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Monday, November 23, 2009

NEW GUIDELINES FOR PAP SMEARS

In new guidelines issued Friday, November, 20, 2009, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommended that adolescent girls wait until age 21 to get their first pap smear. The ACOG also recommended that women in their 20s have a pap smear every two years, and women 30 and older, have a pap smear every three years. Previously, it was recommended that women over 20 have a yearly pap smear, and teenaged girls begin to have pap smears within three years of their first sexual encounter.

“A review of the evidence to date shows that screening at less frequent intervals prevents cervical cancer just as well, has decreased costs, and avoids unnecessary interventions that could be harmful,” said Dr. Alan Waxman, a physician at the University of New Mexico and head of ACOG’s Committee on Practice Bulletins – Gynecology.

Cervical cancer is slow growing; giving doctors time to find it. And although the HPV infection rate is high among sexually active teenagers and young adults, the virus is typically cleared by the woman’s immune system within a year or two of infection. Few cases of HPV infection lead to cancer; and when they do, the cancer may take up to 10 to 20 years to develop after exposure to the virus.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cervical cancer which is primarily caused by infection with the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), is rare among teenagers. Each year, only about 14 cases are reported in teenagers in the U.S., compared to 123 cases among women ages 20 to 24.

The American Cancer Society ACS) also supports the guidelines and said it is reviewing new data and updating its own recommendations. The ACS expects to release its new guidelines in late 2011.

For more information, see: http://www.acog.org/departments/dept_notice.cfm?recno=20&bulletin=5021

Labels: pap smear guidelines

posted by Beth Wilkins at 11:40 AM

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Maclaren USA Recalls Strollers Following Fingertip Amputations

Maclaren USA, manufacturer of baby strollers, has voluntarily recalled all their strollers after receiving reports of fingertip amputations of children who inadvertently placed their fingers in the hinges of the stroller. Maclaren received 15 reports of children placing their fingers in the stroller’s hinge mechanism, resulting in 12 reports of fingertip amputations in the United States.

The recall involves all Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers. The affected models include Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, Techno XLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveler. The word “Maclaren” is printed on the stroller.

The strollers were sold at retailers nationwide from 1999 through November 2009 and were priced between $100 to $360.00

Consumers should stop using these strollers immediately and contact Maclaren USA at the firm’s recall hotline: (877) 688-2326 or at www.maclaren.us/recall.

This information provided through the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). You can reach the CPSC at the CPSC Recall Hotline at (800) 638-2772, or at www.cpsc.gov.

For more information please see:

http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml10/10033.html

To view a video clip please see:

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/ucm187420.htm

Labels: recall, strollers

posted by Kristine Kraft at 2:26 PM

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Washington University Medical School Radiologist Disputes New Screening Guidelines

Dr. Barbara Monsees of Washington University Medical School and the Center for Advanced Medicine disagrees with the recommendations just released by the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force for mammograms. The USPSTF says women should get screened for breast cancer with mammograms at age 50, not age 40 as the American Cancer Society has said for nearly 20 years. Why the change? The Task Force says the one woman per 1900 women tested diagnosed with breast cancer through mamorgraphy age forty to age fifty isn't worth the biopsies performed to rule out cancer on non-cancerous lumps and the stress caused by them. After age fifty, the number changes to one woman diagnosed per 1300 women. Also, the Task Force determined breast self exams have no value.

Dr. Monsees says the Task Force used a methodology which weighs the negative - the "harm" - caused by screening women ages forty to fifty, but one which does not take into account all of the "benefit". Its a scientific point of debate that leads her to believe the current recommendation of regular testing after age forty is still the appropriate one to follow. She hopes women will adhere to the American Cancer Society's recommendations and continue to be screened after age forty, not waiting until age fifty, and yearly not every other year as per the Task Force.

Labels: monogram

posted by Megan M. McBride at 11:40 AM

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