Dialysis Systems by Baxter called HomeChoice and HomeChoice PRO are under a medical device recall following reports from physicians that people have experienced serious injury and one known death because of a defect in the product. The specific defect is unknown at this time. What is known is that the Automated PD system which is programmed to repeatedly deliver and remove dialysis solution may produce increased Intraperitoneal Volume (IIPV). Intraperitoneal Volume (IIPV) is described as overfilling of the abdominal cavity.

Intraperitoneal Volume (IIPV) is known to cause serious breathing difficulty, hernias of the abdomen or diaphragm, pulmonary dysfunction, hypertension, hydrothorax, pericardial effusion and peritonitis. Dialysis patients that are children or are seriously ill are at an increased risk of injury from the affected models of Baxter’s Dialysis System.

Some physicians may still be using Baxter’s HomeChoice and HomeChoice PRO. If they are still using Baxter’s Dialysis Systems, they are being advised by the FDA to inform dialysis patients about the risk associated with HomeChoice and HomeChoice PRO.

Broken baseball bats have been an area of concern for the baseball community in recent years. Over 1500 baseball bats have been broken in one season for the Major Baseball League. The Minor Baseball League has banned the use of light weight maple bats that tend to fracture when used by baseball players. Yet, maple bats are not the only type of bats that pose a risk of injury. There are heavy hitting hickory wood bats, flaking ash wood bats, and high performance aluminum bats that may cause injury. In fact, it is not only the pitchers, umpires and infielders that are at risk of injury from a broken bat, fans watching baseball games are also at risk of injury.

Baseball bat injury risks are easy to understand. Baseball bats may produce a 2500 pound force at a rate of over 100 milers per hour, translating into nearly 4/10’s of a second reaction time. The speed of the bat also plays a role in the risk of injury. The speed at which a ball can travel is approximately 90 miles per hour for a wooden bat and roughly 105 miles per hour for an aluminum bat.

Baseball Bat Risks

Bikes accounted for 43,000 injuries and nearly 100 deaths in 2007, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. At the onset, you may think that a bike injury is the cause of a swift reactive turn in response to a vehicle or some other obstruction. However, bikers maybe at risk of injury because of their bike helmet that can turn into a weapon or the bike mechanisms may malfunction.

Bike risks relate to both children and adults. Twelve thousand children and twenty six thousand people between the ages of 16 and 54 were injured on bikes in 2007. One of the problems associated with the risk of a bike injury is that people may not be aware of such risks. Bike helmet companies tout the benefits of strong lightweight fiberglass or carbon fiber shells, UV protection, ventilation systems, and antibacterial fabric, but the risk of injury from a hard hit may not be disclosed. Bicycle companies offer heavy duty light weight frames, top end rims and axles, street and dirt worthy tires as well as cranks and rotors for power, speed and high performance. Yet, the risks such as the bicycle’s quick release mechanism inadvertently discharging, should support every biker being more aware of the risks associated with a bicycle.

Laws About Bicycles and Bike Helmets

Food borne illnesses can be traced to manufacturing plants that do not meet regulations for safety. Red flags went up for the risk of a food borne illness at Meyer’s Seafood Processing Facility recently. In October of 2009, inspectors uncovered violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation, Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 123 (21 CFR 123).

The Wisconsin based seafood plant has received a warning letter because of several failures to meet regulations including:

•    Meyer’s vacuum-packed cold-smoked salmon, bonito, mahi-mahi, tuna, wahoo, mackerel, jobfish, jack or crevalle, trevally, escolar, clams, cockles, mussels, oysters, scallops, and air packed, hot-smoked salmon have been deemed adulterated because they have been prepared, packed, or held in unsanitary conditions and rendered injurious to health.

Millions of Becton, Dickinson and Company catheter systems are involved in a recall because of a defect in the product that may result in injury or death to a user. The direct flaw of the catheter system involves the risk of an air embolism and leakage of blood or therapeutic fluids. These risks pose an additional risk of serious injury or death.

