Meningitis Med Mal Lawsuits

Group B Strep and Newborns

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:37:12 -0400

According to the Centers for Disease Control, group B strep is the most common cause of sepsis and meningitis in newborns. Group B strep is a frequent cause of newborn pneumonia and is more common than rubella, congenital syphilis, and spina bifida.

In the year 2001, there were about 1,700 babies in the U.S. less than one week old who got early-onset group B strep disease.

About half of the cases of group B strep disease among newborns happen in the first week of life and most cases start a few hours after birth. Infection in the lungs and infection of the fluid and lining around the brain are the most common problems. Pregnant women who test positive for group B strep during pregnancy should be given antibiotics at the time of labor or when their water breaks.

The CDC recommends that a pregnant woman be tested for group B strep in her vagina and rectum when she is 35 to 37 weeks pregnant. The test is simple and does not hurt. A sterile swab is used to collect a sample from the vagina and the rectum.

Most pregnant women have no symptoms when they are carriers for group B strep bacteria although sometimes group B strep can cause bladder infections during pregnancy or infections in the womb during labor or after delivery.

Being a carrier (testing positive for group B strep, but having no symptoms) is quite common and should not end as a death sentence for your baby.

The proper prenatal care and obstetric care can divert the harmful side of group B strep in newborns.

Can your pet transmit MRSA?

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 08:49:15 -0400

A new report in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrates that MRSA can be harbored and transmitted by cats. Dogs have already been designated as MRSA carriers.

In the report a healthy woman repeatedly suffered from multiple, deep abscesses. Cultures of specimens obtained from her husband and their two children yielded MRSA on several occasions. Antimicrobial nasal ointment and antiseptic washes were recommended for the family. Although the woman's husband and children became MRSA-negative, she remained MRSA positive.

Then her three cats were screened. A culture of a specimen obtained from one cat yielded MRSA with the same antimicrobial-resistance pattern as that of the human. The MRSA-positive cat was treated with antimicrobials. Four weeks later, screening tests done on the family were negative for MRSA and the woman's deep abscesses disappeared.

The report concluded that pets may be considered as possible MRSA carriers that can cause infection or re-infection in humans.

Source: http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/may08/080501p.asp

Failure to diagnose meningitis

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:41:15 -0400

The misfortune of the failure to diagnose a medical condition is the loss of time - time that could have been used to treat, to prevent the progress of a disease, time with family.

The failure to diagnose meningitis is becoming a leading cause of medical malpractice.

Meningitis is diagnosed by examining the cerebral spinal fluid obtained via spinal tap.
This is the only way to confirm a suspected infection. Meningitis is often misdiagnosed as something less serious because early symptoms are similar to the flu. Treatable when caught early, it is unfortuante that most of the fatalities associated with meningitis occur because of failure to diagnose the disease early enough.

If unchecked, the enduring infection will lead to a rise in pressure in the skull, due to accumulating fluid, followed by failure of autoregualtory processes like respiration. Treatment for meningitis is antiviral or antibiotic medications, depending of the etiology of the infection. Unfortunately, emergence of antibiotic resistant strain in some countries has lead to adjustments in treatment protocols.

Meningitis and the "Odds"

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 16:33:18 -0400

One question that is commonly asked about meningitis is how serious it is. The answer depends on how you look at the actual figures. Every year 3,000 people contract spinal meningitis and 300 people (10%) suffer a fatality from it. Now, some may say 3,000 people contracting the condition are minute in comparison to the population figures in the United States but this is faulty logic. That is, one is too many as anyone who must deal with spinal meningitis will tell you. And a 1 in 10 chance of dying from the condition makes it an extremely serious condition. So, to downplay the severity of this condition is both intellectually dishonest as well as dangerous.

Asking for a Group B Strep Test

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 14:01:38 -0400

If there was a condition that truly sent shivers up and down the spines of most women it would be Group B Strep. While it is true that Group B Strep often does not harm the woman who has acquired it the condition can cause an untold number of serious problems to a newborn. As such, if a woman is pregnant and contracts Group B strep then the potential for serious complications to affect the child is possible. As such, anyone who is pregnant should ask a doctor to test for Group B Strep. This way all possible negative situations that Group B Strep might cause can hopefully be avoided.

