Notwithstanding how serious an individual perceives the H1N1 pandemic, for Health Care Directions, Coordinations and Executions, the Concern NOW is our ICU, that is our Intensive Care Units in our Health Providing Sites.
So please allow me to use this exceptional Tribune to many who can relay the message to Intensivists.
Thank You for this Opportunity, Kossaks.
Snowy Owl
Because of an omission of a funding of 10 millions dollars on the uses of Statins in viral infected lungs of H1N1 patients in ICU we have some problem to get the messages trought with all Peer Review and the Blessing of the FDA and subsequent Protocoles.
Despite all this here a portion of what we found out;
Dr. Fedson has been the leader in the world since 2003 advocating the potential use of statins and other anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agents for use in the general populations of the world. FluTrackers has been working with him since 2006 to help illuminate the possibilities of these therapies for pandemic use.
Confronting the next influenza pandemic with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory agents: why they are needed and how they might work. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses - David Fedson M.D.
FluTrackers Interview, March 2009, by Sharon Sanders - Meeting the Challenge of Influenza Pandemic Preparedness in Developing Countries
FluTrackers Interview, July 2009, by Dr. Kopp - 'The unforgiving arithmetic of pandemic'
Previous FluTrackers Interviews of Dr. Fedson:
http://www.radiosandysprings.com/...
http://www.radiosandysprings.com/...
Thank you to Dr. Fedson who is a very kind, gracious, and humble humanitarian. The world is in your debt.
Statins Revisited
The question as to whether statins – commonly used cholesterol lowering drugs – might play a positive role in the treatment of influenza and pneumonia is one that we’ve discussed numerous times over the years.
We’ve seen a see-sawing of opinion, driven by a parade of conflicting studies. Today we’ve new research to look at, but first a review of the recent past.
Dr. David Fedson was probably the first to champion the idea of using statins for an influenza pandemic. In his paper on the subject, published in July of 2006.
snip
The nextinfluenza pandemic may beimminent. Because antiviral agentsand vaccines will beunavailable to people inmost countries, we needto determine whether otheragents could offer clinicalbenefits. Influenza is associatedwith an increase inacute cardiovascular diseases, andinfluenza viruses induce proinflammatorycytokines.
Statins are cardioprotectiveand have anti-inflammatory andimmunomodulatory effects, and theythus might benefit patientswith influenza.
In 2007 we saw a study that seemed to support the idea, that indicated that statins lowered the mortality rate of people with pneumonia.
From CIDRAP
Maryn McKenna Contributing Writer
Oct 29, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – Commonly available drugs that are sold in lower-cost generic versions improve the survival of patients hospitalized for seasonal influenza, researchers reported today, raising the possibility of a widely available treatment that could be used in a severe flu pandemic if other drugs are in short supply.
snip
The research presented Thursday examined the effect of the cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins on the clinical course of people who were already taking the drugs and then were hospitalized with lab-confirmed flu infections in the 2007-08 flu season. Those who were already on statins were half as likely to die, Meredith Vandermeer of the Oregon Public Health Division said during a press briefing at the state of the meeting.
The patients were identified via surveillance in 10 states conducted by the CDC’s Emerging Infections Programs; data on their lab results, prescriptions and outcome were drawn from reviews of their medical records. There were 2,800 lab-confirmed cases of flu in the surveillance results, Vandermeer said; 801 of those patients were recorded as taking statins during their hospital stay, presumably because they had been prescribed them before admission. Among the 2,800, 17 people who were on statins died, versus 64 were not on statins. Proportionally, that is 2.1% of those on statins and 3.2% of those not taking the drugs—a risk reduction of approximately half, Vandermeer said.
Of Course there are a couple of study that do not prove this evidence, specifically in elderlies, but datas strongly suggest a 55% reduction of deaths from viral pneumonia, and this without Ventilators.
Finallly a good news.
Snowy Owl
