Objective: Pertussis infections have risen exponentially in the United States with the highest incidence of morbidities and mortalities in infants less than one year of age. Although Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations have recently changed several times, current recommendations are to give tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis vaccine during each pregnancy to all gravidas between 27 and 36 weeks gestation or immediately postpartum. Vaccine "cocooning" of close contacts is also advocated to reduce transmission to newborns. This study was undertaken to determine Michigan birthing hospitals' Tdap vaccination policies and practices.Methods: A telephone survey of Michigan birthing hospital administrators was conducted May-June 2012. Statistical analysis was by Fisher exact test for categorical variables.
Results:Response rate was 83% of Michigan's 84 birthing hospitals. Fifty-one (73%) reported a process in place to assess gravida Tdap vaccine status. Only 14 (20%) had a written policy. Vaccine cost was the most cited barrier (21%) to policy implementation. The majority (91%) of hospitals surveyed indicated that they offered Tdap. The minority (11%) evaluated antepartum-admitted gravidas or vaccinated household contacts (4%). All hospitals documented vaccination in hospital records; only 53% entered these data into the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR). Most (77%) documented vaccination refusal; few (6%) recorded this in MCIR. Hospitals affiliated with other hospitals and hospitals affiliated with an Obstetrics/Gynecology residency program were more likely to have written postpartum Tdap vaccination policies (P=0.03).
Conclusions:Based on recall data, many Michigan birthing hospitals have not adequately addressed pertussis vaccine surveillance in an obstetrical patient population. Although most reported assessing postpartum patients for vaccine status, few had a written policy. Vaccine opportunities are being missed during the antepartum period and for other close contacts. Finally, suboptimal utilization of a robust statewide vaccine registry compromises the long-term care of these patients.
We report a case of a 13-year-old female transferred to us in hepatic coma due to intentional ingestion of reported 27mg/ kg of elemental iron that yielded in an iron level of 246 mcg/dl, 5 days after suspected ingestion. The patient presented in shock, liver failure and subsequently developed cerebral edema with impending herniation. During her course, she was treated with Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT), Plasma Exchange (PLEX) and eventually received liver transplant with complete resolution of her neurological symptoms.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.