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October 27–November 2, 2012
This Week in Medicine
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No free lunch Abbott Laboratories has suspended the practice of giving gifts as brand reminders to doctors in India. Although acceptance of gifts or travel arrangements from drugmakers is against Indian law, enforcement is inconsistent. US authorities are currently probing several leading drugmakers over kickbacks and bribery in “emerging markets”.
Up in smoke A proposed ban on public smoking in Russia has received support from the country’s Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev also called for a substantial increase on sales tax for cigarettes and the banning of advertising for them. Close to a third of the population smokes in Russia, and previous attempts at similar legislation have proven unpopular. www.thelancet.com Vol 380 October 27, 2012
German nurse shortage Germany has a shortage of around 40 000 nurses, according to the Federation of German Employers’ Associations for Care Providers. The association has recommended the employment of nurses from China, which currently has 400 000 unemployed nurses. A 5-year pilot project starting next year will see 150 Chinese nurses taken on.
Legally blind Indonesia has the second highest rate of blindness in the world, with 3·5 million listed as blind, according to Hikmat Wangsaatmadja of Cicendo Eye Hospital. 80% of cases are due to cataracts. Because many Indonesians are not aware that cataracts can be treated or cured, they do not seek treatment, said Deputy Health Minister Ali Ghufron Mukti.
Misuse management Drug manufacturer Fresenius Kabi has instituted a series of distribution controls to prevent its anaesthetic propofol from being purchased by or distributed to corrections departments in the USA. The drug has been adopted by an increasing number of US states as an alternative to barbiturate drug cocktails used as a means of execution by lethal injection.
Debt trap A report from the University of Calgary, AB, Canada, has likened the Canadian health-care system to a ponzi scheme, that will be unsustainable for future generations. The report warns that the public debt could amount to CAN$1·4 trillion for the baby-boomer generation’s grandchildren, unless less costly approaches and more preventive measures are adopted.
For the report on HIV incidence in Australia see http://www.kirby. unsw.edu.au/surveillance/ 2012-annual-surveillance-reporthiv-viral-hepatitis-stis
Access denied Iran’s Charity Foundation for Special Diseases, which supports patients with lifethreatening illnesses, has complained of the serious shortages of life-saving medicines as an indirect result of the West’s imposed sanctions on Iran. Fatemeh Hashemi, head of the organisation, has written to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling for him to intervene.
Off-label advice The UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has published its first evidence summary on the unlicensed use of tranexamic acid for the prevention or treatment of significant haemorrhage after trauma. Evidence from the CRASH-2 trial has shown that giving the antifibrinolytic within 8 h of injury to adult trauma patients improves allcause mortality.
For the report on Canada’s health-care spending see http:// policyschool.ucalgary.ca/sites/ default/files/research/emerygenerational-balances-final.pdf
Bandied about? A UK national enquiry into the care of 381 patients who had bariatric weight-loss surgery has found that the procedure is being seen as a quick fix, with only 29% of patients receiving psychological counselling before surgery. The report also raises concerns about inadequate follow-up (32%), problematic consent procedures (24%), and lack of hospital specialisation (48%).
Innappropriate influence? John Dalli, the European Union commissioner for health, has resigned after a fraud investigation linked him to attempts to influence tobacco legislation. The investigation found that a Maltese businessman had tried to use his connection with Dalli for financial gain in exchange for influence over tobacco laws. Dalli rejects the allegations.
For The Lancet News podcast see http://www.thelancet.com/ lancet-news-audio-2012/
For the Melbourne Declaration on HIV see http://www. melbournedeclaration.com/ the-melbourne-declaration For the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death report on bariatric surgery in the UK see http:// www.ncepod.org.uk/2012bs.htm
For the NICE evidence summary on tranexamic acid see http:// publications.nice.org.uk/ esuom1-significanthaemorrhage-following-traumatranexamic-acid-esuom1 For the CRASH-2 trial see Articles Lancet 2010; 376: 23–32
Corbis
Abortion legal Uruguay has become the second Latin American country after Cuba to legalise abortion for all women up to 12 weeks’ gestation, after a 17–14 majority vote in the Uruguayan Senate. However, prochoice campaigners object to the proposal that women will need to justify their planned abortion in front of a panel of experts.
