Search

Despite recent national emphasis, outpatient hand washing can be less than optimal. We tested a new approach involving both patient and physician hand washing. The study consisted of 384 questionnaires, 184 from phase 1 and 200 from phase 2. Patients stated doctors washed their hands 96.6% before examining them pre-intervention and 99.5% of the time post-intervention. Patients endorsed the importance of hand washing 98.7% of the time. “Co-washing” may offer a process to increase the practice of hand washing and decrease infection risk.

PURPOSE Hot tea and coffee have been found to have antimicrobial properties. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the consumption of tea, cof- fee, or both is associated with less frequent nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). METHODS We performed a secondary analysis of data from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to investigate the relationship between the consumption of coffee, hot tea, cold tea, and soft drinks, and MRSA nasal carriage among the noninstitutionalized population of the United States. RESULTS An estimated 2.5 million persons (1.4% of the population) were MRSA nasal carriers. In an adjusted logistic regression analysis controlling for age, race, sex, poverty-income ratio, current health status, hospitalization in the past 12 months, and use of antibiotics in the past month, individuals who reported consuming hot tea were one-half as likely to have MRSA nasal carriage relative to individuals who drank no hot tea (odds ratio = 0.47; 95% confi dence interval, 0.31-0.71). Similarly, individuals who reported consuming coffee had about a one-half reduction in the risk of MRSA nasal carriage relative to individuals who drank no coffee (odds ratio = 0.47; 95% confi dence interval, 0.24-0.93). CONCLUSIONS Consumption of hot tea or coffee is associated with a lower likeli- hood of MRSA nasal carriage. Our fi ndings raise the possibility of a promising new method to decrease MRSA nasal carriage that is safe, inexpensive, and eas- ily accessible.

PURPOSE Recent evidence supports a signifi cant association between the intake of dietary fi ber and levels of infl ammatory markers. The objective of this study was to determine whether daily fi ber supplementation would reduce levels of infl ammatory markers. METHODS This study was a prospective randomized controlled trial at a single university medical center. Participants were overweight or obese adults with no history of heart disease. The intervention was psyllium supplementation at either 7 or 14 g/d for 3 months compared with no supplements in a control group. The main outcome measure was change in level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) concentration; secondary outcomes included changes in interleukin-6 (IL- 6) levels, fi brinogen levels, and white blood cell (WBC) count. Protocol completers attended at least 2 visits and took more than 75% of the prescribed fi ber dose. RESULTS In this intent-to-treat analysis (n = 158), there were no signifi cant dif- ferences between either of the 2 treatment groups and the control group in the amount of change in CRP, fi brinogen, or IL-6 levels or in WBC count (P >.05). In the analysis of protocol completers (n = 132), there also were no signifi cant dif- ferences between the groups except for a small decrease in fi brinogen level in the high-fi ber group (-6 mg/dL (-0.18 μmol/L) compared with 13 mg/dL (0.38 μmol/L) in the control group, P

PURPOSE The Seventh Report of the Joint National Commission (JNC 7) on High Blood Pressure established prehypertension (120 to 139 mm Hg systolic or 80 to 89 mm Hg diastolic) as a new risk category. We aim to determine the risk of major cardiovascular events associated with blood pressure in the prehypertensive range in a longitudinal, population-based cohort. METHODS Analyses were conducted on participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I (1971–1975) observed for 18 years for major cardiovascular disease events. Cox proportional hazard ratios were calculated to assess relative risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke, myocardial infarction, and heart failure, in participants with prehypertension and normal blood pressure (