Roche Laboratories has produced an interesting marketing adjunct to its famous Tamiflu^® (oseltamivir) drug: The Tamiflu Desktop Flu Tracker. The software tracks the latest trends of reported influenza cases throughout the United States and generates a geographical representation of disease demographics. The Desktop Flu Tracker also lets you set alerts for flu outbreaks in different neighborhoods. Additional preventative health information is included. Learn the classic symptoms of flu and how it differs from the common cold.

The program currently runs on Windows (98SE and above). It is not available for the MacOS.

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Grand Rounds Vol. 2 No. 19 has arrived and can be found at Barbados Butterfly. This is the first time that Barbados Butterfly has hosted the Grand Rounds series, and it has done a good job at presenting the material … with images, too.

Open MRI of Canada, a private clinic in Calgary, recently introduced the very first open MR (magnetic resonance) imager in the country. The company is marketing the new device as a viable alternative for certain patient populations, such as obese individuals who cannot fit in the confined spaces of the traditional MRI. This would also be helpful for patients with claustrophobia and for anxious children who can now be accompanied by their parents.

The current wait for non-emergent MR imaging averages 6 months in Canada. Naturally, Open MRI of Canada actively markets their services to physicians and health officials as a means to expedite the acquisition of diagnostic images. This comes at a price though: $695 (Canadian), which is still significantly cheaper than a traditional MR scan in the United States.

The recent introduction of Canada’s first open MRI is interesting, because it represents the gravitation toward capitalized medicine. The ideals of socialized medicine in Canada promote universal and equal access to health care. While the use of open MRI may be necessary for a subpopulation of patients, the privatization of this service can lead to a different level of health care for those who can afford it. Wealthier citizens can avoid the long waits to obtain an MRI. They can also avoid the cramped and noisy experiences of conventional MRI. With the production of room-sized MRI with landscape murals (Open Sky MRI by FONAR), the future luxuries of MRI may even be brought to a whole new level.

• Source
• Image reproduced from Wikipedia under GNU Free Documentation License.

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This week’s iteration of Grand Rounds (Vol. 2, No. 18) is fresh off the press at Kevin, M.D. The exciting news is that it includes the first public appearance of On The Wards! Now the pressure is on to deliver more quality content. But for today, it’s time to celebrate.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of infant death within the first year of life. Death occurs suddenly and without identifiable cause. Clinical investigation and autopsy may not reveal evidence of SIDS. SIDS is therefore a diagnosis of exclusion (after excluding other possibilities, such as trauma, child abuse, or poisoning). Other diagnostic methods may include radiology, microbiology, and histology. Although the cause of SIDS is still unknown, several risk factors have been identified. The recommendation to have infants sleep in a supine position has reduced the incidence of SIDS. Congenital and genetic risk factors have also been implicated in the syndrome.

Researchers in Cambridge, United Kingdom, recently published in the journal Pediatrics a model to estimate the risk of SIDS based on a retrospective study of 505011 singleton births. The model takes into account several demographic variables, including maternal age, marital status, parity, smoking status, birth weight, and sex of the child.

To estimate the risk of SIDS, the likelihood ratio for each variable is first determined through tables (available in the journal article). The likelihood ratios are then multiplied together: total LR = LR₁ x LR₂ x … x LR_n. The total LR is used to calculate the post-test odds (post-test odds = pre-test odds x total LR). The risk of SIDS is 1/(post-test odds).

• Source
• Smith GC, White IR. Predicting the risk for sudden infant death syndrome from obstetric characteristics: a retrospective cohort study of 505011 live births. Pediatrics 2006;117;60-6.

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The Grand Rounds series is a weekly summary of interesting posts throughout the medical blogosphere. Grand Rounds began in September 2004 at Blogborygmi and has since then been hosted by different blogs (archive). This week’s version is Vol. 2 No. 17, available at Grunt Doc.

The National Cancer Institute recently published the 2005 update of the Cancer Trends Progress Report. The document tracks several key measures related to cancer, including health habits, early screening, diagnosis, treatment, and mortality. The good news is that death rates for the most common cancers (prostate, breast, lung, and colorectal) have continued to decline. These positive trends may stem from continual health promotion, more aggressive cancer screening, and advancing treatment regimens. The bad news is that cancer is now the leading cause of death for people under 85, and the incidence of the most common cancers (prostate, female breast, and lung) continues to increase.

Confused? Be careful to differentiate the mortality rate (deaths per 100,000 people per year) from the incidence (new cases per 100,000 people per year). Early screening has permitted doctors to catch cancers at earlier, less severe, and more treatable stages. In other words, even though the number of cancer cases continues to increase, early intervention is influencing the odds of survival.

• Sources
• Cancer Trends Progress Report - 2005 Update, National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, MD, December 2005.
• Cancer Facts and Figures 2005, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA.

USA Today reports on new guidelines published by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). Interestingly, the ACCP concludes that over-the-counter (non-prescription) cough syrup purchased at your local pharmacy may be ineffective at doing its job: suppressing your cough. The success some people have experienced from these medications may be from a placebo effect or from natural recovery. Note to self: save money and buy Ricola candy instead. If symptoms persist, definitely consult a physician.

This is a similar phenomenon to antibiotics and viral illnesses. Antibiotics that target bacteria are simply ineffective against illnesses caused by viruses, yet many still view antibiotics as a panacea against disease. Unfortunately, in our medicine-driven world, many patients are not satisfied unless they leave the doctor’s office with a prescription in hand.