New Jersey Medical Malpractice Law Blog

A woman's decision about when to start breast cancer screening mammograms should be a matter of personal choice, not association guidelines. A recent study in Cancer looked at the differences in likely outcomes of various breast cancer screening guidelines. Screening mammography recommendations for early detection of breast cancer still differ between medical associations that advocate annual breast cancer screening starting at age 40, the American College of Radiology and the American Cancer Society, and others that recommend starting biennial screening starting at 50, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force and the American Academy of Family Practice. The screening recommendation a woman receives unfortunately depends on who is giving it rather than the patient. This study provides information that a woman should know when deciding which breast cancer screening strategy is right for her:

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association has shown that intra-articular injections of the corticosteroid, triamcinolone, over 2 years did not decrease knee pain from osteoarthritis any more than injecting saline. In fact, injecting corticosteroid into the knee causes significant cartilage loss. 

In a recent British orthopaedic study, researchers found that mortality from hip fractures increased by 8% if operated on more than 24 hours after admission. The morality rate increased by 20% if operated on more than 48 hours after admission. Over 300,000 elderly people fracture hips each year. This study shows that, if possible, same day repair is best and improve chances of survival.

The push to develop a vaccine against the Ebola virus is on, and vaccination is going to be an important part of controlling this contagious disease. Phase 1 trials are slated to begin soon in the United States. Even if adequate safety and immunogenicity are demonstrated in the phase 1 studies, vaccines will not be available in substantial quantity until the first quarter of 2015 at the earliest. Even if an effective vaccine can be produced, it is not likely to be 100% effective to succeed in stemming the current or future outbreaks. There are different strains and the virus continues to mutate. While I agree that an Ebola vaccine is an important of the global strategy to control the virus, I do not agree that Americans should receive an Ebola vaccine and be subjected to the risk a serious adverse event or death, unless they are traveling to an endemic area. So why are we doing these Phase 1 trials on Americans?