Jul 2 2013, 4:52 PM (ET) By MIKE STOBBE ATLANTA (AP) – Overdose deaths in the U.S. are rising fastest among middle-aged women, and their drug of choice is usually prescription painkillers, the government reported Tuesday. “Mothers, wives, sisters and daughters are dying at rates that we have never seen before,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, […]
Deborah Brauser June 14, 2013 Misperceptions about opioid dependence, including how to screen for and treat the disorder, continue to persist for the public and for many clinicians, new research suggests. An online survey of 1000 adults chosen at random plus 200 primary care physicians who were not addiction certified showed that almost half of […]
ISSUE: OCTOBER 2013 | VOLUME: 11 Acetaminophen carries the risk for rare but serious and potentially fatal skin reactions, the FDA warned on Aug. 1. The risk is present both in prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) products containing the pain reliever and fever reducer, whether it is the single active ingredient or is combined with other […]
Arthur L. Caplan, PhD June 05, 2013 VIDEO AT MEDSCAPE WEBSITE Hi. I’m Art Caplan at the NYU Langone Medical Center. I want to talk today about a pretty awful case. It involves a doctor named Kermit Gosnell, who ran an abortion clinic in Philadelphia. As many of you viewers will know, he was arrested […]
Published: Jun 3, 2013 | Updated: Jun 3, 2013 By Nancy Walsh , Staff Writer, MedPage Today Action Points Increasing adult drug prescriptions are strongly associated with rising pediatric exposures and poisonings, particularly among children 0 to 5 years old. Rates of emergency department visits were highest for events related to hypoglycemics and beta-blockers, whereas […]
Robert Lowes May 24, 2013 Rep. Scott DesJarlais, MD (R-TN), was fined $500 by the state medical board in Tennessee for having sexual relationships with 2 female patients in 2000, according to a consent order approved by the board on May 22. The Board of Medical Examiners of Tennessee also reprimanded Dr. DesJarlais, characterizing his […]
DSM-IV Boss Presses Attack on New Revision Published: May 17, 2013 Story Source By John Gever , Deputy Managing Editor, MedPage Today A new edition of psychiatry’s diagnostic guide “will probably lead to substantial false-positive rates and unnecessary treatment,” charged the man who led development of the last version. To be released this weekend at […]
By HELEN POW PUBLISHED: 17:24 EST, 16 May 2013 | UPDATED: 11:54 EST, 17 May 2013 Houston doctor Douglas Karpen is accused by four former employees of delivering live babies during third-trimester abortions and killing them Witnesses said he would either snip their spinal cords, stab a surgical instrument into their heads or twist their […]
Deyo, Richard A. MD, MPH Spine: 15 May 2013 – Volume 38 – Issue 11 – p 909–915 doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3182830482 Health Services Research Abstract Study Design. Cross-sectional analysis of electronic medical and pharmacy records. Objective. To examine associations between use of medication for erectile dysfunction or testosterone replacement and use of opioid therapy, patient age, […]
Published: May 13, 2013 | Updated: May 13, 2013 By Michael Smith , North American Correspondent, MedPage Today Action Points Note that this registry-based study revealed an extremely low risk of intussusception occurring in children after rotavirus vaccination. Be aware that, prior to the introduction of vaccination, rotavirus was the most common cause of diarrhea […]
Cause of Death: 50% of Medical Residents Fib Diedtra Henderson May 10, 2013 Some 48.6% to 58.4% of residents from more than half of the residency programs in New York City have knowingly entered the incorrect cause of death on death certificates — errors that have implications for epidemiology, public health research, and disease surveillance — according […]
by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 5/8/13 8:08 AM Story Source The pro-life group Live Action has released a fourth video in a series of undercover videos catching late-term abortion practitioners and abortion clinics misleading women and showing indifference to the destruction of human life. The videos show embattled abortion practitioner Kermit […]
Caroline Cassels April 30, 2013 Perioperative use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has been linked to an increased risk of bleeding, transfusion, hospital readmission, and death, new research shows. A large retrospective study that included 375 US hospitals and more than half a million adult patients showed that receiving SSRIs in the perioperative period […]
Published: Apr 29, 2013 By Cole Petrochko , Staff Writer, MedPage Today WASHINGTON — The FDA has warned consumers that the anti-seizure drug ezogabine (Potiga) can cause skin and eye discoloration. Use of the drug may cause blue skin discoloration on or around the lips, in nail beds on fingers and toes, and potentially on […]
Published: Apr 29, 2013 | Updated: Apr 29, 2013 Full Text Article Download Action Points Missed doses, wrong doses, and other medication errors are common among children with cancer who receive part of their treatment at home, with substantial potential for harm. Point out that errors had potential to harm 36 per 100 patients and […]
Laurie Barclay, MD April 25, 2013 Medical interns spend only 12% of their time examining and talking with patients, and more than 40% of their time on computer tasks, according to a time-motion study published online April 18 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. “One of the most important learning opportunities in residency is direct interaction with […]
Published: Apr 25, 2013 By Gary Schwitzer The Boston Globe reported recently that: Reports of complications from robot-assisted surgery are rising, according to Massachusetts health officials who sent hospitals an “advisory” letter last week alerting them about their safety concerns. In some cases, it appears that doctors have used the aggressively marketed robots to perform hysterectomies and colorectal […]
Robert Lowes April 23, 2013 Wrong-site surgeries grab headlines, but the diagnostic errors that quietly occur in clinicians’ minds are “the most frequent, most severe, and most costly of medical mistakes” among paid malpractice claims, according to a new study published online Monday in BMJ Quality & Safety. Remarkably, the healthcare establishment largely tolerates diagnostic errors […]