating the toxins along with the oil.

Before I comment further on fish oil, it is important to note that the best supplement for immune function is Transfer Factor Plus. Research shows that nothing comes close to its effectiveness and I can vouch for it personally as I take it every day. It is the only supplement I have set up a web page for because it is critical that anyone with any chronic disease be supplementing their immune system. You can order it by clicking here, and it is as safe for kids as for adults. For the little ones it will prevent or help recover from colds and flu. For adults, it could save your life.

The next most important supplement to take is pharmaceutical grade fish oil. The best brand is produced by Dr. Sears Labs and is expensive. I take it because it has significant effects on multiple facets of body function. It is particularly good at lowering the heart rate (great for runners) and reducing the risk of heart disease in general. There is an inexpensive Canadian brand of pharmaceutical grade oil sold at www.iherb.com, Rx Omega 3 Factors. Several people have sent me email asking where they can find it, so I am posting the link here.

I have thousands of supplements that I have tested in my laboratory at home and I only take four things regularly: Transfer Factor, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, a really good vitamin supplement, and Horizon Low Fat Cottage Cheese mixed with Barlean’s flax seed oil for cancer prevention (the only combination that tastes good). Vitamin supplements need to be commented on separately, as these merit a longer discussion.

Fish consumption and risk of stroke in men.

He K, Rimm EB, Merchant A, Rosner BA, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Ascherio A.

JAMA 2002 Dec 25;288(24):3130-6

Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Ave, Boston, Mass 02115, USA. [email protected]

CONTEXT: The effect of fish consumption or long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake on risk of stroke remains uncertain.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation of fish consumption and long-chain omega-3 PUFA intake and risk of stroke in men.

DESIGN AND SETTING: The Health Professional Follow-up Study, a US prospective cohort study with 12 years of follow-up.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 43671 men aged 40 to 75 years who completed a detailed and validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire and who were free of cardiovascular disease at baseline in 1986.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Relative risk (RR) of stroke by subtype based on cumulative average fish consumption or long-chain omega-3 PUFA intake, ascertained in 1986, 1990, and 1994.

RESULTS: We documented 608 strokes during the 12-year follow-up period, including 377 ischemic, 106 hemorrhagic, and 125 unclassified strokes. Compared with men who consumed fish less than once per month, the multivariate RR of ischemic stroke was significantly lower among those who ate fish 1 to 3 times per month (RR, 0.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35-0.95). However, a higher frequency of fish intake was not associated with further risk reduction; the RR was 0.54 (95% CI, 0.31-0.94) for men who consumed fish 5 or more times per week. This lack of linearity was confirmed by spline analyses. By dichotomized fish intake, the multivariate RR for men who consumed fish at least once per month compared with those who ate fish less than once per month was 0.56 (95% CI, 0.38-0.83) for ischemic stroke and 1.36 (95% CI, 0.48-3.82) for hemorrhagic stroke. The inverse association between fish intake and risk of ischemic stroke was not materially modified by use of aspirin. No significant associations were found between fish or long-chain omega-3 PUFA intake and risk of hemorrhagic stroke.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that eating fish once per month or more can reduce the risk of ischemic stroke in men.

Bill Moyers was one of the study subjects in a recent study of body burden of industrial pollutants. His blood had over 30 different types of PCBs and a host of other contaminants.

BodyBurden: The Pollution in People

In a study led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, in collaboration with the Environmental Working Group and Commonweal, researchers at two major laboratories found an average of 91 industrial compounds, pollutants, and other chemicals in the blood and urine of nine volunteers, with a total of 167 chemicals found in the group. Like most of us, the people tested do not work with chemicals on the job and do not live near an industrial facility.

Scientists refer to this contamination as a person’s body burden. Of the 167 chemicals found, 76 cause cancer in humans or animals, 94 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 79 cause birth defects or abnormal development. The dangers of exposure to these chemicals in combination has never been studied.