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Monday, June 19, 2017
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Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Monday, and welcome to Morning Rounds, where I get you ahead of the day's health and science news.
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Gun deaths among kids are on the rise
Nearly 1,300 children die every year in the U.S. from gun injuries, researchers report in a new paper published this morning in
Pediatrics. That puts gun injuries as the second most common type of injury-related death among kids, behind only car crashes. And the death rate is continuing to rise — the number of children who die from gun injuries
in the U.S. annually has increased 60 percent since 2007. Just over half of those deaths were homicides. Another 38 percent were suicides and 6 percent were unintentional shootings. The highest death rates were seen among black children. The authors of the
research say that understanding the scope of gun deaths among kids is critical to developing new interventions to put a stop to them.
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Treating opioid use disorder is often about treating more
(amino)
Patients with opioid use disorder are much more likely than the general population to have a host of other health conditions, from hepatitis C to PTSD. Health care company Amino culled data from 3.1 million
privately insured patients to find out what health conditions are most commonly diagnosed alongside opioid use disorder. Here's what they found:
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Privately insured patients with opioid use disorder are diagnosed with hepatitis C nine times as often as other patients.
Cases of hepatitis C have skyrocketed as the opioid epidemic has spread: There were an estimated 30,500 new cases in the U.S. in 2014, nearly double the number of new cases in 2011.
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Back problems are particularly common among patients with opioid use disorder.
"Failed back syndrome” — a broad category that covers back pain after surgery — is seven times more frequently diagnosed in that group of patients.
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Patients with opioid use disorder are diagnosed with alcoholism eight times more frequently than other patients,
at least among the privately insured. They are also more frequently diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
More
here.
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A new recall is making a drug shortage worse
A Pfizer company has issued a nationwide
recall of an injectable version of sodium bicarbonate — a potentially lifesaving drug that's used to treat a buildup of acid in the body — because the vials were contaminated by microbes. The solution is used in heart
surgery, renal failure, and some cases of drug poisoning. There's already a troubling shortage of the solution in hospitals, and the new recall is putting an even tighter pinch on the supply of sodium bicarbonate. That's left hospitals scrambling to reschedule
surgeries and look for manufacturers other than Pfizer, a major manufacturer. The FDA recently allowed an Australian drug maker to import sodium bicarbonate, but the imported drug is significantly more expensive than the U.S.-produced version and is in limited
supply.
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Inside STAT: A surgeon's secret diagnosis
Dr. Mary austin performs surgery to repair a spinal defect in utero. (MICHAEL STARGHILL JR. FOR STAT)
For parents of a baby with the birth defect spina bifida, surgery in utero can be a life-changing possibility. Spina bifida occurs when the spinal cord doesn't fully develop or fails to close in the womb.
If it goes untreated it can cause a wide range of disabilities. But prenatal surgery is risky, and there's no guarantee it'll prevent those problems. Dr. Mary Austin, a pediatric surgeon in Texas, helps to counsel parents through each step of the surgery and
runs down the potential risks and benefits. But Austin doesn't tell them that she herself has spina bifida. STAT contributor Charlotte Huff has the story
here.
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The biotech industry's big gathering kicks off
The biotech industry’s big annual networking conference is getting underway today in San Diego. The BIO International Conference, which is put on by the industry lobbying group BIO, brings together about
16,000 attendees from the industry each year. One aspect of the conference that’s striking a different chord this year:
Efforts to woo U.S. scientists to work abroad. The pitches from global recruiters have taken a new tone amid the Trump administration’s talk of cutting research funding and going against scientific consensus. STAT’s biotech
reporters will be there all week —
subscribe to our pop-up BIO in 30 Seconds newsletter to stay in the loop.
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The patients most likely to leave against medical advice
Leaving the hospital
against medical advice is tied to a higher risk of mortality and an increased chance of being readmitted to the hospital. Now, a new
study looks at which patients are most likely to do so, by looking at data from more than 29 million hospital stays between 2003 and 2014. The patients most likely to leave against medical advice: people insured by Medicaid, the uninsured, and patients
with mental health conditions. Younger and middle-aged patients are nearly four times more likely than patients age 65 and over to leave against medical advice. The authors of the new paper say it’s helpful to know that information, but that more research
is needed to nail down the exact reasons why people choose to overrule their physician.
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What to read around the web today
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A mother's early death drives her daughter to find a treatment.
NPR
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Is coconut oil healthy?
USA Today
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Get well sooner? A healthier roommate could help.
New York Times
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The latest from STAT Plus
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Camille Samuels: Favoring ‘new markets for unmet needs’.
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At
pharma’s Academy Awards, the top prize went to … no one.
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Thanks for reading! More tomorrow,
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