Corbis
HIV rises again Between 2010 and 2011, the number of new HIV cases in Australia increased substantially (by 8%) for the first time in 5 years, according to a report from the University of New South Wales. The Melbourne Declaration, launched at the Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference last week, outlined how a 50% reduction in new cases by 2015 can be achieved.
i
AFP/Getty Images
No free lunch Abbott Laboratories has suspended the practice of giving gifts as brand reminders to doctors in India. Although acceptance of gifts or travel arrangements from drugmakers is against Indian law, enforcement is inconsistent. US authorities are currently probing several leading drugmakers over kickbacks and bribery in “emerging markets”.
Up in smoke A proposed ban on public smoking in Russia has received support from the country’s Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev also called for a substantial increase on sales tax for cigarettes and the banning of advertising for them. Close to a third of the population smokes in Russia, and previous attempts at similar legislation have proven unpopular. www.thelancet.com Vol 380 October 27, 2012
German nurse shortage Germany has a shortage of around 40 000 nurses, according to the Federation of German Employers’ Associations for Care Providers. The association has recommended the employment of nurses from China, which currently has 400 000 unemployed nurses. A 5-year pilot project starting next year will see 150 Chinese nurses taken on.
Legally blind Indonesia has the second highest rate of blindness in the world, with 3·5 million listed as blind, according to Hikmat Wangsaatmadja of Cicendo Eye Hospital. 80% of cases are due to cataracts. Because many Indonesians are not aware that cataracts can be treated or cured, they do not seek treatment, said Deputy Health Minister Ali Ghufron Mukti.
Misuse management Drug manufacturer Fresenius Kabi has instituted a series of distribution controls to prevent its anaesthetic propofol from being purchased by or distributed to corrections departments in the USA. The drug has been adopted by an increasing number of US states as an alternative to barbiturate drug cocktails used as a means of execution by lethal injection.
Debt trap A report from the University of Calgary, AB, Canada, has likened the Canadian health-care system to a ponzi scheme, that will be unsustainable for future generations. The report warns that the public debt could amount to CAN$1·4 trillion for the baby-boomer generation’s grandchildren, unless less costly approaches and more preventive measures are adopted.
For the report on HIV incidence in Australia see http://www.kirby. unsw.edu.au/surveillance/ 2012-annual-surveillance-reporthiv-viral-hepatitis-stis
Access denied Iran’s Charity Foundation for Special Diseases, which supports patients with lifethreatening illnesses, has complained of the serious shortages of life-saving medicines as an indirect result of the West’s imposed sanctions on Iran. Fatemeh Hashemi, head of the organisation, has written to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling for him to intervene.
Off-label advice The UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has published its first evidence summary on the unlicensed use of tranexamic acid for the prevention or treatment of significant haemorrhage after trauma. Evidence from the CRASH-2 trial has shown that giving the antifibrinolytic within 8 h of injury to adult trauma patients improves allcause mortality.
For the report on Canada’s health-care spending see http:// policyschool.ucalgary.ca/sites/ default/files/research/emerygenerational-balances-final.pdf
Bandied about? A UK national enquiry into the care of 381 patients who had bariatric weight-loss surgery has found that the procedure is being seen as a quick fix, with only 29% of patients receiving psychological counselling before surgery. The report also raises concerns about inadequate follow-up (32%), problematic consent procedures (24%), and lack of hospital specialisation (48%).
Innappropriate influence? John Dalli, the European Union commissioner for health, has resigned after a fraud investigation linked him to attempts to influence tobacco legislation. The investigation found that a Maltese businessman had tried to use his connection with Dalli for financial gain in exchange for influence over tobacco laws. Dalli rejects the allegations.
For The Lancet News podcast see http://www.thelancet.com/ lancet-news-audio-2012/
For the Melbourne Declaration on HIV see http://www. melbournedeclaration.com/ the-melbourne-declaration For the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death report on bariatric surgery in the UK see http:// www.ncepod.org.uk/2012bs.htm
For the NICE evidence summary on tranexamic acid see http:// publications.nice.org.uk/ esuom1-significanthaemorrhage-following-traumatranexamic-acid-esuom1 For the CRASH-2 trial see Articles Lancet 2010; 376: 23–32
Corbis
Abortion legal Uruguay has become the second Latin American country after Cuba to legalise abortion for all women up to 12 weeks’ gestation, after a 17–14 majority vote in the Uruguayan Senate. However, prochoice campaigners object to the proposal that women will need to justify their planned abortion in front of a panel of experts.
Corbis
HIV rises again Between 2010 and 2011, the number of new HIV cases in Australia increased substantially (by 8%) for the first time in 5 years, according to a report from the University of New South Wales. The Melbourne Declaration, launched at the Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference last week, outlined how a 50% reduction in new cases by 2015 can be achieved.
i