• US pediatricians call for strict gun laws to protect kids

    By Michele Gershberg and Jackie Frank, Reuters

    NEW YORK - Pediatricians Thursday called for the strictest possible regulation of gun sales, as well as more education for parents on the dangers of having a gun at home, to prevent deaths of kids and teens.

    In a policy statement published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers representing the American Academy of Pediatrics said the number of gun-related deaths in youth has dropped nationally since the mid-1990s, but is still many times higher than rates in other wealthy countries.

    The report was released to coincide with the AAP National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.

    Its most important purpose, according to co-lead author Dr. Robert Sege from Boston Medical Center, is to reiterate that kids and teens are at risk if they have access to guns.

    "Most children who get injured or killed from firearms get their firearms from home," he told Reuters Health.

    That is because young kids are by nature curious, he said, and teenagers are by nature impulsive - including when it comes to guns.

    "There's new, better data that although the safest home for children is a home without guns, that parents can protect their child simply by keeping a gun unloaded and locked, with the ammunition locked separately," Sege said.

    He and the rest of the AAP's Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention Executive Committee found that as of 2009, between 11 and 12 of every 100,000 older teens were being killed every year by gunshots. About two-thirds of those were homicides, with suicides and accidental deaths accounting for the rest.

    Guns were responsible for almost 85 percent of all teen homicides that year, the researchers added. They were also the most common method of teen suicide.

    The high death rate in suicide attempts using guns - compared to pills or sharp objects - makes at-home access to firearms especially dangerous for impulsive teens, according to the pediatrician group.

    "For 98 percent of families every year, whether you have a gun or not is irrelevant. Most of the time nothing happens, the way that most of the time when you ride around without a seat belt, nothing bad happens," said David Hemenway, head of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center in Boston. He was not involved in drafting the policy statement.

    The AAP committee also called for restoration of a controversial U.S. ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004. President Barack Obama suggested at a presidential debate earlier this week that he would renew a ban on assault weapons - a position not backed by his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

    Assault weapons include military-style guns designed to fire rapidly and from close range, such as semiautomatic AK-47s.

    The AAP cited the cost of gun-related assaults and homicides at over $17 billion a year, due to lost productivity and medical bills. But Hemenway said the true financial burden is much higher.

    "When guns are used for homicide it can destroy not only someone's life and their ability to work and so forth ... but it can destroy communities," he said. For example, businesses do not want to move into communities that have had a few shootings, and families that can afford to will move out.

    He said the consensus among injury researchers has been that the best thing to do for a child's safety is to keep guns out of the house. But each family has to make that decision on its own.

    "If you decide to have a gun, and it's an individual choice, what you really want to do is store it safely," Hemenway said.

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  • Graco recalling classic wood highchairs due to fall risk

    By Melissa Dahl, NBC News

    Graco is voluntarily recalling its Classic Wood Highchairs after reports of children falling from the chairs, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Tuesday afternoon.

    So far, Graco has received 58 reports of the highchair seats loosening or detaching from the base. In nine reported cases, children have fallen from the highchairs as the seat separated from the base of the chair. The kids have suffered bumps, bruises and scratches, and at least one child in Canada suffered a concussion as a result of a fall from the highchair. 

    About 86,000 highchairs in the U.S. and 3,400 in Canada are being recalled by Graco, in cooperation with the CPSC and Health Canada. 

    If you own one of these chairs, stop using it immediately. (It's also illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product, the release from the CPSC reminds.) 

    Here's more important information on the recall from the CPSC:

    Description: This recall involves all Graco brand Classic Wood Highchairs sold in three wood finishes. The high chair has a top seat, bottom leg assembly and removable tray. The high chair is sold with a beige fabric seat cover. Model number 3C00BPN, 3C00BPN TC, 3C00CHY, 3C00CHY TC, 3C00CPO or 3C00CPO TC is printed on a label on the underside of the seat assembly.

