Vaccine information statements. Revolutionary but neglected educational advances in healthcare in the United States.

The purpose of this report is to provide further information about vaccine information statements (VISs) that are revolutionary but neglected educational advances in the United States. Because the use of VISs is mandated by the Federal Government in every individual being immunized, it is the goal of this report to further awaken health professionals and society to the mandatory use of these superb educational statements. With the passage of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, the Federal Government required that VISs would be given to all vaccine recipients. As of September 2001, the VISs that must be used are diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, (DTaP); diphtheria, tetanus (Td); measles, mumps, rubella (MMR); polio (IPV); hepatitis B; Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib); varicella; and pneumococcal conjugate. Copies of the VISs are available at www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/VIS. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 mandated that all health care providers report certain adverse events that occur following vaccination. As a result, the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) was established by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1990. In order to reduce the liability of manufacturers and healthcare providers, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 established the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP). This program is intended to compensate those individuals who have been injured by vaccines on a no-fault basis. While the use of VISs has been mandated since 1996, a national survey of private practice office settings has revealed that many immunized patients do not receive the VISs. When these forms were used, physicians rarely initiated discussions regarding contraindications to immunizations or the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Fortunately, the state boards of medical examiners, like the one in Oregon, are taking a strong stand for the use of VISs, with the warning that failure to use a VIS may result in disciplinary action. Our nation and practicing physicians must be awakened to the importance of the use of VISs to ensure that every vaccinated individual receives this statement at the time of vaccination.

Saving President Reagan's life. The need for an organized emergency medical system in the United States to save lives of all casualties.

We are describing a heretofore untold narrative description of the emergency medical plan that saved the life of President Reagan on March 30th 1981. In 1976, Dr. Richard Edlich, director of the Emergency Medical Services at the University of Virginia Medical Center, wrote an editorial on the need for an emergency medical plan for the President of the United States. One year later Dr. Edlich enlisted the help of five distinguished experts in emergency medical systems in our nation to develop an emergency medical plan for the President of the United States. This published emergency medical plan was coauthored by Dr. David Boyd, the Director of Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Public Health and Welfare. Dr. Boyd wisely alerted both the Department of Health and Welfare as well as the White House staff, including Secret Service, of this plan. Realizing the importance of immediate emergency care, the Secret Service agent wisely recommended that the wounded President Reagan be immediately transported to the George Washington University Health Center, which has skilled emergency physicians as well as trauma surgeons, who saved the President's life. Realizing the benefits of this emergency medical plan that saved the life of the President of the United States, Drs. Edlich, Britt, and Wish will now be coordinating a medical narrative report that describes the development of emergency medical systems in the United States as well as modern trauma care in our nation.

Pressure ulcer prevention.

The purpose of this collective review is to outline the predisposing factors in the development of pressure ulcers and to identify a pressure ulcer prevention program. The most frequent sites for pressure ulcers are areas of skin overlying bony prominences. There are four critical factors contributing to the development of pressure ulcers: pressure, shearing forces, friction, and moisture. Pressure is now viewed as the single most important etiologic factor in pressure ulcer formation. Prolonged immobilization, sensory deficit, circulatory disturbances, and poor nutrition have been identified as important risk factors in the development of pressure ulcer formation. Among the clinical assessment scales available, only two, the Braden Scale and Norton Scale, have been tested extensively for reliability and/or validity. The most commonly used risk assessment tools for pressure ulcer formation are computerized pressure monitoring and measurement of laser Doppler skin blood flow. Pressure ulcers can predispose the patient to a variety of complications that include bacteremia, osteomyelitis, squamous cell carcinoma, and sinus tracts. The three components of pressure ulcer prevention that must be considered in any patient include management of incontinence, nutritional support, and pressure relief. The pressure relief program must be individualized for non-weight-bearing individuals as well as those that can bear weight. For those that can not bear weight and passively stand, the RENAISSANCE Mattress Replacement System is recommended for the immobile patient who lies supine on the bed, the stretcher, or operating room table. This alternating pressure system is unique because it has three separate cells that are not interconnected. It is specifically designed so that deflation of each individual cell will reach a ZERO PRESSURE during each alternating pressure cycle. The superiority of this system has been documented by comprehensive clinical studies in which this system has been compared to the standard hospital bed as well as to two other commercially available pressure relief mattresses. The most recent advance in pressure ulcer prevention is the development of the ALTERN8* seating system. This seating system provides regular periods of pressure relief and stimulation of blood flow to skin areas while users are seated. By offering the combination of pressure relief therapy and an increase in blood flow, the ALTERN8* reportedly creates an optimum pressure ulcer healing environment. Foam is the most commonly used material for pressure reduction and pressure ulcer prevention and treatment for the mobile individual. For those immobilized individuals who can achieve a passive standing position, a powered wheelchair that allows the individual to achieve a passive standing position is recommended. The beneficial effects of passive standing have been documented by comprehensive scientific studies. These benefits include reduction of seating pressure, decreased bone demineralization, increased blander pressure, enhanced orthostatic circulatory regulation, reduction in muscular tone, decrease in upper extremity muscle stress, and enhanced functional status in general. In the absence of these dynamic alternating pressure seating systems and mattresses, there are enormous medicolegal implications to the healthcare facility. Because there is not sufficient staff to provide pressure relief to rotate the patient every 2 hours in a hospital setting, with the exception of the intensive care unit, the immobile patient is prone to develop pressure ulcers. The cost of caring for these preventable pressure ulcers may now be as high as 60,000 dollars per patient. The occupational physical strain sustained by nursing personnel in rotating their patients has led to occupational back pain in nurses, a major source of morbidity in the healthcare environment.