Mixed Bag

Calcium Gluconate Injections Test Positive for Bacterial Contamination
Clinicians should follow-up with patients who were given calcium gluconate 10% injections that were manufactured by Rx Formulations between Nov. 7 and Dec. 11, 2013. The product tested positive for gram-positive rod bacteria, the FDA warned last week. Journal Watch

Bacteria in the lungs make COPD patients sicker
Conventional wisdom has held that even though bacteria persist in the lungs of patients with chronic, obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), their presence, referred to as 'colonization,' is innocuous so long as the patient isn't having a flare-up, or exacerbation, of respiratory symptoms.

Now, a new study by researchers at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs shows that COPD patients do experience more respiratory symptoms when their lungs are 'colonized' by bacteria, even in the absence of an acute exacerbation. MedicalXpress

Exercise may slow progression of retinal degeneration
Moderate aerobic exercise helps to preserve the structure and function of nerve cells in the retina after damage, according to an animal study appearing February 12 in The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings suggest exercise may be able to slow the progression of retinal degenerative diseases. MedicalXpress

FDA Panels to Consider NSAID Label Changes
Two FDA advisory committees will meet Monday and Tuesday to consider the significance of recent evidence surrounding the cardiovascular risks of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including studies pointing to lower risks with naproxen.

The FDA put a boxed warning discussing cardiovascular and gastrointestinal risks on all NSAIDs in 2005 after concluding that differences between the drugs could not be discerned. But since then evidence has been accumulating that the risks are not consistent across the class. A key analysis published last year in The Lancet, for example, showed that all NSAIDs carry some degree of cardiovascular risk, but that naproxen appears to be the safest. MedPage Today