CDC
08 Jan More Than Half of COVID-19 Infections Acquired from Asymptomatic Carriers
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_56368" align="alignleft" width="100"]
Dr. Butler[/caption]
Jay C. Butler, MD, FAAP, MACP, FIDSA
Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, GA 30333
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There are still disagreements about the significance of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from asymptomatic persons. It has been known since at least March 2020 that, unlike the closely related coronavirus that causes SARS, transmission of COVID-19 from asymptomatic and presymptomatic persons occurs and that at least 30% of infected persons do not develop symptoms. Estimating the proportion of transmissions from persons without symptoms informs the decision analysis for prioritization of community mitigations opportunities: wearing of masks, social distancing, and hand hygiene. If only a low proportion of transmission occurs from people without symptoms, these interventions would be less likely to control transmission when broadly applied in the community. On the other hand, if a significant proportion of spread is from infected persons without symptoms, the value of these measures is enhanced.
Additionally, obtaining strategic and systematic screening tests for SARS-CoV-2 to identify and isolate persons without symptoms in selected settings, such as congregational housing settings, will have greater potential impact if spread from persons without symptoms is common.
21 Dec USPSTF Screening Recommendations for Hepatitis B Screening
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_56293" align="alignleft" width="133"] Dr. Caughey[/caption]
Aaron B. Caughey, M.D.,M.P.P., M.P.H.
Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Associate Dean for Women’s Health Research and Policy
Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, OR
Founder and Chair
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–funded Oregon Perinatal Collaborative
USPSTF Task Force Member
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Hepatitis B virus infection is a serious condition that affects about 860,000 people in the United States. Screening for hepatitis B can detect the infection early, so that you can receive treatment that will reduce the potential for serious complications, including cancer, liver failure, and even death. Hepatitis B often has no signs or symptoms, so clinicians should screen teens and adults who are at increased risk for hepatitis B to help protect their health.
10 Dec More Lung Cancer in Women Non-Smokers Than Men, But Most Lung Cancer Still in Smokers
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David A. Siegel, MD, MPH Division of Cancer Prevention and Control US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, Georgia MedicalResearch.com: Why is it important to better understand the smoking histories (both current/former and never smokers) among lung cancer patients? Response: Knowledge of smoking status of patients diagnosed with lung cancer can help us understand how to best prevent, detect, and treat lung cancer in the future. More than 84% of women and 90% of men newly diagnosed with lung cancer had ever smoked cigarettes, and half of patients aged 20 to 64 years newly diagnosed with lung cancer were current cigarette smokers. These findings reinforce the importance of cigarette cessation and lung cancer screening. 1 out of every 8 people diagnosed with lung cancer had never smoked cigarettes, which reiterates the importance of learning more about their risk factors for lung cancer, which could impact prevention and treatment.
14 Sep Significant Number of Men Are Sharing Teir Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Medication With Others
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gordon Mansergh, PhD Senior Behavioral Scientist CDC Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention MedicalResearch.com: What would you say is the take home message from the study? Response: A small but notable subgroup of gay and bisexual men are sharing their PrEP medication with others. As PrEP continues to be more commonly used, it is important to better understand and address the context of PrEP sharing, and to emphasize messaging about provider monitoring of medication use over time for health and safety reasons.
09 Sep Increasing Costs of Supplying PReP to Prevent HIV Infection
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55322" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Furukawa[/caption]
Dr. Nathan Furukawa, MD, MPH
Medical officer, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention
CDC
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The cost of the PrEP medication is the largest driver of the cost of providing PrEP care. Most patients need insurance or help from a medication assistance program to cover the large costs of the PrEP medication. We wanted to describe how these costs were paid by patients (out-of-pocket payments) and insurers (third-party payments) nationally.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Response: The study found that the cost for a month of the PrEP medication tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine increased from $1350 to $1638 from 2014 to 2018, an average annual increase of 5%. Out-of-pocket costs increased faster from $54 to $94, an average annual increase of 14.9%. In 2018, at least $2 billion was spent paying for the PrEP medication, and this covered 18% of people that had an indication for PrEP.