The Risk of Group-B-Strep

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:35:38 -0400

If there ever was a condition that was cause for great alarm it would be Group B Strep. This condition that affects the genital region of women is somewhat complex due to the fact that will it may not cause any harm to the woman herself it can cause problems in a fetus if the woman is pregnant. In fact, this form of strep could prove incredibly hazardous to the health of the child. This is why it is critical for the caring physician to provide antibiotics to the pregnant women so as to eliminate any potential serious problems to the infant. As such, a negligent doctor who does not properly diagnose the presence of Group B Strep may be guilty of malpractice.

Failure to Diagnose Meningitis

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:50:03 -0400

One of the most common types of misdiagnosis is that of the failure to diagnose the condition at all. As a result of this failure or even the delay in diagnosis of a condition, many patients are going untreated and suffering severe consequences. Once the medical advice for the symptoms that are occurring has been sought, doctors can still make a wrong diagnosis, even under-diagnose, or even find that there is nothing wrong.

Meningitis is an infection of the inflammation of the membranes covering and protecting the spinal cord and brain, or central nervous system. It can usually develop or be caused from a number of things, but is most commonly by a viral or bacterial infection. Meningitis can also come from a physical injury, cancer, or even certain drugs. As some forms of meningitis are mild and can even cure on its own, the possibility for serious neurological damage or death should prompt serious medical attention as some forms of meningitis such as bacterial meningitis can be far more dangerous, resulting in brain damage, learning disabilities, hearing loss, and even death.

The reason meningitis is often misdiagnosed is because early symptoms are similar to the flu, and therefore, proper testing is not done. Yet, sadly, most fatalities that are associated with meningitis are the result of failure to properly diagnose in the early stages. If there has been suffering due to a misdiagnosis of meningitis, please click here to for a free case evaluation.

Women's Center Research Institute Expands

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:21:47 -0400

Magee-Women's Research Institute showed off its new $31 million expansion in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The building doubles the capacity of the nation's first research facility dedicated exclusively to diseases and disorders that affect women and infants.

All the efforts come too late for a woman who 11 years ago developed Group B strep infection. Despite doing all the right things, including antibiotics, it was transmitted to her son at birth. Normally everything is fine but there is always that small percentage of people where everything isn't fine.

Her son spent 10 days in the intensive care unit, suffered seizures, and brain damage. He survived and, with lots of work, is doing fine. If a simple vaccine, something that could be developed could prevent those kinds of things, it would be such a gift.

Magee-Women's Research Institute is working on such a vaccine to help all women.

See: http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/health/13462864/detail.html

Teacher Dies of Group B Strep (New Jersey)

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 14:15:24 -0400

A basic skills reading teacher for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, died recently at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune from group B streptococcus, a non-contagious bacterial disease that can lead to meningitis.

The teacher worked in the district for 35 years, was admitted to the hospital on May 26, and was brain dead on May 29. She was removed from her respirator the next day. Doctors don't know how she got group B strep.

Although there was no danger of cross contamination, parents should monitor their children who show symptoms of a headache, fever, rash nausea.

Group B strep, as it is known, usually infects newborn babies and adults whose immune systems have been compromised by a chronic disease.

Group B strep is bacteria commonly found in the human gastrointestinal and genital tracts and should not be confused with the types of meningitis that can be spread through close contact.

Source: http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070602/NEWS/706020356/1004/NEWS01

4-H Camper in West Virginia has spinal meningitis

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 14:19:16 -0400

A camper at Jackson's Mill State 4-H Camp in Lewis County has been diagnosed with spinal meningitis. The 14-year-old camper reported the symptoms to the camp nurse. The camper was taken to Stonewall Jackson Hospital in Weston and was diagnosed with the condition in the afternoon.

There are two types of meningitis: bacterial and viral. The camper is being tested to determine whether he or she has bacterial or viral meningitis. Initial tests indicate it is the less-severe viral form.

Health care workers are monitoring campers and staff for signs of illness. The county health department and an infectious disease specialist from the WVU School of Medicine have also been contacted.

The camper also stayed from June 11 to 15 at the Greenbrier County 4-H camp at the Greenbrier County Youth Camp in Anthony.

Symptoms of meningitis include a combination of stiff neck, severe headache, high fever, nausea, and sore throat. Anyone exhibiting these symptoms should seek medical attention immediately.
Meningitis is an infection that causes inflammation of the three thin layers of tissue that cover the brain and spinal cord.

Souce: http://wvgazette.com/section/Breaking/000000619