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Pet Turtles Continue to Spread Salmonella

WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Kissing a turtle may be more than just yucky — sometimes it can literally be sickening.

U.S. health officials found that illegal small turtles caused 15 outbreaks of Salmonella in the United States over the past decade. Half of the cases were in children under 10.

Certain behaviors were likely to lead to infection, the new report said. Among those behaviors: “Kissing turtles, letting them roam on kitchen countertops and tabletops where food and drink is prepared or consumed, and cleaning turtle habitats in kitchen sinks,” researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Although banned since 1975, turtles less than 4 inches long remain popular as pets in the United States, according to the report.

“Exposure to small pet turtles has long been recognized as a source of human salmonellosis in the United States, and the public health risk may be increasing,” said researchers, led by the CDC’s Stacey Bosch. “These small reptiles are readily acquired through multiple venues and continue to be the main source of turtle-associated salmonellosis in children.”

Prevention will require “a comprehensive approach involving human, animal, and environmental health,” the researchers said in an agency news release.

The report is published in the July issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Prior to the ban, salmonella illnesses linked to turtles sickened about 280,000 people each year, according to the CDC.

It’s possible to become infected without picking up the turtle, Maroya Walters, an epidemiologist with the CDC, said recently. “You don’t actually have to hold the turtle or touch its aquarium or water to get sick. Cross-contamination of surfaces can cause illness as well,” she said.

Salmonella symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps between 12 and 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment, the CDC says.

But in severe cases, hospitalization may be required. In these patients, the salmonella infection may spread to the bloodstream and to other parts of the body. In such cases, salmonella can be fatal without antibiotic treatment, according to the CDC.

The elderly, infants, pregnant women and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness, the agency says.

All turtles can carry and transmit salmonella on their skin and shells, Walters said. “Turtles and other reptiles shouldn’t be kept at home or school or any other facilities where there are children under 5,” she said.

In homes with older children or where people choose to keep reptiles, it’s important to wash your hands after handling turtles or their environment or any area where they roam, Walters said.

More information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more about pet turtles and salmonella.

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Just 6 Percent of Chest Pain Cases in ER Are Life-Threatening: Study

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Americans who develop chest pain often rush to the hospital, where they’re treated with urgency. A new study suggests, however, that less than 6 percent of these patients suffer from life-threatening conditions such as a heart attack.

Most often, physicians can’t determine the cause of patients’ chest pain, the researchers found.

But chest pain can be a sign of serious illness, cautioned study lead author Dr. Renee Hsia, an emergency room physician and director of Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco.

“This doesn’t mean that patients shouldn’t be worried when they experience chest pain,” she said. “Depending on their risk factors, they certainly could be having a heart attack or another life-threatening condition, which is why it is important to seek timely medical care.

“In the right patient population with risk factors, we should certainly proceed with appropriate testing to exclude the possibility of life-threatening conditions,” she added.

In the United States, chest pain accounts for more than 8 million emergency room visits a year. Only abdominal pain brings in more patients, Hsia said.

“Chest pain is very worrisome because it can be a harbinger of serious illness, such as a heart attack or aortic dissection [tear in the aorta], for example,” she said. As a result, patients with chest pain often get treated before others because their condition is considered more urgent, she said.

For the new study, researchers analyzed a database that includes details from a sampling of U.S. emergency room visits. They focused on nearly 11,000 patient records from 2005 to 2011 for chest pain not due to trauma, such as a car accident.

Only 5.5 percent of patients were diagnosed with six conditions thought to be life-threatening: blocked blood vessels due to heart attack or a similar condition; tear in the aorta; lung embolisms; lung collapses; esophageal ruptures; and perforated peptic ulcers.

Heart attack-type events accounted for nearly all of those life-threatening diagnoses. The likelihood of the other conditions is rare, the researchers found.

Overall, 57 percent of the patients were discharged. Fifty-one patients (0.4 percent) died in the hospital or emergency room.

