Third Infant Ill With Bacteria That Led To Enfamil Being Pulled From Store Shelves

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Posted on 29th December 2011 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Just days after the manufacturer of Enfamil said its tests found the baby formula to be safe, a third infant has tested positive for a rare bacterial infection, according to Reuters.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/27/enfamil-recall_n_1171915.html?ref=parents&icid=maing-grid7|myaol|dl1|sec3_lnk1%26pLid%3D123522

An Oklahoma infant has come down with Cronobacter, a bacteria that has been found in some milk-based powdered baby formula, according to Reuters. 

Retailers such as Wal-Mart pulled Enfamil Premium formula off their shelves after one infant in Missouri died as a result of Cronobacter, and a second one in Illinois became ill with the bacteria, after having the formula. 

Those incidents lead to a probe of Enfamil by federal health officials as well as the formula’s maker, Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.  The baby in Oklahoma had not had Enfamil, and was treated and released, Reuters reported.

Over the weekend Mead Johnson announced that it had tested batches of the suspect Enfamil formula, and found no contamination.

  

 

Baby Formula Maker Claims Product, Suspected In Infant’s Death, Is Safe

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Posted on 25th December 2011 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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The maker of Enfamil baby formula, which has been pulled from the shelves by retailers after a baby’s death, said Sunday that its tests didn’t find any deadly bacteria in the product.

In a statement, Mead Johnson Nutrition said it tested the same batch of formula that is  being tested by the Food and Drug Administration, which is investigating the cases of two babies in Missouri who fell ill after having the formula. One of them, 10-day-old infant Avery Cornett, died.    

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/business/baby-formula-is-called-safe.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

Mead Johnson stated that it didn’t find any Cronobacter, a bacteria than can be lethal, in its formula. Cornett was diagnosed wth Cronobacter, as was a second baby who survived.

Last week retailers such as Wal-Mart, Walgreen, Kroger and Super-Valu pulled the formula, 12.5-ounce cans with the batch code ZP1K7G, off their shelves. They said  they were taking the precautionary measure until regulators tested the formula.

 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204552304577116651051958544.html?KEYWORDS=enfamil

On Sunday Mead Johnson officials told Bloomberg News that they didn’t know how long it would take the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control to complete their investigations.

Arizona Husband-And-Wife Doctors Awarded $12 Million In Defamation Case Against Patient

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Posted on 21st December 2011 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Usually patients sue and win judgments against doctors, but in Arizona last week a plastic surgeon and his doctor wife received a $12 million verdict against a patient, according to The Arizona Republic. They alleged that the patient defamed them on her website.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/2011/12/16/20111216scottsdale-doctors-win-lawsuit.html

Following a trial, last week a jury awarded Dr. Albert Carlotti of Scottsdale and his wife, Dr. Michelle Cabret-Carlotti, $11 million in actual damages and $1 million in punitive damages from Sherry Petta, a local singer, The Republic reported.

In 2007 Petta had work — including a nose job — done by the Carlottis, who run the Desert Palm Surgical Group. But the relationship went sour when Petta, a jazz singer, alleged she got a skin infection after having work done by the Carlottis, according to The Republic.

In 2008 Petta launched a website that was critical of the husband-and-wife doctor team, prompting the Carlottis to sue her for defamation that same year. They obtained a temporary restraining order that directed Petta to immediately take down the website, The Republic reported.

But she did not relent. Petta filed a complaint against the Carlottis with the Arizona Medical Board, and would pop up at its public meetings to voice criticism of the two doctors. And she posted negative items about the Carlottis on various websites.

The Carlottis claimed that their medical practice took a nosedive, drawing less patients for cosmetic procedures, because of the false information that Petta posted about them on the Internet, The Republic reported.   

First Driver Distraction, Now ‘Doctor Distraction,’ Threatens Lives

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Posted on 16th December 2011 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Distracted driving had been a hot topic this year, with states and federal officials passing laws banning the use of cellphones and texting by drivers. But these devices are now being blamed for causing “distracted doctoring,” with physicians and nurses being accused of paying more attention to their new-media gear than their patients.

The New York Times Thursday outlined the problem in a Page One story, where it reported that “some hospitals have begun limiting he use of devices in critical settings, while schools have started reminding medical students to focus on patients instead of gadgets.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/health/as-doctors-use-more-devices-potential-for-distraction-grows.html

The Times quoted an official from the University of Rochester Medical Center who was disturbed by the doctors and nurses that he has spotted using iPhones, iPads and computers. That official, Dr. Peter Papadakos, authored a recent article on “electronic distraction” for Anesthesiology News, according to The Times.

Another article in the medical journal Perfusion talked about research that found roughly half  of the techs who are in charge of bypass machines had chatted on their cellphones and texted during heart surgery.

If you believe these fears about doctor distraction are overstated, try this on for size. In Denver a patient whose left side became partly paralyzed after surgery filed a medical malpractive suit, The Times reported. Guess what the neurosurgeon was doing during the surgery? Talking on his cellphone via a wireless headset. The case was settled before trial.

In another eyebrow-raising anecdote, a doctor at Yale-New Haven Hospital told The Times that he has seen youthful anesthesiolgists in the OR using a compuer during surgery, for tasks such as checking their email. In the intensive care unit, this doctor has seen his colleagues use computers to shop on Amazon and eBay.

A hospital in Oregon, according to The Times, has made operating rooms “quiet zones” that prohibit multi-tasking that isn’t specificaly related to a patient.

As many of the doctors quoted by The Times said, computers and iPads are a boon that can help prevent errors by giving physicians immediate access to patient records and data.

But the patient must not be neglected while doctors fiddle with these devices during surgery.            

Illinois Hospital To Pay $7.5 Million Settlement For Girl With Cerebral Palsy

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Posted on 4th December 2011 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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The grandparents of a 9-year-old girl who got cerebral palsy as the result of alleged malpractice at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill., will get a $7.5 million settlement, according to the Southtown Star. 

http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/9180559-418/advocate-agrees-to-75m-malpractice-award.html

 Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp., parent company of Christ Medical, agreed to the settlement of a lawsuit filed by Tom and Donna Tribble, legal guardians for Elliana Tribble. The suit, filed in 2009, alleged that the physicians and nurses at Christ Medical “delayed in responding to signs of fetal distress before” Elliana’s birth in August 2002, the Southtown Star reported Friday.

Elliana sustained brain damage from oxygen deprivation during her birth, and has cerebral palsy.

Under the settlement, the hospital does not admit any malpractice on the part of its staff, according to the Southtown Star. 

Tom and Donna Tribble, who live in Northbrook, Ill., are the parents of Elliana’s father, Sean Tribble. Sean and Joan Soka, Elliana’s parents, never got married, and the grandparents got custody of the child.

Elliana is disabled and in a wheelchair. Her grandparents told the Southtown Star that they will take part of the settlement to buy her a wheelchair that she will be able to steer with head movements and to make the doors in their home handicapped accessible.