PHYSICIANS OFFICE NEWS BRIEFS
direct contact with bodily fluids of infected
people or contact with items contaminated
with such fluids, the researchers noted.
While the study was conducted before the
current Ebola outbreak began in West Africa
last spring, its findings are confirmed in
statistics released Monday by the World
Health Organization (WHO). Roughly 240 of
the 2,615 infections reported since March
have been doctors and nurses, and 120 of
them have died, according to WHO. "Ebola has
taken the lives of prominent doctors in Sierra
Leone and Liberia, depriving these countries
not only of experienced and dedicated
medical care, but also of inspiring national
heroes," the health agency said in a statement.
"In many cases, medical staff are at risk
because no protective equipment is available
-- not even gloves and face masks."
N
or no treatment died of the infection within
seven to nine days of virus challenge.
"These results represent the successful
demonstration of therapeutic anti-MARVAngola efficacy in nonhuman primates and
highlight the substantial impact of an LNPdelivered siRNA therapeutic as a
countermeasure against this highly lethal
human disease," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial interests
in this treatment for filovirus infections.
S
maller Practices Have Fewer
Preventable Admissions
Small primary care physician practices
have lower rates of preventable
hospital admissions, compared to
larger practices, according to a study published
online Aug. 13 in Health Affairs.
Lawrence P. Casalino, M.D., Ph.D., from Weill
Cornell Medical College in New York City, and
colleagues conducted a national survey of
1,045 primary care-based practices with ≤19
physicians to determine practice
characteristics. Medicare data were used to
calculate practices' rate of potentially
preventable hospital admissions (ambulatory
care-sensitive admissions).
The researchers found that
practices with one to two
physicians had 33 percent
fewer preventable
admissions, and practices
with three to nine
physicians had 27 percent
fewer, both compared to
practices with 10 to 19
physicians. Preventable
admissions were lower in
physician-owned practices
compared to hospitalowned practices.
"In an era when health care reform appears
to be driving physicians into larger
organizations, it is important to measure the
comparative performance of practices of all
sizes, to learn more about how small practices
provide patient care, and to learn more about
ew Therapy May Combat
Lethal Virus in Late Stages
A new agent tested in
nonhuman primates shows
efficacy in the treatment of the
Marburg virus (MARV), a filovirus which is
c