Physicians Office News Briefs - Continued
recommendation statement, which is available
for comment from Feb. 11 to March 10, 2014.
"The good news is that evidence shows we
can catch the disease early in many people
who are already infected by screening for
hepatitis B virus infection in persons at high
risk for infection," Douglas K. Owens, M.D.,
said in a statement. "And, treatment can help
prevent liver cancer in people who have
chronic hepatitis B infection."
M
ost Patients
Hospitalized With Flu
Are Unvaccinated
Few patients hospitalized for
influenza have been vaccinated, with the rate
even lower among those requiring intensive
care unit (ICU) care, according to a research
letter published in the Feb. 15 issue of the
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical
Care Medicine.
Jelena Catania, M.D., from the Duke
University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and
colleagues reported
their initial observations
based on experience in
the ICU with influenza A
H1N1 pandemic 2009
virus (pH1N1) for the
2013 to 2014 influenza
season. Hospital records
were reviewed for all 55
hospitalized patients
who tested positive for
the influenza virus
between Nov. 1, 2013, and Jan. 8, 2014 (median
age, 28.5 years).
In recent weeks, the researchers identified
a dramatic increase in the number of
hospitalizations and ICU admissions. Most
patients (87.3 percent) were infected with
pH1N1. Fewer than one-quarter (23.6 percent)
of patients were vaccinated against influenza
at least two weeks before onset of illness; the
vaccination rate was lower in patients
requiring ICU care than in those admitted to
general wards (9.1 versus 33.3 percent; P =
0.053). Among hospitalized patients infected
with H1N1, the rate of ICU admission was 39.6
percent, which was 50 percent greater than
the reported rate during the 2009 pandemic
influenza season.
"Our observations support encouraging
influenza vaccination for all individuals without
a contraindication as this may prevent severe
lower respiratory tract complications requiring
ICU level care," the authors write.
D
aily Walks May Cut
Risk of Hospitalization
for COPD
Patients with chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) who engage in
regular physical activity may reduce the rate of
hospitalization for COPD exacerbation, according
to research published online