IMDA eNews 101023
The latest news affecting you and your customers…
from the Independent Medical Specialty Dealers Association
Stolen laryngoscopes posted for sale
Medtronic issued a notification in September to inform the public of stolen defective MCGRATH™ MAC video laryngoscopes that have been offered for sale illegally by unauthorized third parties through various social media platforms. The products failed to pass Medtronic’s quality tests, were not released for sale, distribution, or importation, and were designated for destruction. For more information, click here.
RSV more serious than COVID among hospitalized patients
For the period between February 2022 and May 2023, hospitalizations for RSV were less frequent but were associated with more severe disease than hospitalizations for COVID-19 or influenza, including receipt of standard flow oxygen therapy, high-flow nasal cannula or noninvasive ventilation, and intensive care unit admission, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings were consistent with those from earlier studies that compared RSV disease severity among hospitalized adults with influenza disease.
AARC election results
The American Association for Respiratory Care announced the results of the 2024 AARC Election on Oct. 5. President-elect is Dana Evans. Directors-at-Large are Glenn Pippen, Caitlin Coppock, Aaron Light and Teena Culhane. Chair-elect for the Ambulatory and Post-Acute Care Section is Mike Hess, and Chair-elect for Transport is Jennifer Watts.
Respiratory distress kills six infants in one month
Erie County in Upstate New York experienced unexpected deaths of six babies in September, reports Buffalo (New York) News. Public health officials sought to raise awareness about the symptoms of respiratory distress in infants and offered safe sleeping recommendations. Some of the physical warning signs of respiratory distress in infants include flaring nostrils, obvious retraction of the rib cage with each breath, wheezing or noisy breathing, tightness of breath, or the lips or face turning blue.
On the hunt for innovative pediatric medical devices
The National Institutes of Health announced the launch of a public-private partnership addressing the lack of medical devices designed and approved for children in the United States. Over the next year, the partners will develop a plan to build a national pediatric medical device ecosystem that augments the foundation developed through the System of Hospitals for Innovation in Pediatrics – Medical Devices (SHIP-MD) effort led by the FDA.
Breathing failure after seizure may be brain-related
Researchers have identified a part of the brain that may be associated with breathing failure following a seizure in people with severe epilepsy that cannot be controlled with medication. The condition, known as sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), is the leading cause of death in this patient population. The study by researchers at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, found that individuals who experience postictal apnea lose a sense of “air hunger” – the primal urge to breathe – or alarm, suggesting that the brain may be unable to detect and respond to rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the blood when the apnea occurs.
Scammed? Don’t be.
The FBI receives 300,000 email scam filings each year. Are you protecting your company? Do your employees know the risk they can put your company in when receiving and sending emails? Do you know what to do when you think you are scammed? At the upcoming 2024 IMDA/HIRA Annual Conference and Manufacturers Forum in Orlando, Florida, IMDA Executive Director Don Sizemore will show you how a common scam can cost you money. He should know, as his business was a victim of one. At the conference, learn how scams work, how to prevent them, how to spot them, and what to do once you’ve been “hooked.” Click here for more information about the 2024 IMDA/HIRA Annual Conference and Manufacturers Forum, March 4-6, 2024.