Avoid the Emergency Room this Holiday Season

The holiday message from NewPublicHealth is: stay safe.
A recent report from the University of California at San Francisco finds that emergencies spike during the holidays for a number of reason, including overindulgence and delayed care.
Heart-related deaths increase by 5 percent during the holiday season. Fatal heart attacks peak on Christmas, the day after Christmas, and New Year’s Day, according to a 2004 study in the journal Circulation.
“The holidays are a time when we really increase the amount of salt and fat we eat. Most people don’t notice the difference. However, there are certain people — for example, those with heart failure — for whom the slight increase in salt intake could result in big problems,” said Ameya Kulkarni, MD, a cardiology fellow with the UCSF Division of Cardiology.
UCSF physicians say another excess that fills the emergency room during the winter holidays involves binge drinking. On New Year’s Eve 2010, the UCSF emergency department saw a 50 percent jump in the number of ER visits from the year before. Of that, 70 percent were for alcohol admissions.
UCSF’s Emergency Room Medical Director, Steven Polevoi, MD, says that typically binge drinking patients are so intoxicated that they aren’t able to walk or talk. They can lapse into unconsciousness, have trouble breathing and sometimes even die.
And drunken patients can impede the care of others because no medicine can reverse intoxication. “We must wait until their blood alcohol level decreases and that’s a slow process,” Polevoi said. “Basically we are left with lots of patients in semi-conscious states. They often spend six or eight hours with us until they’re sufficiently sober to go home.”
Bonus to Help Prevent Emergencies: The American College of Emergency Physicians has a good primer on emergency care on its website and gives additional advice on safety for older people, travel and home.
Have a safe, happy and above all healthy holiday.

WV Reports First Confimed Case of the Flu

As of this report, influenza activity remains low in West Virginia. However the report of our first confirmed case increases in influenza activity is expected in the next few weeks as the Flu season gets underway This is an ideal time to get vaccinated.

WV Synopsis:

West Virginia has reported influenza activity as “Sporadic” for MMWR week 47 (week ending Saturday November 26, 2011).

There were 560 cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) reported during MMWR week 47.  Thirty-three sentinel providers reported about one percent (1.12%) of the visits were for ILI. This is a lower than the regional baseline of 2.5%. 

There was one positive test for influenza A and no positive tests for influenza B reported by hospital and referral laboratories. Only PCR, immunofluorescence and culture results are counted in these totals.

At the Office of Laboratory Services there was one positive test for influenza.

                                   Influenza AH3                      

There were no active influenza outbreaks. 

CDC Synopsis:

During week 47 (November 20-26, 2011), influenza activity remained low in the United States.

• Influenza-associated Pediatric Mortality: Two influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported. These deaths occurred during the 2010-11 influenza season.
• Outpatient Illness Surveillance: The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 1.4%, which is below the national baseline of 2.4%. All 10 regions reported ILI below region-specific baseline levels. All 50 states and New York City experienced minimal ILI activity and the District of Columbia had insufficient data.
• Geographic Spread of Influenza: The geographic spread of influenza in one state was reported as local; the District of Columbia, Guam, and 29 states reported sporadic activity; the U.S. Virgin Islands and 21 states reported no influenza activity, and Puerto Rico did not report.

No. of specimens tested	2,130
No. of positive specimens (%)	40 (1.9%)
Positive specimens by type/subtype
Influenza A	33 (82.5%)
A (2009 H1N1)	1 (3.0%)
A (subtyping not performed)	26 (78.8%)
A (H3)	6 (18.2%)
Influenza B	7 (17.5%)

Important facts to remember about Flu vaccinations:

1. You need this season's vaccine to protect against this season's Flu
2. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for the body to increase it's immune response
3. You are best protected if you get vaccinated before the Flu season starts
4. CDC recommends an annual Flu vaccination for those 6 months and older
5. To find a flu clinic near you use the "Flu Vaccine Finder" at www.flu.gov