Past Updates from the Clinician Listserv

Update Sent August 02, 2010

COCA’s Weekly Updates are disseminated every other week (biweekly). More frequent distributions will occur when there is emergency information or event-specific updates to share. The next COCA Update is scheduled for August 16, 2010.

The following updates were made to CDC information and guidance from July 19, 2010 – August 2, 2010. If you have any questions on these or other clinical issues, please write to us at coca@cdc.gov.

Today's topics Include:

Upcoming COCA Calls
2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
H1N1 & Seasonal Influenza Resources
Emergency Preparedness & Response
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Emerging Infectious Disease Journal (EID)
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
Food and Drug Safety

Other Resources

Upcoming COCA Calls

Bombings: Injury Patterns and Care
Date: Tomorrow, August 3, 2010
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Eastern Time)
Call Number: 1-888-790-6180
Passcode: 1281914
Current trends in global terrorism demand that clinicians are prepared for treating injuries caused by explosions no matter location or size of their hospital or health facility. Join CDC SME, Scott Sasser MD, FACEP, as he provides current clinical information regarding blast related injuries from terrorism and discusses current global context of bombings, categories of blast injury and appropriate management and care of blast casualties.

For more information on this call visit: http://emergency.cdc.gov/coca/callinfo.asp

Title: Opioid Analgesics: The Epidemiology of Misuse and Advice on Prescribing
Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (Eastern Time)
Call Number: 888-790-6180
Passcode: 8107342
The United States is currently facing an epidemic of overdoses involving opioid analgesics. Most overdoses involve the misuse or abuse of these drugs. Clinicians can play a key role in prevention. Join our subject matter experts as they describe the characteristics of these overdoses and provide guidance on assessing the risk of opioid treatment, determining correct dosage, monitoring course of therapy, and ways to handle problems that occur with drug misuse during the course of care.

For more information on this call visit: http://emergency.cdc.gov/coca/callinfo.asp

2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Gulf Oil Spill Clinical Guidance- CDC (July 29)
CDC has new Gulf Oil Spill resources available for healthcare providers treating response workers and coastal residents. The clinical guidance and related talking points listed below provide information about potential health hazards, patient care considerations, health effects surveillance data, behavioral health risks and additional resources.

Updated: Health Surveillance - CDC (July 27)
The Gulf Coast Oil Spill has the potential to affect human health in addition to the effects already seen on animal and marine life. CDC, along with the affected Gulf Coast states, has developed a plan to track the potential short-term health effects related to the oil spill in the affected communities.
http://emergency.cdc.gov/gulfoilspill2010/2010gulfoilspill/health_surveillance.asp

New: Hurricanes and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill - CDC (July 30)
Hurricanes and tropical storms can present a number of hazards for residents of coastal communities and response workers. The 2010 hurricane season brings concerns about protecting residents and workers in impacted areas from exposure to contaminated waters as a result of the Deepwater Horizon fire, explosion and the continuing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Learn what you can do to protect your health, pets, and property after a storm.
http://emergency.cdc.gov/gulfoilspill2010/oilspill_hurricane.asp

Updated: CDC Responds - (July 30)
CDC regularly updates this website with details about the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill response.
http://emergency.cdc.gov/gulfoilspill2010/cdcresponds.asp

For more information and additional Healthcare Professionals resources visit: http://emergency.cdc.gov/gulfoilspill2010/health_professionals.asp

H1N1 & Seasonal Influenza Resources

Prevention and Control of Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices 2010 - CDC (July 29)
This report updates the 2009 recommendations by CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding the use of influenza vaccine for the prevention and control of influenza.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr59e0729a1.htm?s_cid=rr59e0729a1_w

FDA Approves Vaccines for the 2010-2011 Influenza Season - FDA (July 30)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its vaccines for the 2010-2011 influenza season in the United States.
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm220718.htm

National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases - CDC Immunization Update 2010 Public Health Training Network Satellite Broadcast and Webcast
Date: August 5, 2010
Time: 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM and 12:00 AM - 2:30 PM (ET)
This live broadcast and webcast is CDC’s annual update on the most recent and significant developments in the rapidly changing field of immunization. Anticipated topics include influenza, pneumococcal conjugate, human papillomavirus and meningococcal vaccines. Other emerging issues will be discussed, including the latest information from the June 2010 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The 2.5-hour broadcast will occur live from 9:00 to 11:30 am and will be re-broadcast that day from 12:00 noon to 2:30 pm (Eastern Time). Both broadcasts will feature a live question-and-answer session in which participants nationwide can interact with the course instructors via toll-free telephone lines.
http://www2.cdc.gov/PHTN/immupdate2010/default.asp

Locate all H1N1 Flu and Public Health Guidance Documents
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/

H1N1 Information for Healthcare Providers
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/clinicians/

Emergency Preparedness & Response

Protect Yourself and Others from Wildfire Smoke - CDC (Aug 2)
Each year, wildfires threaten people living near wild land areas or using recreational facilities in wilderness areas. Dry conditions at various times of the year and in various parts of the United States greatly increase the potential for wildfires. When wildfires burn in your area, they produce smoke that may reach your community. Smoke from wildfires is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant materials. Smoke can hurt your eyes, irritate your respiratory system, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases.
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Wildfires/

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Measles: Make Sure Children are Fully Immunized - CDC (July 23)
Measles virus is highly contagious and can spread rapidly in areas and communities where vaccination is not widespread. One of the best ways to protect children from measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases is to vaccinate them on time.
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Measles/

Protect Yourself Against Shingles: Get Vaccinated - CDC (July 28)
Almost one out of three people in America will develop shingles during their lifetime. Older people are at greater risk of developing shingles; about half of all cases occur among men and women 60 years old or older. The only way to reduce the risk of developing shingles and the long-term pain that can follow shingles is to get vaccinated.
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Shingles/

Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Journal

The Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) journal provides recognition of new and re-emerging infections and understanding of factors involved in disease emergence, prevention, and elimination. It also represents the scientific communications component of CDC's efforts against the threat of emerging infections. See the August 2010 issue of the EID journal at the following link:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/

MMWR

MMWR Weekly - CDC (July 30)
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data in the weekly MMWR are provisional, based on weekly reports to CDC by state health departments. The following emergency preparedness and response related articles of interest were recently published:
July 30, 2010 / Vol. 59 / No. 29

Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables

To electronically subscribe to the MMWR, go to http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr and enter your email address in the box entitled Get email updates or click on MMWR Subscriptions.

Food and Drug Safety

Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts - FDA (July 30)
For information on recent FDA recalls, market recalls, and safety alerts please click on the following link:
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm

Serious Medication Errors from Intravenous Administration of Nimodipine Oral Capsules – FDA (Aug 2)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerts healthcare professionals that nimodipine capsules should be given ONLY by mouth or through a feeding tube (nasogastric tube). This oral medication should NEVER be given by intravenous administration. FDA continues to receive reports of intravenous nimodipine use, with serious, sometimes fatal, consequences. Intravenous injection of nimodipine can result in death, cardiac arrest, severe falls in blood pressure, and other heart-related complications

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm220386.htm

Our Clinician Communication Team is committed to excellence in reporting our weekly updates. Please e-mail coca@cdc.gov should you note any written errors or discrepancies.

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