COUNTDOWN: 12 days to Wrongful Conviction Day: (Thursday October 6, 2016);
STORY: "Could it be Sepsis? C.D.C. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) wants more people to ask," by Roni Caryn Rabin, published by The New York Times on September 19, 2016.
PHOTO CAPTION: "Dr. Thomas Frieden, director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, holds a photo with his infant son who developed sepsis 20 years ago. Credit Kevin D. Liles for The New York Times."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Dr. Thomas Frieden, director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wants sepsis to become a household word to get at-risk patients medical treatment sooner. Credit Kevin D. Liles for The New York Times."
GIST: "The
baby seemed fine when Dr. Thomas R. Frieden left for work that July
morning in New York more than 20 years ago. But when he returned home
several hours later, his son was pale and blazing hot, limp in his
wife’s arms. “My first thought was that he was dead,” said Dr. Frieden, now the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It was so scary, even for someone trained as a physician, to see how
quickly someone who’s healthy can become critically ill.” Dr. Frieden, an infectious diseases specialist, knew time was of the essence. His hunch, which turned out to be correct, was that his son had developed sepsis, a life-threatening condition triggered by an infection that can very quickly spiral out of control. He called the child’s pediatrician, and within hours, the infant had received a broad-spectrum antibiotic. He recovered within a few days. Many patients are not so fortunate. Between one million and three million Americans are given diagnoses of sepsis
each year, and 15 percent to 30 percent of them will die, Dr. Frieden
said. Sepsis most commonly affects people over 65, but children are also
susceptible. According to one estimate, more than 42,000 children develop sepsis in the United States every year, and 4,400 die. Sepsis
develops when the body mounts an overwhelming attack against an
infection that can cause inflammation in the entire body. When that
happens, the body undergoes a cascade of changes, including blood clots
and leaky blood vessels that impede blood flow to organs. Blood pressure drops, multiple organs can fail, the heart is affected, and death can result. “Your body has an army to fight infections,” said Dr. Jim O’Brien, the chairman of Sepsis Alliance. “With sepsis, your body starts suffering from friendly fire.” Sepsis
appears to be rising. The rate of hospitalizations that listed sepsis
as the primary illness more than doubled between 2000 and 2008, according to a 2011 C.D.C. study,
which attributed the increase to factors like the aging of the
population, a rise in antibiotic resistance and, to some extent, better
diagnosis. Sepsis
is a contributing factor in up to half of all hospital deaths, but it’s
often not listed as the cause of death because it often develops as a
complication of another serious underlying disease like cancer. So although death certificates list sepsis as a cause in 146,000 to 159,000 deaths a year, a recent report estimated that it could play a role in as many as 381,000. Yet advocacy organizations say many Americans have never heard of sepsis and don’t know the signs and symptoms. Ciaran
and Orlaith Staunton, a Queens couple who lost their son Rory, a
sixth-grader, to sepsis in 2012, discovered the condition was not even
listed on the A to Z index of the C.D.C.’s website at the time. They met with Dr. Frieden and urged him to use his bully pulpit to educate Americans about the disease. Now
the C.D.C. is starting a major public awareness campaign to make sepsis
a household word. The first step is to teach people to seek treatment
quickly when a loved one begins to show symptoms of sepsis, which
include chills or fever; extreme pain or discomfort; clammy or sweaty skin; confusion or disorientation; shortness of breath; and a high heart rate. The campaign, which has developed educational fact sheets,
encourages lay people to suggest the diagnosis to health care providers
who may overlook it. Ask the doctor, “Could it be sepsis?” or say, “I’m
worried about sepsis.” “We
want people to be able to recognize sepsis just like they recognize a
heart attack or stroke, and know they shouldn’t wait until Thursday when
the doctor can see them, but go to the emergency room right away,” said
Thomas Heymann, executive director of Sepsis Alliance. The group’s
motto is, “Suspect sepsis, save lives.” When blood pressure drops and chokes blood flow to the body’s organs, a person can develop septic shock. For every hour without antibiotics, the probability of dying goes up by 8 percent, Dr. O’Brien said. While
earlier initiatives have focused on reducing sepsis deaths that
developed in hospitals, newer studies suggest most cases start in the
community setting, before people are hospitalized. The new campaign was
spurred in part by the latest C.D.C. study, which examined the hospital
records of 246 adults and 79 children, finding that in nearly 80 percent
of cases, sepsis had started when the patient was at home. The
study also shed light on who is most susceptible to sepsis. Though it
occurs most often in people over 65, infants under the age of 1 are also
susceptible, as are people with chronic diseases like diabetes or immune systems weakened from tobacco use, for example. And healthy people can develop sepsis from an infection that’s not treated properly as well. The
Stauntons’ son died after developing an infection that wasn’t
recognized by emergency room doctors who examined him at NYU Langone
Medical Center. A new state law passed after his death requires
hospitals in New York to screen all patients for sepsis in order to
start treatment early. The
C.D.C. is aiming efforts at health care providers, urging them to
consider sepsis and act quickly, and investing in research to study risk
factors. It is also emphasizing prevention through better management of
chronic diseases, vaccinations and appropriate use of antibiotics. Dr.
