All Posts Tagged With: "skin infections"

Link: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=21079901&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

The article outlines examples of a viral (varicella-zoster virus, VZV), a
bacterial (Lyme borreliosis) and a parasitic (scabies) infection in
pregnancy with their risk for the mother and/or child as well as their
management. VZV infections cause various clinical scenarios depending on the
maternal immune status and the time of infection. Herpes zoster usually
poses no risk to the pregnant woman and there is no need for antiviral
therapy. VZV infection of a seronegative mother, however, may lead to severe
varicella in the pregnant woman and to congenital malformations (congenital
varicella syndrome) in case of early infection or neonatal varicella in case
of perinatal infection. Prompt therapy with acyclovir or administration of
VZV immunoglobulin for prophylaxis is mandatory in those patients. 
In case of Lyme borreliosis of the mother, adequate antibiotic therapy with
amoxicillin prevents harm to the fetus. Doxycycline is contraindicated
during pregnancy. 
Scabies represents an important differential diagnosis of pruritic
dermatoses in pregnancy and should be treated with permethrin 5% cream.

Linda’s comments:  Stricter regulation and accreditation requirements are also needed of which I agree with, but the Acupuncture I have had in the past has always been with fresh needles.  However, this should be something that a patient would question.

Full article: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/340/mar18_1/c1268

Excerpt:

Acupuncture, which is based on the theory that inserting and manipulating fine needles at specific acupuncture points located in a network of meridians will promote the harmonious flow of “Qi,” is one of the most widely practiced modalities of alternative medicine. Because needles are inserted up to several centimetres beneath the skin, acupuncture may pose risks to patients. One of the most important complications is transmission of pathogenic micro-organisms, from environment to patient or from one patient to another.

In the 1970s and 1980s most infections associated with acupuncture were sporadic cases involving pyogenic bacteria.1 So far, more than 50 cases have been described globally. In most cases, pyogenic bacteria were transmitted from the patient’s skin flora or the environment because of inadequate skin disinfection before acupuncture. In localised infections, meridian specific and acupuncture point specific lesions were typical. About 70% of patients had musculoskeletal or skin infections, usually in the form of abscesses or septic arthritis, corresponding to the site of insertion of the acupuncture needles.1 2 A minority had infective endocarditis, meningitis, endophthalmitis, cervical spondylitis, retroperitoneal abscess, intra-abdominal abscess, or thoracic empyema.3 4