October

We fully support notifying physicians who are unaware of the releases described in Dr Fenster’s article and welcome the opportunity to open a dialogue that will put these notifications in perspective. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is a conservative organization that does not publish such notifications lightly or without considerable supporting evidence. In this case, the warnings about surgical mesh use for pelvic organ prolapse and stress incontinence highlight a longstanding controversy among female reconstructive pelvic surgeons.

The province of British Columbia covers 970 634 square kilometres (374 764 square miles). This makes it larger in area than California, Oregon, and Washington combined. The British Columbia Ambulance Service operates an air ambulance service in conjunction with the regular ambulance service. To transport patients who cannot travel by ground, the British Columbia Ambulance Service Air Ambulance Program relies on three fixed-wing bases with five fixed- wing aircraft and two rotor bases with three rotor aircraft.

On 20 October 2008, the United States Food and Drug Administration released two public health notifications about serious complications associated with transvaginal placement of surgical mesh in the repair of pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. One notification was directed to health care professionals, the other to consumers.

Cardiology is one of the specialties consulted most frequently by health professionals working on the psychiatric ward, where a significant number of in­patients suffer from schizophrenia.[1] 

This highlights the need for both consulting specialists and also the multidisciplinary health care team caring for patients with psychiatric conditions to be aware of the complex interplay between mental illness, unhealthy lifestyle choices, and atherogenic psychotropic medications.