'Grease' star Jeff Conaway, who was battling pneumonia and sepsis, died today following an overdose of painkillers two weeks ago. "Grease" and "Taxi" star Jeff Conaway is set to be taken off of life support, reports RadarOnline. The actor, who has long struggled with drug addiction, was found unconscious on May 11 as a result of pneumonia exacerbated by substance abuse. He was put into an induced coma, struggling with sepsis, and has been on a ventilator and a feeding tube since. Sepsis is the name of an infection that causes a series of reactions in the body, which in the worst case can prove fatal. The problem for both patients and doctors is that the early symptoms are difficult to distinguish from less dangerous infections such as a severe flu or winter vomiting disease. A researcher at Lund University in Sweden has now discovered a substance in the blood which shows both whether a patient has sepsis and how serious the case is... Manager: 'Taxi,' 'Grease' star Conaway faces crucial period in fight against pneumonia, sepsis Actor Jeff Conaway's prospect for recovering from pneumonia and sepsis grew "increasingly grim" as a blood infection reemerged Sunday, according to a source familiar with Conaway's medical condition. A small, new biotech company is springing up in Indianapolis, and it has already signed a licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Co. for the rights to sell the pharmaceutical giant's medicine for severe sepsis, Xigris. (_Lund University_) Sepsis is the name of an infection that causes a series of reactions in the body, which in the worst case can prove fatal. The problem for both patients and doctors is that the early symptoms are difficult to distinguish from less dangerous infections such as a severe flu or winter vomiting disease. A researcher at Lund University in Sweden has now discovered a substance in the blood which shows both whether a patient has sepsis and how serious the case is. (MedPage Today) -- Hospitals that spend more on caring for patients with sepsis do not necessarily have improved mortality, researchers suggested. LOS ANGELES, May 22 (UPI) -- Actor Jeff Conaway remained in a Los Angeles hospital Sunday with what a visitor said was a dangerous case of pneumonia and sepsis. I was offered organs for my patients from donors with leukaemia and Hodgkin's disease You report how "two transplant patients were given kidneys from a donor with a rare and aggressive form of cancer" (Patients given kidneys from donor with cancer, 22 March). And, your article states: "One senior official at the NHS Blood and Transplant Service (NHSBT) warned: 'We can minimise risk but we can't abolish it.'" Though it's difficult to comment without full details of the cases, I am not surprised that this has happened – especially with the recent increase in the number of inappropriate offers of kidneys. Prior to my retirement as director of a transplant unit, I was offered kidneys for my patients that came from donors known to have Hodgkin's disease (a form of lymphoma), leukaemia and sepsis, all of which I refused. Donor families should not be placed in the invidious position where their generous offer to donate kidneys is turned down. In many units, the decisions to accept or reject kidney offers are made by trainees with fewer years of experience than a consultant. I agree with lawyer John Kitchingman, who says: "Kidney transplantation isn't urgent like liver or heart ... MEDICAL testing kit maker Axis-Shield has signed a deal with New York-listed Bio-Rad Laboratories to commercialise one of the Dundee firm's products. An election year and a public debate could bring an end to botched terminations and Argentina's appalling figures for maternal mortality In December 2008 Sophia González sat in an NGO office in one of the large slums surrounding the city of Córdoba in Argentina and described her desperate search for an abortion. With five young children, no work and her husband gone, she says prostitution is the only way she can afford to buy food for her family. When a violent encounter with a client left her pregnant for the sixth time, she says she had no choice but to try and get a termination. "I don't believe in abortion but I was terrified," she says. "I knew there was no way I could get food for this baby, I was all on my own and I was doing what I was doing for the sake of the children I had already. I couldn't see a way out." She borrowed 50 pesos ($13) from neighbours and went to a place where they "know about these things". The man there used a plastic catheter and a knitting needle. She didn't have the extra 250 pesos ... By DAVID WILLIAMS An Archives of Internal Medicine article (Conflicts of Interest in Cardiovascular Clinical Practice Guidelines) is getting a lot of notice today. In essence, many of the physicians who develop guideline that influence practice patterns and payment decisions have conflicts. The authors recommend only allowing those without conflicts to write the guidelines. This isn't a [...] Blues singer Etta James has checked into a California hospital with a potentially deadly infection.The 73 year old was admitted earlier this week (beg09May11) and is being treated for sepsis, caused by a urinary tract infection. The singer,... Vintage Vinyl News: > Love SongsOnce again, R&B legend Etta James has had to enter the hospital with a serious infection. > > The singer's son, Sametto James, said that she had been admitted back on Monday for a urinary tract infection that has now moved to sepsis. The infection is particularly dangerous as it is characterized by a body-wide infection of the blood stream known more widely as blood poisoning. > > Sametto told Reuters that "It was a really bad infection. Right now she's doing a lot better"... Read and comment. From vintagevinylnews.com. Etta James is in a Riverside, Calif. hospital where doctors are treating her for sepsis, a potentially fatal infection, following a urinary tract ... By Katy Migiro NAIROBI (Reuters) - A new vaccine to protect against pneumonia, the world's leading killer of children under five, was launched in Kenya on Monday, one of 19 developing countries which will introduce the vaccine this year. Pneumococcal disease, which can cause pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis, kills more than half a million people a year, half of them children under five, according to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) which launched the campaign. A study of nearly 1,200 older patients hospitalized for severe sepsis indicate that those who survive are at higher risk for long-term cognitive impairment and physical limitations than those hospitalized for other reasons. This conclusion was reached by a group of investigators nationwide, including Dylan M. Smith, Ph.D...
Key Words: sepsis
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Friday, May 27, 2011
Jeff Conaway dies following drug overdose Report brain dead to be taken off life support by grieving family Speedier Detection And Treatment Of Severe Sepsis 'Taxi ' 'Grease Star Fighting for Life Conaway's Condition 'Increasingly Grim' Biotech startup signs deal sell Lilly sepsis Quicker detection and treatment of severe Spending Deaths Not Linked in 'Taxi' star has pneumonia Response Kidney transplants are not always worth the risk AxisShield US key product Battle lines drawn over Argentina's abortion ban | Annie Kelly Conflicts Interest In Guideline Development A Dirty Little Secret Gets Aired Again ETTA JAMES SINGER RUSHED TO HOSPITAL Etta James Hospitalized Again... hospitalized with infection Kenya starts new vaccine campaign against Older Patients Surviving Infections More Likely To Develop Cognitive Problems
