Stephen I. Pelton

The Wakefield Paper

I’m very glad that the Lancet finally retracted the 1998 paper by Andrew J. Wakefield et al. that incorrectly suggested a link between the measles-mumps-rubella combined vaccine and autism. In my opinion, as well as others, the data did not warrant publication in 1998. Following the judgment of the U.K. General Medical Council’s Fitness to Practise Panel on Jan. 28, 2010, the Lancet editors said in a Feb. 2 statement, “it has become clear that several elements of the 1998 paper by Wakefield et al. are incorrect, contrary to the findings of an earlier investigation. In particular, the claims in the original paper that children were ‘consecutively referred’ and that investigations were ‘approved’ by the local ethics committee have been proven to be false. Therefore we fully retract this paper from the published record” (Lancet 2010 Feb. 2 [doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60175-4]).The Lancet cited information that they did not have at the time the manuscript was submitted—which also included an undisclosed patent and funding from antivaccine trial lawyers—as reasons for the retraction. In my mind, the study itself did not reach a credible standard and should never have even been published. I suspect that a high level of public interest in the topics of both autism and vaccine safety may have contributed to the journal’s editors’ enthusiasm for the submission even though the conclusions were not supported by the ID CONSULT

Circumcision and MRSA

INDICATIONS AND USAGE: EpiPen and EpiPen® Jr Auto-Injectors are indicated in the emergency treatment of allergic reactions (Type I) including anaphylaxis to stinging insects (e.g., order Hymenoptera, which include bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets and fire ants) and biting insects (e.g., triatoma, mosquitos), allergen immunotherapy, foods, drugs, diagnostic testing substances (e.g., radiocontrast media) and other allergens, as well as idiopathic anaphylaxis or exercise-induced anaphylaxis. EpiPen and EpiPen® Jr Auto-Injectors are intended for immediate administration in patients, who are determined to be at increased risk for anaphylaxis, including individuals with a history of anaphylactic reactions. Selection of the appropriate dosage strength is determined according to patient body weight (See DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION section of the full Prescribing Information).