According to the study, the most common diagnosis for chest pain is “nonspecific chest pain,” which means a cause couldn’t be determined. This occurred in more than five out of 10 patients examined for chest pain.

In those “non-specific” cases, what’s going on?

Muscle strains, anxiety and gastrointestinal issues may explain many of the symptoms, said Dr. Michael Weinstock. He is chairman of the emergency department and director of medical education at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital, in Westerville, Ohio.

Weinstock’s own research has reached similar conclusions. Still, “everybody knows somebody who dropped dead of a massive heart attack,” he said, and chest pain can be a sign. “That’s what scares patients and doctors so much. Nobody wants to send someone home who may be having a heart attack.”

Weinstock said patients who experience chest pain shouldn’t do anything differently as a result of this new study: They should call their primary doctor or 911.

Chest pain is especially urgent for women, the elderly and diabetics, he said, and when it comes with symptoms such as dizziness, passing out or shortness of breath.

The study was published June 13 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

More information

For more about chest pain, visit the American Heart Association.

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Full-body succession workout

Designed to faciliate optimal body composition to burn maximum calories, this workout will help you build strength and tone.

succession-training

The circuit training component targets muscular endurance and improves cardiovascular fitness by working the heart and lungs at a higher rate. It involves performing one set of each exercise with little or no rest in between until all the exercises have been completed.

“Traditional-style (succession) strength programs are when all sets of the first exercise are performed before progressing to the next exercise,” says trainer Nichelle Laus.

“By adding a succession routine to your current full-body circuit, it will help in maximising your strength and adding lean muscle mass.”

When choosing your dumbbell weight, err on the heavy side. “Succession programs generally use higher weights than circuit training,” Laus says. “This is key to building metabolically active lean tissue.”

What you’ll need:

» Workout bench

» 1 set of medium to heavy dumbbells

What you’ll do:

For Day 1

Start with the Upper Body exercises. Perform one set of each exercise, then move on to the next exercise without rest. At the end of the Lower Body exercises, rest one minute, then repeat for a total of three circuits.

For toning, aim at 12 to 15 reps for each exercise.

For increasing strength and maximising muscular power, aim for 10 to 12 reps for each exercise.

For Day 2

Start with the Lower Body exercises. Perform one set of each exercise, then move on to the next exercise without rest. At the end of the Upper Body exercises, rest one minute, then repeat for a total of three circuits.

For toning, aim at 12 to 15 reps for each exercise.

For increasing strength and maximising muscular power, aim for 10 to 12 reps for each exercise.

For Day 3

Start with the Upper or Lower Body exercises. Complete three sets of the first exercise before moving on to the next. Repeat until all the exercises of the Upper and Lower Body exercises have been completed.

For toning, aim at 12 to 15 reps for each exercise, resting 60 seconds in between sets. For increasing strength and maximising muscular power, aim for 10 to 12 reps for each exercise, resting 90 seconds in between sets.

Exercises:

Upper Body

•Shoulder Press

•One-Arm Dumbbell Row

•Alternate Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curl

•Bench Dips

•Decline Push-ups

Lower Body

•Bench Hops

•Prone Glute Lifts

•Step-up with Knee Raise

Let's get started!

Model: Chanel Sabovitch

Words: Nichelle Laus

Photography: Dave Laus // davelaus.com

Shot on location at: Studio Two22

Hair and make-up: Two Chicks & Some Lipstick

Shoulder presses (shoulder, triceps)

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and sit on a bench, with back support if possible.

Plant your feet firmly on the floor hip-width apart. Bend your elbows and raise your upper arms to shoulder height so the dumbbells are at ear level. Push the dumbbells up and in until the ends of the dumbbells touch lightly above your head. Lower back down to the starting position and repeat for amount of desired repetitions.

One-arm dumbbell row (middle back, biceps)

Place a dumbbell on the left-hand side at one end of a flat bench.

