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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has been criticized for not being more directive and aggressive on preventing needle stick injuries, has posted an impressive, interactive workbook on the issue.
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There is an association between long-distance air flights and venous thromboembolism, but the role of traditional risk factors and prophylactic measures requires more study.
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Sleep and headache have a long and complex relationship. Morning (or awakening) headache has been linked to sleep disorders, especially obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, but this association is controversial.
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It appears safe to conclude that patients with mild-to-moderate angina can be safely managed with continued medical therapy, but percutaneous coronary intervention is certainly indicated and appropriate if anginal symptoms are not controlled by maximum, aggressive medical management.
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On Jan. 13, 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a new suspect case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in a 35-year-old man living in Guangdong province, China.
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Concerned about the emerging threat of pandemic influenza in Vietnam, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has dispatched a team to Hanoi to investigate an H5N1 avian flu outbreak that had claimed 12 lives as of Jan. 15, 2003.
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In a move that stunned infection control professionals, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced that it will require one of the most contentious provisions of its failed tuberculosis standard annual respirator fit-testing under its existing general respiratory protection standard.
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Amid increasing sensational press exposés and consumer advocates demanding release of hospital infection rates, comes this cold truth from a leading public health official: Health care-associated infections are fraught with so many variables that epidemiologists dont really know how many occur and how many can be prevented.
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New infection control standards by the Joint Commission describe a widely supported and collaborative program that represents one of a hospitals top priorities. Highlights of the 2005 standards, which are effective next Jan. 1, include this statement in the overview:
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Infection control professionals have the expertise to handle a rapidly expanding job definition, but must have the resources and staff to accomplish the new demands on the profession, a leading ICP recently said in Chicago at a conference held by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
