Health Highlights: Feb. 2, 2008

Mar. 23 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Blood Thinner May Have Caused Allergic Reactions in More Than 50 Dialysis Patients

Vials of the blood thinner heparin may be responsible for allergic reactions in 53 dialysis patients from 12 states.

The suspected batches of heparin were recalled by its manufacturer, Baxter Healthcare Corp. in January, the Associated Press reports, but many vials of the tainted drug were used before the recall was ordered.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its Web site that the nine multi-vial recalled lots were all made at a single plant and that at least another 12 cases are being investigated. Heparin is used to prevent clotting among patients with kidney failure while they're undergoing dialysis.

While none of the reactions has been fatal, the CDC says, the symptoms are uncomfortable and potentially dangerous: "A probable case has been defined as an episode that includes at least two of the following signs and symptoms: 1) generalized or localized sensations of warmth; 2) numbness or tingling of the extremities; 3) difficulty swallowing; 4) shortness of breath, audible wheezing, or chest tightness; 5) low blood pressure/tachycardia; or 6) nausea or vomiting."

The A.P. identifies the states where allergic episodes have been reported as California, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

"We don't know what the problem is," but heparin remains the leading candidate as the cause, CDC investigator Dr. Priti Patel told the wire service.

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New Procedures at Yale Improve Safety in Obstetrics Department

Using their own obstetrics department as the focus, Yale School of Medicine researchers have devised a set of new procedures designed to reduce medical errors in obstetric care and improve the professional staff's perception of safety issues.

The results of the study and the new procedures were to be presented over the Feb. 2-4 weekend at the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine Annual Meeting in Dallas, Tex., according to a Yale news release.

Dr. Edmund Funai, a Yale associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, led a team that implemented new procedures in the OB-GYN department that have already reduced adverse outcomes in the department by more than 60 percent during the past 2.5 years, the news release said.