Position yourself on the left side of a flat bench with your right knee and right hand resting on the bench.

Pick up the dumbbell with your left hand using a neutral grip. Slowly pull the dumbbell up as far as possible.

Pause and squeeze your shoulder blades together, and then slowly lower the dumbbell back to the starting position.

Repeat for amount of desired repetitions, and then repeat for your other side

Alternate incline dumbbell bicep curls (biceps)

Grab a pair of dumbbells and sit down on an incline bench positioned at a 45-degree angle. Pull your shoulder blades back and let the dumbbells hang at your sides with your palms facing forward.

Curl one of the dumbbells up, bending the elbow and bringing the weight to your shoulder. Pause, then lower your arm back to starting position. Repeat for the amount of desired repetitions. Repeat with the other arm.

Bench dips (triceps)

Position your hands shoulder-width apart on a secured bench. Move your feet out as far out in front of you as possible. Straighten out your arms and keep a little bend in your elbows in order to always keep tension on your triceps and off your elbow joints. Slowly lower your upper body down towards the floor and keep your elbows tucked into your sides. Once you reach the bottom of the movement, slowly press off with your hands and push yourself back up to the starting position with your triceps. Repeat for desired amount of repetitions.

Decline push ups (chest)

Get in the standard push-up position with your feet elevated on a bench (or other surface) and hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Your elbows should be completely locked out. While keeping your body straight, lower your chest to the floor. Pause and push back to the starting position. Repeat for desired amount of repetitions.

Bench hops (quads, glutes, core)

Stand to one side of a flat bench with feet together. Holding the front of the bench, lean your weight into your hands and keep your feet together. Quickly jump up and over the bench. As soon as your feet touch the ground, jump back again. Continue jumping back and forth for desired amount of repetitions.

Step-ups with knee raise (glutes, hamstrings, quads)

Stand facing a bench with your feet together. Step up, putting your left foot on the top of the bench. Extend through the hip and knee of your front leg to stand up on the bench. As you stand on the bench with your left leg, flex your right knee and hip, bringing your knee as high as you can. Reverse this motion to step down off the bench, and repeat the sequence on the opposite leg. Repeat for the desired amount of repetitions.

Prone glute lifts (glutes, hamstrings)

Lie face down on a flat bench, hands holding under the front of bench.

Lift both legs upward and extend them in a ‘V’ position, keeping feet about six inches (15 cm) from the bench, squeezing the glutes until your lower abdomen is slightly elevated from the bench. Lower down and repeat for desired amount of repetitions.

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Stem Cell Transplant Can Help HIV Patients Battling Lymphoma: Study

WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2016 (HealthDay News) — People living with HIV are at high risk for lymphoma, and a new study concludes that stem cell transplant should be standard treatment in these cases.

The transplants should be “autologous” — meaning the cells come from the patients themselves, the researchers said.

The new findings could challenge the widely held belief that HIV-positive patients are not candidates for this therapy.

Instead, the study found that “overall survival for patients with HIV infection after transplant is comparable to that seen in people who were not HIV-infected,” said study lead author Dr. Joseph Alvarnas.

As his team explained, people with HIV are at increased risk for cancer, even if their infection is well-controlled with antiretroviral drugs. In fact, cancer is now a leading cause of death among HIV patients.

The risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, specifically in HIV-positive people, is up to 25 times higher than for people without HIV, Alvarnas’ team noted.

In an autologous stem cell transplant, healthy cells are removed from the patient’s own blood or bone marrow and administered to the patient to help recovery after high-dose chemotherapy.

It’s already standard treatment for patients with relapsed and treatment-resistant Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the researchers pointed out. However, the therapy’s use in HIV patients with these illnesses has been largely restricted to centers with HIV expertise.

Elsewhere, doctors have been reluctant to treat HIV patients with stem cell transplant, Alvarnas’ team explained. There have been concerns that these patients’ immune systems might not recover after intensive chemotherapy or that the procedure would cause toxicity or infections.