Becton Dickson received reports that air was entering through the septum disk. Catheter system failures were reported on units that were distributed from November 2009 to November 2009.

Catheters are used in hospitals to treat a variety of medical conditions, including, but not limited to:

Cardiac defibrillators can be faulty at times and such is the case with Cardiac Science’s automated external defibrillator. The manufacturer of the medical device has discovered a flaw in the design of the defibrillator which can lead to the inability to resuscitate an individual in need. Over 12,000 of the defibrillators have been recalled due to the defect in design. People using the defibrillator may feel protected from harm because they are using the medical device, but this is a false impression in light of the defect. The defective models include:

  • Powerheart 9300A, 9300E, 9300P, 9390A, 9390E
  • CardioVive 92532

Toyota owners that have not been injured and those that have may be entitled to financial compensation because of the defects associated with Toyota cars. Toyota recalls have totaled approximately 8 million autos over the past several months, including several models:

  • 2009-2010 RAV4 Crossover
  • 2009-2010 Corolla

NSF, also known as nephrogenic systemic fibrosis or nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy, has been linked to a gadolinium-based contrast agent that has been used in 200 million MRI procedures. Dating back to 2006, investigative authorities and Omniscan, the manufacturer, had begun to receive reports of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in people that were given the gadolinium-based contrast agent during their MRI. Later, studies have documented that gadodiamide intoxication can build in years over time. The studies also noted that loss of renal function increases the severity of NSF. Researchers have not been able to fully identify the clinical, biochemical and pharmacological factors that relate to NSF and gadolinium contrast dye. However, it is clear that the key ingredient, namely gadodiamide, is responsible for producing NSF in patients that used this contrast dye for their MRI.

NSF is a painful debilitating disease that cannot be easily treated and may result in a slow painful progression to death. People with NSF are known to suffer from skin death that may encompass the body including: fibrosis of the diaphragm, muscles, abdomen and lungs. The skin may thicken as well. People with NSF may suffer from joint dysfunction and connective tissue disorders which can limit their mobility. People with NSF may also suffer from kidney impairment.

The manufacturers Bayer Healthcare, Bracco, Covidien, GE Healthcare and Mallinckrodt have all produced gadolinium contrast dye. It is not known how many of the 200 million people that have been administered the contrast dye is affected by NSF. However, there are a high number of reports of serious injury and death due to gadolinium related NSF.

Diabetics taking Avandia may not be aware of the risk of heart attack and emacular edema. However some Avandia users have suffered the injury of cardiac arrest and emacular edema due to the use of the drug.   Avandia is also sold as Avandaryl (rosiglitazone maleate and glimepiride), and Avandamet (rosiglitazone maleate and metformin hydrochloride), which all contain rosiglitazone, and Actos (pioglitazone hydrochloride), Duetact (pioglitazone hydrochloride and glimepride) and Actoplus met, which all contain pioglitazone. The manufacturers have strengthened the warnings about the drugs on the drug labels, but this does not improve the outlook for those who are injured or will be injured by Avandia. There have been reports of death following cardiac arrest with a link to Avandia. There have been reports of diabetics suffering from emacular edema of which has been successfully treated.

Symptoms that display the risk of heart failure include:

  • Rapid weight gain

Many veterans from the Iraqi and Afghanistan War suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. Many were treated. However, many were not found eligible for long term benefits.  This has been unfortunate for these vets particularly when the symptoms associated with post traumatic stress can present themselves at many times over the course of a lifetime. Consequently, last quarter of 2008 a class action lawsuit was filed. Now a federal judge is allowing a court authorized mailing to go out to roughly 4,300 vets which will permit them to participate in the class action lawsuit if they qualify.

The National Veterans Legal Services is the advocacy group that initiated the class action lawsuit involving seven injured vets. If the lawsuit is won, many vets with post traumatic stress would potentially receive long term financial compensation and healthcare benefits. Veterans most likely affected in this class action received disability discharges between December 2003 and November 2008.

The diagnosis for post traumatic stress may involve both a physiatrist and psychologist. The symptoms associated with post traumatic stress are numerous, including:

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