Saturday, April 1, 2017

Carbon monoxide at hotel pool suspected in Michigan death

By Kimberly Hutcherson, CNN
Updated 8:38 PM ET, Sat April 1, 2017
Carbon monoxide at hotel pool leaves 1 dead

Story highlights

  • Five of those hospitalized were found unconscious at the hotel pool
  • It happened at a hotel in southern Michigan
(CNN)One person was found dead and 8 others were hospitalized after a group of people were found unconscious around a hotel's indoor pool in southern Michigan.
Fire officials said they believe the cause was carbon monoxide poisoning.
Eight people were treated at local hospitals, including first responders who helped unconscious victims, according to police in Niles, Michigan, a town of about 11,000 just north of the state's border with Indiana.
    Jessica Hines, a spokeswoman for Lakeland Hospital in Niles, told CNN that one other person was "confirmed dead on arrival."
    The Niles Police Department identified the deceased as 13-year-old Bryan Douglas Watts of Niles.
    Six other children were taken to Memorial South Bend Hospital in Indiana, police said.
    They include five children found unconscious alongside Watts at the Quality Inn & Suites hotel pool. Their ages range from 12 to 14 years old, Niles police said.
    Another child, who police said had just left the pool area, was found unresponsive in a first-floor room.
    Two others treated for carbon monoxide-related exposure included a Niles police officer and Berrien County deputy.
    Police responded to the hotel around 10 a.m. ET, according to CNN affiliate WNDU-TV.
    Police said that, when they arrived, carbon monoxide levels at the hotel were 800 parts per million, according to CNN affiliate WBND-TV. US standards for carbon monoxide are 35 parts per million for a one-hour exposure.
    Niles Fire Department Captain Don Wise attributed the incident to a faulty pool heater.
    "The ventilation system on the heater had issues, the exhaust was not functioning properly," said Wise. "Our mechanical inspector verified that. The hotel is shut down now until repairs are made."
    Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas that is produced when a fuel is burned. When too much carbon monoxide is in the air, it can replace the oxygen in red blood cells and can lead to tissue damage or death.
    Choice Hotels, which owns the Quality brand, released a statement about the incident, saying it is "working closely with local officials to manage the situation. ... Our highest priority is always the safety and well-being of our guests."
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    Tuesday, February 14, 2017

    Diabetes patch ends the pain of finger-prick tests: Sensor inside reads blood sugar levels from cells before transmitting data to a smartphone

    • Sensor the size of a £2 coin measures sugar levels from cells just below the skin
    • £96-a-month Freestyle Libre is available privately and use by 20,000 diabetics
    • Manufacturer Abbott is in negotiations to make it available on the NHS for free 
    By Ben Spencer, Medical Correspondent For The Daily Mail
    PUBLISHED: 20:02 EST, 14 February 2017 | UPDATED: 21:06 EST, 14 February 2017
    An arm patch could change the lives of tens of thousands of diabetes patients by replacing finger-prick tests.
    It contains a sensor the size of a £2 coin that reads blood-sugar levels from the cells just below the skin and transmits the data to a smartphone.
    That would put an end to the frequent and painful finger-prick tests used to monitor levels. A study of more than 50,000 patients shows the technology has significant health benefits.
    A patch could change the lives of tens of thousands of diabetes patients by replacing finger-prick tests. Stock image
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    A patch could change the lives of tens of thousands of diabetes patients by replacing finger-prick tests. Stock image
    The £96-a-month Freestyle Libre system has been available privately in the UK for a year, with around 20,000 people already using it.
    But hundreds of thousands more could benefit if manufacturer Abbott is successful in negotiations to make it available on the NHS for free. The device is particularly valuable for sufferers with type 1 diabetes – an auto-immune disease that stops the body producing its own insulin, preventing the proper regulation of blood sugar.
    The type 1 form affects 400,000 Britons, usually striking in childhood or adolescence. Everyone with the condition has to monitor their blood-sugar levels constantly to check whether they need an insulin injection.
    The patch is thought to be especially useful for children with type 1 diabetes because their parents are able to collect data from the patch by swiping it with a smartphone, even when their child is asleep.

    PILL BEATS HAYFEVER 

    Pollen pills or jabs taken for three years can effectively suppress hayfever, research suggests.
    Experts said consistently taking an ‘immunotherapy’ treatment which exposes the body to controlled amounts of grass pollen is an effective way to treat symptoms in the long term.
    But they found the treatments need to be taken for at least three years to work – and undergoing only two years’ immunotherapy does not bring the lasting benefits. The study, by Imperial College London and published in the journal JAMA, found treatments such as Grazax pills or Alutard SQ injections were highly effective at reducing symptoms including sneezing, a runny nose and itchy eyes.
    Hayfever is thought to affect up to one in four people, with most cases starting out as a reaction to grass pollen. Grazax pills are available on the NHS by prescription, but Alutard SQ is not.
    The device could also help the million patients with type 2 diabetes who are insulin dependent. The patch is placed on the back of the upper arm and a tiny filament – the width of three human hairs – goes through the upper level of the skin and reads the glucose levels in the substance between skin cells.
    The information is transferred from the patch to a smartphone by flash-sensing – the system used for contactless card payments.
    Each £48 patch lasts two weeks.
    Abbott has applied to the NHS Business Services Authority for it to be listed on the England and Wales drug tariff – which would mean it could be prescribed by GPs and specialists free of charge.
    Dr Ramzi Ajjan, of the University of Leeds, who will speak at the Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes conference in Paris today, said the patch had helped patients monitor their blood-sugar – or glycaemia, adding: ‘We want to see this system on the NHS. Patients with type 1 in particular would benefit hugely from this technology being made available.
    ‘Patients report that the system helped them gain a better understanding of their glycaemia by enabling multiple daily glucose checks.
    ‘The system’s painless nature of glucose testing is praised by patients. The real-world data confirms that patients are checking glucose more frequently, up to 16 times per day on average, which is cumbersome to maintain with the conventional fingerstick method.’
    Karen Addington, of the diabetes charity JDRF, said: ‘We believe everyone who would benefit from this technology should get it on the NHS.’
    A Department of Health spokesman said the technology was being checked for safety, quality and cost effectiveness before a decision could be made.


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4225676/Diabetes-patch-ends-pain-finger-prick-tests.html#ixzz4YipWgmbO
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