But is that necessarily so? To find out, the new study included 40 patients with HIV and lymphoma and 151 lymphoma patients without HIV. Patients in both groups received autologous stem cell transplants.

Overall survival among the patients with HIV was 87.3 percent after one year and 82 percent after two years, the study found. That’s barely different from the 87.7 percent one-year survival of patients without HIV, the researchers said.

The rate of transplant-related death — from causes such as recurrence/persistence of the lymphoma, fungal infection or cardiac arrest — among HIV patients was 5.2 percent. Again, that rate was comparable to patients without the virus, Alvarnas’ team said.

And one year after transplant, 82 percent of patients with HIV still maintained healthy, undetectable levels of HIV, according to the study published online June 13 in the journal Blood.

“These findings are remarkably important for a group of patients who, up until now, have been inconsistently treated,” said Alvarnas, an associate clinical professor of hematology at City of Hope National Medical Center, in Duarte, Calif.

He believes that stem cell therapy can be of real value to lymphoma patients, including those with HIV.

“Transplantation allows clinicians to treat the cancer most effectively by using more intense doses of chemotherapy than can typically be given, while avoiding fears of wiping out the bone marrow,” Alvarnas explained in a journal news release.

“Based on our data, autologous stem cell transplant should be considered the standard of care for patients with HIV-related lymphomas for the same indications and under the same circumstances that we would use it in patients without HIV infection,” he said.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about HIV and cancer risk.

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Mixed News on Drinking and Heart Health

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 14, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Texans living in “dry” counties are more likely to suffer heart attacks and congestive heart failure than people living in nearby “wet” counties, where alcohol sales are legal, a new study reports.

But they’re also less likely to suffer from atrial fibrillation, a condition where irregular heart rhythms raise the risk of stroke.

“It appears that alcohol is not necessarily all good or all bad for the heart — it’s more complex than that,” said senior author Dr. Gregory Marcus, director of clinical research for the University of California, San Francisco Division of Cardiology.

“One size does not fit all,” Marcus added. “These data suggests that there may be some in whom alcohol — presumably in moderation — would be of benefit, and others where it would do harm.”

Residents of wet Texas counties, for instance, have a 9 percent lower risk of heart attack and 13 percent lower risk of congestive heart failure, according to the study.

But there was a downside, too: folks with easy access to alcohol appeared to have a 5 percent greater risk of atrial fibrillation, the researchers found.

Cardiologists have long debated whether alcohol can be good or bad for the heart. Some previous studies have found that moderate alcohol consumption — two drinks a day for men, one for women — might reduce heart attack risk, but overall the data has been inconsistent, researchers said in background notes.

For their own comparison, Marcus and his colleagues focused on Texas, where “local option” laws give individual counties the power to outlaw alcohol sales.

They analyzed medical data on more than 1.1 million hospitalizations recorded between 2005 and 2010 among Texans 21 or older. They sorted patients based on whether they lived in a dry or wet county.

The researchers found that people living in a wet county were 36 percent more likely to drink too much.

They also found that wet county residents appeared less likely to suffer heart attacks or heart failure, but more likely to develop atrial fibrillation.

“I suspect this suggests that some are at greater risk and others may be more prone to benefit,” Marcus said. “For example, if a patient has a propensity to develop atrial fibrillation, alcohol, even in moderation, may be harmful for that person.”

On the other hand, “if someone is at low risk for AF and yet high risk for a heart attack, perhaps due to genetic variants that mediate such risk, then moderate alcohol consumption could yet be helpful for that person.”

The researchers aren’t sure why alcohol might cause atrial fibrillation. But it has been noted that people can develop an irregular heartbeat following heavy alcohol consumption, said Dr. Richard Stein, director of the Urban Community Cardiology Program at the New York University School of Medicine.

The phenomenon is common enough that it has its own nickname, the “holiday heart syndrome,” Stein said.

