smoke

Many of these injuries are preventable by taking simple steps to make your home safer and knowing what to do when a fire occurs. Most accidental home fires start from cooking, heating equipment, electrical items, or smoking materials. Never leave food unattended on the stove while cooking. Use the back burners, when possible, to keep the hot stove surface and the hot pots and pans out of young children’s reach. Keep a fire extinguisher readily available in the kitchen, and make sure all caregivers know how to use it. Place space heaters away from anything that can catch fire, and always turn them off before going to bed or leaving the room. Ensure fireplaces and wood stoves are screened so that young children are not accidentally burned. This ensures embers stay inside, too. To prevent electrical fires, cover all unused electrical outlets, avoid overloading outlets, and replace any old cords. If you smoke, avoid doing so in the home, especially in bed. Carefully dispose of smoking waste, such as cigarette butts, used matches, and ashes.

If there is a fire, a smoke alarm can warn you to leave the home early and safely. Ensure that a smoke alarm is present on each floor and near every bedroom, avoiding areas like the kitchen to prevent false alarms. Check your smoke alarms monthly and change the batteries once a year unless your alarm has long-life batteries. If you need help, the local fire department can check your fire alarms and can often provide free new ones or replacements. Families with caregivers or children with hearing impairments should use alarms that include flashing lights.

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas created from fuel-burning heaters, cars, generators, and appliances. Many smoke alarms are combined with carbon monoxide detectors. If your smoke alarms are not, install a separate carbon monoxide detector on each floor of your home.

A fire escape plan prepares families to understand how to safely exit each room in the home during a fire. To create a fire escape plan, draw a simple map of your home showing 2 escape routes from each room. If you live in an apartment, talk to your children about the importance of using the stairs and avoiding elevators during fires. Establish a common meeting place outside the house. Review the plan with your whole family and with caregivers, such as babysitters, so everyone knows what to do. Practice your escape plan every 6 months so everyone becomes familiar. Children younger than 5 years will need a caregiver to help them during a fire.

Author/s:

Mickey A Emmanuel, Mikhail Goldenberg, Lindsay A Thompson

Final Update Summary: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: Screening

John Bayhi — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 18:57:40 +0000

Date Added:

December 11, 2019

Journal/Publication:

USPSTF Website

Publisher:

USPSTF Program Office

Publication Date:

December 1, 2019

URL:

Screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

10.1001/jama.2019.18928

Keywords

abdominal aortic aneurysm

PMID (1):

31821437

MeSH

Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal

smoke

prevalence

Achalasia Addisonianism Alacrimia syndrome

Updated USPSTF recommendations regarding screening for AAA. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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IMPORTANCE:

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is typically defined as aortic enlargement with a diameter of 3.0 cm or larger. The prevalence of AAA has declined over the past 2 decades among screened men 65 years or older in various European countries. The current prevalence of AAA in the United States is unclear because of the low uptake of screening. Most AAAs are asymptomatic until they rupture. Although the risk for rupture varies greatly by aneurysm size, the associated risk for death with rupture is as high as 81%.

OBJECTIVE:

To update its 2014 recommendation, the USPSTF commissioned a review of the evidence on the effectiveness of 1-time and repeated screening for AAA, the associated harms of screening, and the benefits and harms of available treatments for small AAAs (3.0-5.4 cm in diameter) identified through screening.

POPULATION:

This recommendation applies to asymptomatic adults 50 years or older. However, the randomized trial evidence focuses almost entirely on men aged 65 to 75 years.

EVIDENCE ASSESSMENT:

Based on a review of the evidence, the USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that screening for AAA in men aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked is of moderate net benefit. The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that screening for AAA in men aged 65 to 75 years who have never smoked is of small net benefit. The USPSTF concludes that the evidence is insufficient to determine the net benefit of screening for AAA in women aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked or have a family history of AAA. The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that the harms of screening for AAA in women aged 65 to 75 years who have never smoked and have no family history of AAA outweigh the benefits.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The USPSTF recommends 1-time screening for AAA with ultrasonography in men aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked. (B recommendation) The USPSTF recommends that clinicians selectively offer screening for AAA with ultrasonography in men aged 65 to 75 years who have never smoked rather than routinely screening all men in this group. (C recommendation) The USPSTF recommends against routine screening for AAA with ultrasonography in women who have never smoked and have no family history of AAA. (D recommendation) The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for AAA with ultrasonography in women aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked or have a family history of AAA. (I statement).

Author/s:

U. S. Preventive Services Task Force

Draft Recommendation Statement, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: Screening

Brian Desmarais — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 00:09:42 +0000

Date Added:

July 9, 2019

Publisher:

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Publication Date:

July 15, 2019

URL:

Draft Recommendation Statement, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: Screening

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Web Page

Keywords

tobacco

smoke

ultrasonography

MeSH

Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal

smoke

Ultrasonography

tobacco

The USPSTF recommends screening male smokers between 65 and 75 for AAA with ultrasound (B recommendation) and offering screening to selected male non-smokers 65 to 74 after discussing benefits and hazards.

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Draft: Recommendation Summary

Population
Recommendation
Grade
(What's This?)

Men ages 65 to 74 years who have ever smoked

The USPSTF recommends one-time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) with ultrasonography in men ages 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked.

Men ages 65 to 75 years who have never smoked

The USPSTF recommends that clinicians selectively offer screening for AAA with ultrasonography in men ages 65 to 75 years who have never smoked rather than routinely screening all men in this group. Evidence indicates that the net benefit of screening all men in this group is small. In determining whether this service is appropriate in individual cases, patients and clinicians should consider the balance of benefits and harms on the basis of evidence relevant to the patient’s medical history, family history, other risk factors, and personal values.

Women who have never smoked with no family history

The USPSTF recommends against routine screening for AAA with ultrasonography in women who have never smoked and have no family history.

Women ages 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked or have a family history

The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for AAA with ultrasonography in women ages 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked or have a family history.