IN THIS ISSUE
	Happy Holidays! Dawn End of Year News NHS Addresses DVT Policy Patient Knowledge of AF - 3-Month Follow Up After an Emergency Room Visit Stroke Plan - Missed Chance? Competition Hots Up For Next Blood Thinner

Welcome to the December edition of the DAWN AC Anticoagulation Software E-Newsletter for 2007.

All the staff at 4s would like to wish you a very happy holiday and a fantastic new year for 2008. We would like to say a big thank you to all our Dawn customers - we really appreciate your business.

• Dawn version 7.7 is due for release at the end of January 2008. We have extended the version 7.7 project to include some valuable improvements to the LMWH dosing and to ensure the upgrade furnishes existing customers with a comprehensive Warfarin tablet database (including tablet images). See below: 

 

• UK NPSA Reports for version 6 and 7 Dawn AC systems are due to be released in January of next year. If you would like to be contacted once these become available then please email us at support@4s-dawn.com.
• Finally, we would like to inform you all that our colleague Alistair had a beautiful baby boy named Archie in October this year, and both mother, father and baby are looking foward to their first christmas together!

NHS Addresses DVT Policy Following Campaign

Scotland's health boards are being told to update their policies for preventing and dealing with deep vein thrombosis following a 5 year campaign carried out by one family recently.   The McPherson family from Langbank, Renfrewshire, lost their daughter Katie, 23, in 2003. Katie suffered a pulmonary embolism after developing DVT, but was initially turned away from both her GP and doctors from two hospitals.   The family believe that their daughter could have been saved had she been diagnosed sooner. Mr McPherson called the latest development a "major breakthrough" in their long running campaign.   To read the full article, follow the link below:   http://news.scotsman.com/deepveinthrombosis/NHS-acts-over-DVT-following.3588708.jp

Study Measures Patient Knowledge of Atrial Fibrillation During and 3 Months After an Emergency Room Visit     A study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing recently concluded that more education should be provided for patients with atrial fibrillation both during and after an emergency room visit.   The study, conducted by reasearchers in Finland, used a knowledge test on 200 patients in three emergency rooms in Finland in 2003.   It was found that patients only had a partial knowledge of atrial fibrillation in the emergency room, and this knowledge improved little 3 months after the visit. The patients appeared to have the best understanding of the symptoms of AF and its effects on daily life, but knew little about the disease itself and how it is treated, as well as when to seek treatment.   It was concluded that more informational support should be available to these patients to improve understanding.   To view this article further, follow the link below:   http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04465.x   Government Stroke Plan - Missed Chance?   A leading cardiologist has said that the government's stroke strategy, launched last week, has missed an opportunity to prevent a considerable number of deaths every year.   The strategy itself only mentions briefly heart rhythm disturbances, and Professor Adam Fitzpatrick has said that he is baffled as to why there appears to be no emphasis placed on detecting and treating patients with atrial fibrillation. Currently only a fifth of AF patients are prescribed warfarin, even though the risk of stroke can be reduced by 60% through an oral anticoagulant.   The strategy places a strong focus on what occurs after a stroke. Professor Fitzpatrick commented, "Prevention is better than cure and here the preventative strategy will cost buttons and avoid the high cost of acute stroke care".   To read this article further, follow the link below:   http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article3025826.ece

Competition Hots Up For Next Blood Thinner

 

Pharmaceutical companies are competing to find a new and safe alternative to the anticoagulant warfarin, with at least five next-generation drugs in advanced testing stages. The first drugs could potentially be on the market for 2009.

 

The clinical potential of these drugs will not be clear for at least two years, as the safety and effectiveness of the drugs have not been established.

 

The competition to produce a new anticoagulant has been accelerated due to pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson presenting data on their new drug at the recent American Society of Hematology in Atlanta.

 

Several trials of new drugs versus warfarin are underway and initial results are expected in 2009.

To read more of this article, follow the link below:

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119725064671318856.html?mod=googlenews_wsj