Alcohol’s potentially beneficial effects on heart health also remain a mystery, although some have speculated it could be tied to a reduction in blood cholesterol levels, Stein said.

Stein noted that the increased risk of atrial fibrillation was “very small” in this study.

“They didn’t really in my mind prove that it isn’t a statistical phenomenon, or might not be due to some other factor that they didn’t correct for,” he said.

Studies like this can’t prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship between alcohol and heart health because they are observational, not a carefully controlled clinical trial, Stein said. He added that it’s unlikely there ever will be a clinical trial on this matter, since it would involve asking some people to drink who otherwise wouldn’t.

These findings won’t alter Stein’s advice for patients.

“If you don’t drink, and your doctor says it may help you avoid a heart attack if you have one glass of wine at night, but you don’t really enjoy it, I would stay away from it,” he said. “If you are drinking two glasses of wine three times a week, I would not worry about it. I would continue to drink at that low level.”

There are plenty of other ways to improve your heart health, Stein said. He cited eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, for example.

The findings were published online June 14 in the British Medical Journal.

More information

For more on alcohol and heart health, visit the American Heart Association.

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FDA Approves New Weight-Loss Device

TUESDAY, June 14, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A new surgically implanted device to treat obese patients has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The AspireAssist device uses a tube to drain a portion of the stomach contents after every meal. It’s meant to be used by people who have been unable to lose weight and maintain weight loss using nonsurgical treatments. The FDA approval is for people 22 and older.

The device is recommended for obese people with a body mass index (BMI) between 35 and 55, the FDA said. BMI is a rough estimate of body fat based on height and weight measurements. A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The device shouldn’t be used in people with eating disorders. It also isn’t intended for short-term use in moderately overweight people, according to the FDA.

With the AspireAssist, a tube is inserted in the stomach and connected to a port valve placed flush against the skin of the abdomen. About 20 to 30 minutes after each meal, the patient attaches an external connector and tubing to the port valve, opens the valve, and drains some stomach contents into the toilet.

The process takes five to 10 minutes and removes about 30 percent of the calories consumed in the meal, the FDA said.

The approval was based on the results of a clinical trial of 111 patients who used the AspireAssist and a control group of 60 patients who made lifestyle changes only. After one year, patients in the AspireAssist group lost an average of 12 percent of their total body weight. The control group lost an average of less than 4 percent of their weight, researchers said.

“The AspireAssist approach helps provide effective control of calorie absorption, which is a key principle of weight management therapy,” said Dr. William Maisel. He’s the deputy director for science and chief scientist in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

“Patients need to be regularly monitored by their health care provider and should follow a lifestyle program to help them develop healthier eating habits and reduce their calorie intake,” Maisel said in an agency news release.

Side effects associated with use of the AspireAssist include indigestion, nausea, vomiting, constipation and diarrhea. There are also a number of risks associated with the placement of the device, including pain, bleeding, infection, inflammation, accidental puncture of the stomach or intestinal wall, and death, the FDA said.

The device is made by Pennsylvania-based Aspire Bariatrics.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more on weight loss.

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FDA Approves New Weight-Loss Device

TUESDAY, June 14, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A new surgically implanted device to treat obese patients has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The device shouldn’t be used in people with eating disorders. It also isn’t intended for short-term use in moderately overweight people, according to the FDA.

The process takes five to 10 minutes and removes about 30 percent of the calories consumed in the meal, the FDA said.

The device is made by Pennsylvania-based Aspire Bariatrics.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more on weight loss.

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Breast-Feeding a Boon to Preemies’ Hearts: Study

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 14, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Breast-feeding premature babies appears to increase the likelihood that those infants will have healthier hearts in young adulthood, new research suggests.

The finding was based on an analysis involving just over 200 men and women in their early- to mid-20s. It suggests that premature infants fed just breast milk during infancy ultimately have better heart volume and overall function compared to preemies raised on formula or a mixture of formula and breast milk.

