Poliomyelitis Treatment

Patients whose pharmacy receives notification of their immunization gap have twice the odds of receiving immunizations compared with those whose pharmacy does not receive the notification. ABSTRACT Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a collaborative effort of a Medicare Advantage and prescription drug (MAPD) plan and community pharmacies to improve vaccination rates for pneumonia and influenza. Study Design: This quasiexperimental, cluster-randomized intervention study used MAPD data to assess the impact of community pharmacists on vaccination rates. Pharmacies in specific regions (districts) were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. Intervention pharmacies received reports of patients with a gap in influenza (aged 19-89 years) and/or pneumococcal (aged 65-89 years) vaccinations based on medical and pharmacy claims history. Vaccine-naïve patients were offered vaccinations. Methods: The vaccination rates for the previously vaccine-naïve patients utilizing in...

Background Respiratory failure and death are the leading causes of severe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Hyper-inflammation and cytokine storm cause lung damage. This study aimed to compare the low-dose and high-dose effects of tocilizumab, an IL-6 receptor antagonist. Method Patients with severe pneumonia and hyper-inflammation signs due to COVID-19 were included in this retrospective study. Patients receiving tocilizumab < 200 mg intravenously were classified as the low-dose group, and receiving ≥ 200 mg as the high-dose group, and those not treated with tocilizumab as the control group. Demographic and clinical data of patients who died and survived in both low-high dose and control patients were compared. According to symptom day and radiological infiltration, patients with toc...

Vaccination rates in rural America remain extremely low, but there's one holdout demographic: seniors — many of whom remember lining up eagerly to get the polio vaccine as children. A MARTINEZ, HOST: The overall COVID vaccination rate is lower in rural parts of America than it is in cities by about 10%. But one demographic in rural America is vaccinated at much higher rates - seniors. And they're eager for the booster shots that are rolling out right now. NPR's Kirk Siegler is in Baker City, Ore., with more. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: For 87-year-old Marge Loennig, this pandemic has stirred up vivid memories of a close childhood friend who was stricken with polio and was on an iron lung ventilator. MARGE LOENNIG: Her arms and her lower body were all in the lung - was very frightening for her and very frightening for us. SIEGLER: But back then, everyone seemed to know someone with the disease. Loennig says peo...

Every fall since I have moved out of my parents' house, my mom has reminded me that I need to get a flu shot. Actually, some years it's been less of a reminder and more of a continual pestering. And it's not just me that she reminds – ever since Jon has been in my life, she's also "reminded" Jon to get his flu shot, too. Jon has never been a very frequent flu shot receiver, but my mom's definitely had an influence on him. Kate at Kaiser Permanente's CareClinic inside Bartell's | Courtesy Photo, All Things Kate This year though, I beat my mom's reminder text! Kaiser Permanente invited me to come out to one of their CareClinics at Bartell Drugs to get my flu shot. So, I did just that! I used to think that flu shots were a hassle to deal with: tons of paperwork, long lines at the pharmacy, slow insurance review, and costly to get the flu shot. Luckily, Kaiser Permanente is changing...

In a world overwhelmed by the current Covid-19 pandemic, it is easy to forget about the existence of other viruses which can cause serious illness. One such virus that has affected our lives since the times of the Egyptian civilisation is the poliovirus. Every year, October 24 is marked as World Polio Day in celebration of the birth of Jonas Salk, the American researcher who developed the first polio vaccine in 1955. The poliovirus is the simplest known human virus. It is very small at only 30 nanometers. In comparison, SARS-CoV-2 is a slightly larger virus at about 100 nanometers. Poliovirus was first isolated in 1909 by Karl Landsteiner and Erwin Popper and the first human coronavirus was isolated in 1933 by Leland David Bushnell and Carl Alfred Brandley. Poliovirus causes a disabling and life-threatening disease called poliomyelitis. The virus spreads from person to person and can infect a person's spinal cord, causing paralysis. In about 25 per cent of all people in...

Nasopharyngitis is another name for the common cold. It is a mild infection of the nose and throat that can produce symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing, and coughing. Nasopharyngitis develops due to viruses. Currently, however, there are no antiviral medications that could fight them. Antibiotics will not treat a viral infection, so doctors prescribe them only if a person has a complication due to a bacterial infection. Over-the-counter (OTC) cold medicine may provide temporary relief from symptoms, but it does not shorten the course of the infection. Doctors usually advise individuals with a cold to rest, drink plenty of fluids, and seek medical attention if symptoms become severe. Keep reading to learn more about nasopharyngitis, including the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options. Nasopharyngitis is the inflammation of the nasal passages and the pharynx, or throat. It is another name for the common cold. According to research, adults have an average of two to four ...

As educators work to help vaccinate students against COVID-19, the history of schools' involvement with past inoculation efforts shows how teachers, principals, and others in the K-12 world can have a significant influence on the views of parents and others. But the current cultural atmosphere—rife with partisan conflict and distrust in public institutions—also has many public health experts worried that what worked in the past faces a far higher lift in the current pandemic. In fights against diphtheria and polio in the 1920s and 1950s, respectively, schools played a central role. They hosted information sessions, coordinated with local civic groups and the media, and commanded trust in their communities. Experts saw the influence of teachers, principals, superintendents, and other educators not just as helpful, but crucial. "Schools have been critical sites for where public health officials for generations have thought about the importance of high vaccination rates," sa...

The emergency hospital, a partially demolished building hastily enclosed with wooden partitions, was about to open. It was the fall of 1918 in Philadelphia, and influenza was spreading fast. With many of the city's doctors and nurses serving in World War I, 23-year-old Isaac Starr and his third-year classmates at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine needed to help tend the sick. They'd had just one lecture on influenza. Their first job was to assemble the hospital beds, about 25 to a floor. Starr's shift was 4 p.m. to midnight. The beds soon filled with patients who had fevers, he recalled in a 1976 essay for Annals of Internal Medicine . Many who developed influenza recovered. But Starr witnessed some patients become starved for air, their skin turning blue. Soon, they were "struggling to clear their airways of a blood-tinged froth that sometimes gushed from their nose and mouth," he wrote. "It was a dreadful business." ...