Mixed Bag

FDA Taking a Closer Look at Drugs Made in India
Drug makers in India are coming under increased FDA scrutiny over counterfeit products, safety problems, and faked test results, the New York Times reports. The country provides roughly 40% of the over-the-counter and generic prescription drugs purchased in the U.S. Journal Watch

Featured in NEJM Journal Watch: Five Ways to Reduce Emergency Care Costs
Experts derived a top-five list of frequently ordered, expensive clinical actions that have little or no benefit and should be avoided. Not surprisingly, four of the five items pertain to imaging without clinical indication. The list appears in JAMA Internal Medicine. Journal Watch

Medicare beneficiaries return to emergency rooms after nursing home discharge
The study included more than 50,000 Medicare beneficiaries who were treated at skilled nursing facilities in North and South Carolina. Analyses conducted in collaboration with the Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence and investigators at Duke University revealed that approximately 22 percent of beneficiaries required emergency care within 30 days of discharge and 37.5 percent required acute care within 90 days. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

New tool will help identify patients at risk of adverse events, death: Ottawa COPD Risk Scale
A new decision tool will help emergency physicians everywhere identify patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are at risk of serious complications or death. The Ottawa COPD Risk Scale was published today in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Eurekalert!

Scripps researchers recommend mobile compression device to prevent DVT after joint surgery
From April 1 to Sept. 20, 2011, 10 medical centers in the United States participated in a registry to collect data on the occurrence of DVT in 3,000 patients who used the mobile compression device after surgery. The rate of DVT in patients who used the compression device was consistent with the rate of DVT in similar patient populations who were prescribed blood thinners, which is approximately 1 percent. Scripps Clinic