“It was completely unknown that breast milk would provide this particular protective effect on the development of the heart in babies born preterm,” said study author Paul Leeson. He’s the clinical director of the Cardiovascular Medicine Division of the Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility at the University of Oxford, in England.

“We suspected it might, but were surprised by the size of the effect,” he added.

The study authors pointed out that premature babies often go on to develop long-term heart abnormalities. Those can include small heart chambers, thicker heart walls and impaired heart function. The first few months of life are considered a critical period in terms of development of the heart, the researchers said.

To see what effect breast-feeding during infancy might have, the researchers followed 102 people born preterm in the 1980s who were part of a larger study on feeding regimens. At the time, half of that group was assigned to receive breast milk, while the other half was given formula. Ultimately, 30 were fed solely breast milk, while 16 were were given “nutrient-enriched” formula only during early postnatal life.

They were compared with another 102 people born full-term from the same time period.

The researchers conducted heart testing when all the participants were between 23 and 28 years old.

As expected, participants who were born premature had reduced heart volume and function compared with those carried to term. But those born premature and fed exclusively with breast milk had greater heart volume than preemies fed only formula.

The study only found an association between heart health and breast milk. And, the impact of breast milk appeared to be incremental. That meant that those whose feeding mix included more breast milk than formula ended up with greater heart volume and better functioning hearts than those whose diets included more formula.

“What we have now found is that, although exclusive breast milk does not alter the wall thickness, it does mean the hearts of adults who were born preterm get closer in size to those of adults born at term and the function of their hearts is better,” Leeson said.

Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said “the benefits [of breast milk] for premature infants are enormous.” Wu was not involved with the study.

“In the short term, there are protective antibodies and the production of important gut flora,” she said. “In the long term, breast-feeding improves heart structure and function.”

But at the same time, Wu added that “breast-feeding can be a challenge for moms with premature infants.”

“Due to Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit admissions and longer hospital stays, breast-feeding can be difficult to initiate and maintain,” she said. “Extra support and lactation consultations are needed.”

The study was published online June 14 in Pediatrics.

More information

There’s more information on the benefits of breast-feeding at WomensHealth.gov.

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Gun Injuries More Often Fatal Now, Study Finds

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 14, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Injuries from senseless gun violence — like those witnessed in Orlando on Sunday morning — may be increasing in severity in ERs across the United States, a new study suggests.

“Americans mourn firearm-related fatalities every day,” said lead researcher Dr. Angela Sauaia, a professor of public health and surgery at the University of Colorado, in Denver. “Mass shootings are just the tip of the iceberg of the daily tragedy witnessed by trauma surgeons in emergency rooms,” she added.

Much of that trauma can be traced to increasingly powerful firearms, such as the assault rifle used in the weekend massacre at the Pulse nightclub that left 49 people dead and 53 wounded, experts say.

Sauaia’s study was based on nearly 29,000 patients who came to the trauma center at the Denver Health Medical Center from 2000 to 2013. Just under 6 percent arrived with gunshot wounds. Among those who had been shot, the number of deaths increased significantly, as did the severity of their wounds.

While technology and education are helping to make cars and bicycles safer, “firearms are moving in the exact opposite direction,” Sauaia said. “They are becoming progressively more dangerous.”

If you are in a car crash today, you are more likely to survive than you were 10 years ago due to safer cars and improvements in trauma care, Sauaia noted.

“However, if you get shot today, you are more likely to die than if you were shot 10 years ago, despite our excellent trauma care,” she said. “Firearm injuries are becoming more lethal due to an increased number and severity of wounds they inflict.”

The data comes from only one trauma center, so the findings can’t be generalized, she said. However, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 34,000 Americans died from gunshot wounds in 2013.

Regardless of how people feel about gun control, “there are a number of things we can all agree upon,” Sauaia suggested. These include:

Children and people who are mentally unstable should not have access to unlocked, loaded guns.
Use technology to improve the safety of guns.
Add counseling about firearm safety in primary care.

