Month: February 2013

Flu shots offered only 9% protection for people over 65 against the most severe strain of flu circulating this season, the U.S. government says. That strain was the most common this season as well as the one that caused the worst illness. Overall, the vaccine provided about 27% protection against 3 strains of influenza for adults over 65, the new report said. Protection was about 56% for all age groups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the statistics February 21. Flu generally hits older adults harder, and flu shots don’t work as well for them. Overall, the effectiveness of this season’s vaccine was not much below average, experts told the Associated Press (AP). Because flu changes quickly, there’s a lot of guesswork in creating the vaccine. So 30% to 40% effectiveness is considered good for seniors, AP said. About 60% to 70% is acceptable for all groups.

Some patients may need fewer tests to keep track of a bulging artery, a new study suggests. The study focused on abdominal aortic aneurysm. This is a bulge in the aorta inside the belly area. If it ruptures (bursts), 8 out of 10 people die. Doctors order ultrasounds to keep track of when it’s big enough to make surgery worthwhile. But there’s no agreement on how often to do them. British researchers combined numbers from 18 previous studies. They came up with an ultrasound schedule that they estimated would result in only a 1% chance of rupture before the next test. They suggested tests every 2 years for aneurysms of 3.0 to 3.9 centimeters in diameter. This would increase to every year for 4.0 to 4.9 centimeters and every 6 months for 5.0 to 5.4 centimeters. That’s not much different from current U.S. practice. But British doctors do the scans much more often.

Children’s doctors have new guidelines to help them diagnose and treat children’s ear infections. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued the guidelines February 25. One goal is to reduce the use of antibiotics, which often are not needed. The guidelines were last updated in 2004. The new ones include the results of research done since then. They describe a more precise way to diagnose an ear infection. And for the first time they say it’s OK sometimes to wait before giving antibiotics to children ages 6 to 23 months. Immediate antibiotics are still recommended for children with severe infections or high fever. They also should be given when kids don’t get better within 48 to 72 hours, the guidelines say. Doctors are urged to give medicine for pain, especially during the waiting period.