According to a Canadian study to be published March 30th in the New England Journal of Medicine, users of the antibiotic Tequin were 17 times more likely to receive emergency room treatment for hyperglycemia or high blood sugar. If untreated, the condition can be fatal. The antibiotic has been used to treat pneumonia, bronchitis, and gonorrhea.
Chicago Priest Pleads Not Guilty to Sex Abuse
Rev. Daniel McCormack has entered a plea of not guilty to four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of three young boys. The next scheduled hearing in the case is scheduled for April 6 in Cook County. The case gained nationwide notoriety for the manner in which Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago handled the case. According to news reports, confirmed by the Cardinal himself, George didn’t address the allegations for months, leaving in the parish and exposing other youngsters to abuse by his inaction.
In Wake of Taser Death, Community Leaders Want Police Chief Fired
In the wake of Samuel Hair’s death in Fort Pierce, local community leaders are calling for the resignation of police chief Eugene Savage. They’re also calling for the firing of the police officer who fired the taser shot that killed Mr. Hair. In a February 27th letter to the City Manager, the leaders also asked for closer monitoring of those officers who are allowed to use the taser stun gun weapon.
I couldn’t agree more with this approach. Tasers are not being properly used because they’ve been aggressively marketed as a panacea for police officers. Taser International have made exaggerated claims concerning their utility and the police are responding to this marketing effort.
Florida Legislature to Debate Taser Use
There’s a well-balanced, thoughtful editorial in the Palm Beach Post this morning that is worth a read on tasers. The upcoming legislative debate over taser use comes in light of the tragic and unnecessary death of a Ft. Pierce man. Samuel Hair of Fort Pierce was suffering from mental illness not criminal behavior at the time of his death. He was also wearing a pacemaker. Hair had called police for help and they brought him to the emergency room for treatment. That’s when everything went awry.
Celebrex Twice as Likely to Cause Heart Attack
Celebrex, the only remaining Cox-2 inhibitor drug on the market, has been linked to a two-fold increase in the likelihood of causing a heart attack in patients using the drug. Pfizer, the manufacturer of Celebrex, put a black box warning on the product last August. In spite of the warning, the drug remains on the market. The first Celebrex product liability trial will begin in Alabama this June. The plaintiff suffered a stroke after taking Celebrex.
Celebrex Increases Heart Attack Risk Two-Fold, According to Study
New Zealand’s Medical Research Institute has found that Celebrex users are nearly twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as those taking other arthritis drugs, commonly known as Cox-2 inhibitors. Last August, Pfizer, the manufacturer of Celebrex, put a “black box” warning on the drug yet Celebrex stayed on the market. The black box warning is the most severe of the labels placed on pharmaceutical drugs. Celebrex remains the only Cox-2 inhibitor still on the market today.
Chicago Cardinal Told Vatican Not to Release Document on Homosexuality in the Priesthood
In a January 2006 interview with a Chicago newspaper, Francis Cardinal George admitted urging Vatican officials to delay release of the document concerning homosexuals and the priesthood for fear of backlash from activist groups in the USA. George cited the fact that the groups already blame the church for linking homosexuality and the abuse crisis as cause for delay of the document. The Vatican response to the request was a curt No.
Guidant Officials Worried About Device Defects
When Guidant Corp. came under fire last year for not revealing to doctors it’s problems with its medical device, it remained positive in its public announcements. But newly released documents show that, inside Indianapolis-based Guidant, executives were struggling to contain a mounting crisis.
The records illustrate how a series of miscalculations by Guidant, like its misreading of doctors’ tolerance for being kept in the dark, as well as its initial decision not to recall devices, put the company on the defensive. As a result, company executives repeatedly changed course.
3 Police Officers on Leave After Taser Death
A second Fort Pierce police officer and an agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the death of Samuel F. Hair Jr.
Hair, 48, was given a Taser shock by police the night of Feb. 21 in the Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute emergency room and died at the hospital Friday after being taken off life support.
Edwin Minton Jr., a 54-year-old with 16 years on the force who also was working in an off-duty capacity at the hospital when he administered the shocks, has been on leave since the incident.
Life Teen Founder Freed from House Arrest
Monsignor Dale Fushek has been freed from the house arrest and electronic monitoring imposed upon him after being arrested on sex abuse charges. The scandal surrounding Fushek erupted late last year after his arrest on sex abuse charges. The Phoenix diocese has been no stranger to scandal in the past. It’s bishop Thomas O’Brien was arrested after killing a pedestrian in a motor vehicle accident and fled the scene. O’Brien later resigned as bishop of the diocese.