“We should start the discussion on these common grounds,” she said.

Of the nearly 29,000 patients included in the study, almost 6 percent had gunshot wounds and just over 6 percent had stab wounds. In addition, about 7 percent were pedestrian accidents, 9 percent were assaults, 24 percent were from falls, 26 percent from car crashes and 22 percent from other injuries. Of these, more than 5 percent died, the researchers found.

Over the study period, the number of deaths from gunshot wounds increased significantly, while deaths from other types of trauma either remained stable or decreased, the findings showed.

The report was published June 14 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Robert Glatter is an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He said, “While this is only a single-center study, it is a continuing reminder that we need to focus our efforts to find practical approaches — through policy and other grassroots efforts — to reduce gun violence in our communities.”

Even if you survive a gunshot wound, the suffering may continue, he added.

“After gunshot wounds inflict their immediate damage, long-term effects may include poorly healing fractures, injuries to nerves and blood vessels, as well as the potential for infections that may lead to chronic disability and require long-term care,” Glatter explained.

“With assault rifles we see more severe wounds, inflicting greater damage to organs and blood vessels, often leading to prolonged hospital stays,” he said.

“These weapons belong on a battlefield — not on the streets,” Glatter added.

These injuries and deaths are largely preventable, he noted.

“Our society should not continue to fall victim to a method of violence that we have the ability to set clear public policy to control,” Glatter said.

More information

Visit the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for more on gun violence.

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Lift Ban on CDC Research Into Gun Violence, Doctors’ Group Says

TUESDAY, June 14, 2016 (HealthDay News) — On the heels of yet another senseless gun massacre in the United States, the nation’s leading physicians’ organization is urging more research into gun violence.

Specifically, the American Medical Association (AMA) said Tuesday that a long-standing ban on federal government research into gun violence must be lifted to better understand and tackle the problem.

The AMA is now pledging to lobby Congress to overturn 20-year-old legislation that has prohibited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from researching the issue.

“Even as America faces a crisis unrivaled in any other developed country, the Congress prohibits the CDC from conducting the very research that would help us understand the problems associated with gun violence,” AMA President Dr. Steven Stack said in a news release from the group.

Such research would also help “determine how to reduce the high rate of firearm-related deaths and injuries,” he said.

The newly adopted policy was announced in the wake of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history — at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla. — on Sunday that left 49 people dead and 53 wounded.

The AMA also noted that more than 6,000 people in the United States have died in gun violence so far this year.

The groups’ new policy coincided with the release of new research into the toll gun violence takes in hospital emergency rooms every day.

A study of 29,000 Denver area ER patients treated for gunshot wounds between 2000 and 2013 found that the fatality rate has increased significantly during that time.

Guns are “becoming progressively more dangerous,” said study lead author Dr. Angela Sauaia. Her team published their findings June 14 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The AMA’s Stack agreed.

“With approximately 30,000 men, women and children dying each year at the barrel of a gun in elementary schools, movie theaters, workplaces, houses of worship and on live television, the United States faces a public health crisis of gun violence,” he said.

He believes that lifting the CDC research ban is “vital so physicians and other health providers, law enforcement, and society at large may be able to prevent injury, death and other harms to society resulting from firearms.”

The AMA also has a number of policies in place that urge improved firearm safety and reduction and prevention of gun violence.

Currently the group supports a waiting period before someone can purchase any form of firearm, background checks for all handgun purchasers, stricter enforcement of present federal and state gun safety legislation, and mandated penalties for crimes committed with the use of a firearm, including the illegal possession of a firearm.

According to the AMA, “uncontrolled ownership and use of firearms, especially handguns, is a serious threat to the public’s health inasmuch as the weapons are one of the main causes of intentional and unintentional injuries and deaths.”

More information

The American Psychological Association has more about gun violence.

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