Mayo study: Portable CD players put hospital patients at risk, not cell phones; store alarms no bargain either

According to a new study released today you should be more worried about your portable CD player than cell phones in a hospital situation. And outside of that, those store theft alert systems aren’t too good for your health either if you have heart problems. The study appears in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings that looks at whether technological devices interfere with patient care equipment. Mayo Clinic Proceedings is a peer-reviewed journal specializing in internal medicine practices. In a letter to the editor published in the journal details the first known case of a portable CD player causing an abnormal electrocardiographic (ECG) recording within a hospital setting. The recording returned to normal when the CD player, which the patient was holding close to the ECG lead, was turned off. So while most hospitals ban cell phone use, few restrict CD players. But they have it backwards apparently as calls made on cell phones have no negative impact on hospital medical devices, dispelling the long-held notion that they are unsafe to use in health care facilities, according to Mayo Clinic researchers. In a study published in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, researchers say normal use of cell phones results in no noticeable interference with patient care equipment. Three hundred tests were performed over a five-month period in 2006, without a single problem incurred. Involved in the study were two cellular phones which used different technologies from different carriers and 192 medical devices. Tests were performed at Mayo Clinic campus in Rochester. The study’s authors say the findings should prompt hospitals to alter or abandon their bans on cell phone use. Mayo Clinic leaders are reviewing the facility’s cell phone ban because of the study’s findings, says David Hayes, M.D., of the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and a study author in a press release. Meanwhile outside the hospital setting, the clinic cites two instances in Tennessee, where customers with a pacemaker and an implantable cardiac defibrillator experienced adverse reactions after nearing anti-theft devices in stores. You know those tall, usually white obelisks that stand guard at door entrances that sound an alarm if merchandise is being stolen and sometimes just for the fun of it seems in some stores? Well, according to a press release from EurekAlert, the devices triggered the adverse reactions, sending both patients to emergency rooms for evaluation. The report’s authors recommend that the anti-theft devices be placed in areas of stores where customers won’t linger – away from vending machines or displays of sale merchandise, for instance – to help avoid future episodes. Simply moving the person away from the anti-theft device may save their life,”the release said.