Frieden said he wanted to share his personal experience with sepsis so
people would have a better understanding of the condition. He encourages
vaccinating against the infection that caused his son’s sepsis, which
was pneumococcus. There was no vaccine available at the time, but it has
since been developed. “I’m
like the thousands of parents and loved ones who experience this every
year,” Dr. Frieden said. His son “could have died from it. And far too
many people do die from sepsis today.”
The entire story can be found at:
See also a previous post of this Blog at the link below; (The affidavit provided for Rodricus Crawford's recent "actual innocence" appeal - decision reserved - by Dr. Phillip Fernsten, who has had more than 17 years of experience evaluting immunological responses to vaccines)...")..."In summary, it is highly unlikely that Roderius Lott was fully protected against pneumonia or sepsis caused either by streptococcus pneumoniae or by a number of other pathogenic bacteria that cause these life-threatening infections in young children. There are numerous material errors in Dr. Traylor's (Prosecution witness HL) testimony at trial regarding the children's succeptibility to pneumonia.""
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Rodricus Crawford; Louisiana death row. Part 15; Key document: Affidavit of Dr. Phillip Fernsten - more than 17 years of experience evaluting immunological responses to vaccines). Part of a series in anticipation of his appeal set for Wednesday (September 7)... "In summary, it is highly unlikely that Roderius Lott was fully protected against pneumonia or sepsis caused either by streptococcus pneumoniae or by a number of other pathogenic bacteria that cause these life-threatening infections in young children. There are numerous material errors in Dr. Traylor's testimony at trial regarding the children's succeptibility to pneumonia.
DOCUMENT: "The affidavit provided to the Rodricus Crawford's lawyers by Dr. Phillip Fernsten, who has more than 17 years experience evaluating immunological responses to vaccines."
GIST: "Based on my review of the materials provided to me, it is my opinion that the testimony of Dr. James G. Traylor, Jr, MD, at the trial of Rodicrus Crawford, contained material errors related to my area of expertise which were left unanswered by the State and defence. These areas are listed below. (It's a long list. HL)......... "In summary, it is highly unlikely that Roderius Lott was fully protected against pneumonia or sepsis caused either by streptococcus pneumoniae or by a number of other pathogenic bacteria that cause these life-threatening infections in young children. There are numerous material errors in Dr. Traylor's testimony at trial regarding the children's succeptibility to pneumonia."
The entire document can be found at:
https://rodricuscrawford.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/fernsten-affadavit-final-signed-notarized.pdfhttp://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2016/09/rodricus-crawford-louisiana-death-row_3.html
See CDC alert at the link below: 'CDC urges Sepsis awareness.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgTQLTjrTqA&feature=youtu.be
See CDC Sepsis fact sheet at the link below; (Numerous resource materials);
https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/
See 'The Advocate story on the September 7 'actual innocence' hearing at the link below: "Justice Jeannette Theriot Knoll cast perhaps the most doubt from the bench as she questioned Caddo Parish Assistant District Attorney Tommy Johnson over the office's decision to seek death for Crawford. "Is there any evidence he occasionally abused the child or was rough with the child?" Knoll asked. "No, your honor," Johnson responded. "Then how did the state come about (to the position) that this was a first-degree murder case, on circumstantial evidence, with a child that an autopsy had discovered had sepsis, and ask that this man be put to death on weak circumstances? You don't even have a motive," Knoll said. Johnson responded that there was no proof the boy had sepsis at the trial. He acknowledged that prosecutors suggested a motive -- a rift with the mother of Crawford's older child -- but never backed it up with evidence."
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Harold Levy. Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
