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New Delhi , August 05, 2018 :
Smoking and air pollution have similar effects
Smokers and non-smokers now represent an equal number of lung cancer patients, according to a study carried out by the Lung Care Foundation. An analysis of 150 patients at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH), New Delhi, found that about 50% of patients with lung cancer–the type of cancer responsible for the highest number of cancer deaths nationwide–had never smoked, and yet had developed the pulmonary disease. There is strong evidence that points to the role of air pollution in the increasing incidence of lung cancer amongst the young and female populations.
AEDs in schools
Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are portable devices that read and analyze the heart rhythm and provide an electric shock, or defibrillation, to restore a normal rhythm. For more than a decade, medical organizations have recommended that schools create formal emergency medical response plans to SCA — and for good reason: For every minute that defibrillation is delayed, the likelihood of survival from SCA drops about 10%. If bystanders quickly recognize what is happening and use a local AED, the survival rate is 89% among student-athletes suffering SCA on a school campus.
Screen for familial high cholesterol, if ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol >190
About four in 1,000 adults in the US are born with a genetic condition characterized by abnormally high cholesterol levels, known as familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). Their “bad” LDL cholesterol can be two to three times as high as the common target LDL value of 100 mg/dL or lower for healthy people. But only about half of people with FH are getting proper treatment for the disease, according to a report in the May 22 issue of Circulation.
If untreated, a person with FH has at least 13 times the risk of a heart attack compared with someone without FH. Anyone with an LDL cholesterol level of 190 mg/dL or higher should be screened for FH and treated appropriately.
Do not fabricate records
The Punjab State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Fortis Hospital, Ludhiana, to pay Rs 55 lakh compensation after a 68-year-old woman, Rita Jain, admitted to the hospital for brain tumour surgery in May 2016, died within 10 days. The hospital has also been directed to pay Rs 33,000 towards litigation costs.
“The cause of death mentioned in the death summary is sudden cardiac arrest due to the lung injury (pneumothorax)”
Fortis stated that the complaint was not maintainable as there is no evidence on record that there was any negligence or deficiency or delay in service on the part of the hospital. It was alleged that the patient was diagnosed with pneumonitis, and the hospital, via an x-ray of a chest, showed that pneumonia could lead to pneumothorax.
Hospital tampered with documents, said the Commission. The commission ruled that there was medical negligence on the part of the hospital “A look at the critical care flow sheets reveal that a number of cuttings have been made at various points which show that the documents have been tampered with,”
“No explanation has been forthcoming on record on why the cuttings were made and by whom. Such record, which has been tampered with in order to save itself (the hospital) from liability, cannot be taken into consideration.”
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
Vice President CMAAO
President HCFI