    Sold at: Babies R Us, Burlington Coat Factory and other retail stores nationwide and at Target.com and Walmart.com and other online retailers between September 2007 and December 2010 for about $130.

    Manufactured in: China

    Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled high chairs and contact Graco for a free repair kit.

    Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Graco at (800) 345-4109 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday and, or visit the firm's website at www.gracobaby.com

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  • Swallowed magnets a growing problem for kids

    By MyHealthNewsDaily Staff

    Accidental ingestion of magnets is a growing problem among children, and parents should be aware of this risk, experts say.

    In a new study, researchers at a U.K. hospital report two cases of children who required surgery after ingesting multiple magnets.

    One case, an 18-month-old child experienced five days of abdominal pain before the hospital discovered she had swallowed 10 small magnetic spheres. In the second case, an 8-year-old child who showed symptoms of appendicitis was found to have swallowed two magnetic strips, each about an inch long.

    Small objects that young children swallow can usually pass through their digestive systems without causing any illness or internal damage. However, when several magnetic elements are ingested, the magnets can become attracted to each other within the child's body, and trap soft tissues between them.

    In the intestines, this may lead to the development of a fistula, or an abnormal connection between segments of bowel. Both children in the study developed fistulas, but eventually made full recoveries.

    Because a child who swallows a magnet often does not initially experience any pain or discomfort, the diagnosis can be delayed, the researchers said.

    "We are particularly concerned about the widespread availability of cheap magnetic toys, where the magnetic parts could become easily detached," said study researcher Dr. Anil Thomas George, of the Queen’s Medical Center in Nottingham. "Parents should be warned of the risk of magnet ingestion, particularly in small children."

    High-powered ball magnets — which are not in kids' toys, but can be found in adult "stress-relief" desk toys, in which the magnets are used to create patterns or shapes — can also pose risk to children if they come lose. These magnets can lead to holes in the stomach and intestines, intestinal blockage and blood poisoning if swallowed, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

    The CPSC recommends keeping small magnets away from young children, looking out for loose magnet pieces and regularly inspecting toys and children's play areas for missing or dislodged magnets.

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  • Massachusetts, Maine have safest hospitals in U.S.

    By Michael B. Sauter, Alexander E.M. Hess and Lisa A. Nelson
    24/7 Wall St.

    According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly 50,000 to 100,000 patients die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of lapses in safety. Recently, the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit promoting transparency and safety in hospitals, released its first-ever Hospital Safety Score. The study analyzed data from 2,652 hospitals from across the country based on 26 different safety-related measures. Each hospital received a score of A, B or C. Grades for hospitals receiving D and F have not yet been finalized.

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    Some states have much safer hospital systems than others. In several states, 40 percent or more of reporting hospitals received the best possible score. In others, not one hospital scored better than a B. Based on Leapfrog’s report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the states with the largest percentage of hospitals receiving an A.

    In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Melissa Danforth, Interim Senior Director of Leapfrog’s Hospital Ratings, explained the importance of the report compared to other national hospital rankings. “The Hospital Safety Score is unique,” according to Danforth, because Leapfrog only considers what puts a patient’s safety at risk, instead of “looking at the reputation of the hospital.” Danforth said, “We’re really looking to, and wanting to draw attention to, things that could happen to you in a hospital that could kill you.”

    Danforth explained that hospitals that received an A grade tended to have close to perfect scores for particular safety measures. Incidence of patient falls, trauma, including broken bones or injuries that occur during a patient’s stay, and the likelihood of receiving a central-line associated bloodstream infection (CABSI) -- a dangerous infection that can occur during certain procedures -- are particularly low among the safest hospitals.

    Similarly, the states with the highest percentage of hospitals receiving an A performed better on these important measures compared to the national average. For most of the states on this list, incidents of falls, trauma and CABSIs are below the national average. In Massachusetts, one of the states with the safest hospitals, incidence of particularly bad bedsores -- another critical safety measure -- is one-third the national rate.

