H1N1 flu causes unusual damage to lungs: studies

I've been very busy teaching for the past few days. It's been quite nice though. I thought this was a little alarming:

H1N1 flu causes unusual damage to lungs: studies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new pandemic H1N1 flu may cause blood clots and other unusual damage in the lungs and doctors need to be on the lookout, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

Two studies published in the American Journal of Roentgenology show the need to check X-rays and CT scans for unusual features, and also point out swine flu can be tricky to diagnose in some of the sickest patients.

H1N1 flu is causing a pandemic, and while it is not particularly deadly, it is sickening many younger adults and older children who usually escape the worst effects of seasonal flu.

"It is therefore essential that clinicians be able to recognize possible cases of pandemic H1N1 influenza in high-risk groups so that they order the appropriate diagnostic tests, begin specific antiviral therapy, and prepare to provide intensive supportive measures as needed," Dr. Daniel Mollura of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Maryland and colleagues wrote.

One middle-aged man who died was not diagnosed until after death, but unusual findings on his X-rays may be able to help doctors save other, similar patients.

Mollura's team found irregularities called ground-glass opacities in the patient's lungs using a CT scan. Although the patient was severely ill and had a fever, he tested negative for flu and doctors did not treat him for it.

The man died five days after he went into the hospital and the autopsy confirmed he had swine flu. The lung lesions seen on his CT scan matched lung damage done by the virus, Mollura and colleagues said.

In another study in the same journal, CT scans of patients with severe cases of swine flu showed many had pulmonary emboli, which block the arteries in the lungs, a team at the University of Michigan found.

Anticoagulant drugs can break up these clots and save lives.

Dr. Prachi Agarwal and colleagues examined 66 patients diagnosed with H1N1, 14 of them who were in the intensive care unit. All 66 got standard X-rays, which can show if a patient has pneumonia.

They performed enhanced X-rays known as computed tomography or CT scans on 15 of the patients, 10 of them who were in the ICU on ventilators to help them breathe. Five of the ICU patients had the blood clots in the lungs, Agarwal reported

"Our study suggests that patients who are severely ill with H1N1 are also at risk for developing pulmonary emboli, which should be carefully sought for on contrast-enhanced CT scans," Agarwal said in a statement.

"The majority of patients undergoing chest X-rays with H1N1 have normal radiographs (X-rays)," she added. Pulmonary emboli are also not normally seen in flu, she said.

"CT scans proved valuable in identifying those patients at risk of developing more serious complications as a possible result of the H1N1 virus, and for identifying a greater extent of disease than is appreciated on chest radiographs."

(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Julie Steenhuysen and Cynthia Ostemran)

Now that winter is here, already! :( - I am keeping myself well doing Wai Lana Yoga and taking Wailana's natural supplements. Of course we're also washing our hands often and trying to keep as well as possible.

:) Happy warmth and wellness to everyone!

Getting sick

I've been very tired these days. So much to do all the time. I feel like I've got a cold coming on. I'm loading on my Wai Lana supplements and juices.

This is pretty nice to know:

Breast-Feed Infant Son

by Tom Henderson (Subscribe to Tom Henderson's posts) Sep 15th 2009 5:00PM

Just six months ago, Robbie and Susan Goodrich of Marquette, Mich., were expecting their second child.

Now Robbie Goodrich is the single father of two young children as he mourns the death of his wife while some two dozen women visit his house in shifts to breast-feed his infant son.
Nursing Moses

Life turns on a dime, Goodrich realizes, but this crosses the border into surreal. "I've spent the past few months getting used to the fact that this is reality now," he said.

He certainly never expected to become famous. Yet his story has been written up in everything from his hometown newspaper, The Mining Journal, to the June 15 edition of People magazine. Reporters keep calling him for quotes. At least six television producers have approached him about starring in a reality show.

"It would be a really boring show," Goodrich said.

Besides, he said, there's no way he would be put his infant son, 2-year-old daughter, and 11-year-old stepdaughter through that media meat grinder. "It doesn't care who you are," Goodrich said in an interview with ParentDish. "You're just a commodity."

The idea of two dozen women taking turns breast-feeding a widower's baby is apparently a sensation.

But Goodrich said it all began in a blur. He and his wife were professors at Northern Michigan University. He taught history, and she taught modern languages and literature. Susan Goodrich died Jan. 11 from an amniotic fluid embolism after giving birth to their son, Charles Moses Martin Goodrich (called simply Moses).

No words can describe how he felt, Goodrich said. "It was pure blackness."

Both Goodrich and his wife were strong advocates of breast-feeding. Laura Janowski, a family friend who was already nursing her own 4-month-old daughter, asked if he would like her to breast-feed Moses as well. Almost instinctively, Goodrich said, he answered yes.

Marquette is a college town of about 20,000 on the shore of Lake Superior in what Goodrich said is not so much rural as "rugged." The community is close. Everyone knows everyone else -- or least knows someone who knows someone. Plus, as a professor, Goodrich has a high profile.

His story spread quickly. Susan Goodrich's best friend, Nicoletta Fraire, took charge of organizing the team. Now some 25 women drop by the house to either nurse Moses personally or provide pumped breast milk. They've become a community.

"They don't just drop by for five minutes and leave," Goodrich said. "These are loving, nurturing women. They're proud of what they're doing. They're proud of the community, and they're proud of their new micro-community."

Team member Carrie Fiocchi told the Savannah Morning News in Georgia on Aug. 17 she realizes Moses isn't her baby, but the bond is inescapable. "He definitely feels like family."

"I felt like I was doing this for Susan," team member Kyra Fillmore said in the same article. "It's really emotional because, while it's nice to hold a newborn, I think to myself, 'It shouldn't be me.'"

Although the women's love for his son touches him, Goodrich said it is bittersweet for him. "Every moment of joy has sorrow in it." He still grieves the loss of his wife, but tries to put on as brave a face as possible. "The crying goes on in private," he said.

He echoes Fillmore's feelings about the breast-feeding. "It's a reminder of the loss," he said. "They're doing something that Susan would do."

Goodrich said all the publicity makes him and the women in his newfound extended family a little uneasy -- especially him. "They're the ones doing something special."

It's good to know there are still a lot of people caring enough to do this!

Another great piece of news is, all of Wai Lana Yogi bars and Yoga DVDs are on 20% sale