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    States with the healthiest hospitals do not necessarily have healthy populations. In addition to the safety scores provided by Leapfrog, 24/7 Wall St. also considered a variety of health-related metrics from statehealthfacts.org, part of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Life expectancy, incidence of cancer and diabetes, and heart disease mortality rates were no better in the states with the safest hospitals than the national average.

    These are the states with the safest hospitals.

    1. Massachusetts 

    •  Hospitals with A grade: 76 percent
    •  Number of hospitals with A grade: 47
    •  Life expectancy at birth: 80.1 years
    •  Cancer death rate per 100,000: 186.6

    Massachusetts has one of the healthiest populations in the country. Average life expectancy from birth in the state is 80.1 years, the sixth-highest in the country. The state also has one of the best -- and most expensive -- medical systems in the country. The state’s university system produces some of the most prestigious hospitals in the country. More than three-quarters of the state’s hospitals in Leapfrog’s survey received A grades. Just 20 of the of the state’s 62 reporting hospitals failed to record spotless records for pressure ulcers, and two-thirds had a better-than-average percentage of patients receiving the correct type of antibiotics.

    2. Maine

    •  Hospitals with A grade: 74 percent
    •  Number of hospitals with A grade: 14
    •  Life expectancy at birth: 78.68 years
    •  Cancer death rate per 100,000: 199.7

    Citizens of Maine have lower levels of death as a result of heart disease -- 12 percentage points lower than the national average -- but a higher rate of deaths from cancer than the U.S. average. After surgery, patients in Maine hospitals are less likely to experience breathing difficulties or respiratory failure than they would in the average hospital in the United States. All of the 19 Maine hospitals reporting averaged exceptional scores in hand hygiene and care for patients on ventilators. Only three of the state’s 19 graded hospitals received a C.

    3. Vermont

    •  Hospitals with A grade: 50 percent
    •  Number of hospitals with A grade: 3
    •  Life expectancy at birth: 79.7 years
    •  Cancer death rate per 100,000: 179.7

    Though only six Vermont hospitals reported information to Leapfrog, three of these earned A grades. Brattleboro Memorial Hospital received above-average ratings for all Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures. The hospital also recorded perfect scores in preventing complications related to air embolisms and pressure ulcers. Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and Central Vermont Medical Center similarly recorded a strong performance, with each receiving above-average SCIP ratings. The quality of medical care in the state may well have major benefits for its residents as heart diseases resulted in just 138 deaths per 100,000 people, far less than the nationwide average of 186.5 deaths.

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    4. Illinois

    •  Hospitals with A grade: 48 percent
    •  Number of hospitals with A grade: 51
    •  Life expectancy at birth: 78.76 years
    •  Cancer death rate per 100,000: 191.3

    Leapfrog surveyed 106 Illinois hospitals. While nearly half received an A grade, the reviewed state hospitals actually performed worse than the national average on many of the key safety metrics, including the frequency of central-line associated bloodstream infections. However, in many other measures Illinois hospitals performed well, including having a low average of the number of deaths from treatable medical complications after surgery. However, many of the state’s 51 hospitals that received an A scored much better than the national average in preventable deaths and ulcers. 

    5. Tennessee

    •  Hospitals with A grade: 48 percent
    •  Number of hospitals with A grade: 31
    •  Life expectancy at birth: 76.2 years
    •  Cancer death rate per 100,000: 206

    With higher rates of cancer death and infant mortality than any other state on this list, as well a lower life expectancy, Tennessee needs hospitals that are both good and safe. Fortunately, 48 percent of the state’s hospitals receive A grades from Leapfrog, while only about 33 percent of hospitals receive C grades. For all of Leapfrog’s safe practice measures, Tennessee’s hospitals receive above-average score. One hospital performing especially well is Vanderbilt University Hospital, which received high scores for its surgery-related antibiotic regimens, as well as for its handling of urinary catheters and prevention of blood clots following surgery.

    Click here to read the rest of 24/7 Wall St.'s The States with the Safest Hospitals