25 Aug Influenza Likely Contributes to Cardiac Events During Flu Season
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_55215" align="alignleft" width="182"] Dr. Eric Chow[/caption]
Eric J. Chow, MD, MS, MPH
Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer (completed in 2020);
Influenza Division.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
- Both heart disease and influenza epidemics cause substantial morbidity and mortality every year. In some seasons, influenza virus infections alone contribute up to 810,000 hospitalizations and 61,000 deaths. There is increasing evidence that there is overlap between infections, specifically influenza, and heart disease. In our study, we sought to describe the frequency and risk factors for acute cardiac events in patients who are hospitalized with influenza.
- In over 80,000 adults hospitalized with influenza over 8 seasons (2010-2018), almost 12% were diagnosed with acute cardiac events, with acute heart failure and acute ischemic heart disease being the most common.
- Among patients hospitalized with influenza who experienced acute cardiac events, almost one-third were admitted to the intensive care unit and 7% died while hospitalized.
- Our study also reaffirmed that people who are older, smoke tobacco or have underlying cardiovascular disease, diabetes and kidney disease are at increased risk for the most common acute cardiac events, acute heart failure and acute ischemic heart disease.
- Although vaccinated persons had a lower risk of acute ischemic heart disease and acute heart failure, this study was not designed to specifically assess vaccine effectiveness. However, this and other studies support the importance of influenza vaccines for people with underlying heart conditions.
29 Jun Lifetime Risk for Diabetes Decreasing, But Racial Disparities Persist
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Giuseppina Imperatore, MD, PHD CDC, Atlanta MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The lifetime risk of diabetes (LRD), a probability of developing diabetes during a person’s lifespan, is a measure of future disease burden that reflects the impact of incidence (occurrence of new cases per year) and mortality. The years of potential life lost to diabetes (YPLLD) is the number of life-years lost due to diabetes, calculated as the difference between the life expectancy of a person without diabetes and a person with diabetes at the age of diagnosis. For example, the number of life-years lost for a person diagnosed at age 20 years is the difference in life expectancy of a person who died without developing diabetes and a person who was diagnosed with diabetes at 20 years of age. Both incidence and mortality of diabetes have been decreasing for more than a decade. The effects of those changes on lifetime risk of diabetes and years of potential life lost to diabetes are not known. In this study, we used nationally representative diabetes surveillance data to provide updated estimates for the lifetime probability of development of diabetes, and to assess changes in incidence and mortality on lifetime risk and life-years lost due to diabetes in the USA.
28 Jun Small Risk of Shoulder Bursitis After Flu Vaccine
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_54731" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Hesse[/caption]
Dr. Elisabeth Hesse, MD
Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS Officer)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Over the last decade, there has been increasing attention given to shoulder injuries diagnosed after intramuscular vaccinations, with multiple publications of case reports and case series. However, to the best of our knowledge, there haven’t been any robust studies to determine how frequently this happens and what may make some people more likely than others to have shoulder injuries after vaccination. The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) is an ideal system to use for such a study, because it contains medical and vaccination records of over 10 million people across the United States. We found that out of the 2.9 million people over the age of 3 who received an injectable flu vaccine (specifically, inactivated influenza vaccine) during the 2016-2017 flu season, fewer than 8 people per million vaccinated developed shoulder bursitis that can be attributed to the vaccination.
30 May Chronic Health Conditions Linked to Increased Tooth Loss
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marcia L. Parker, DMD Division of Oral Health National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion CDC [caption id="attachment_54377" align="alignleft" width="200"]
CDC PHIL image[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: This report reviewed three measures of tooth loss among adults over 50 years old with selected chronic conditions. The report analyzed data from the 2011–2016 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to compare the rates of total tooth loss, severe tooth loss (less than 8 teeth), and lacking functional dentition (less than 20 teeth) among people with and without selected chronic conditions.
18 May EVALI: Adolescents More Likely to Obtain Vaping Products Through Informal Sources
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Susan Hocevar Adkins, MD Lead Author, Senior Medical Officer, and Commander United States Public Health Service CDC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Since August 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state, local, and territorial health departments have been investigating a national outbreak of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). Although clinical presentation and outcomes of EVALI patients generally have been reported, data on adolescent patients are more limited. This article fills this gap by using data from national EVALI surveillance at CDC to examine demographic, substance use, and clinical characteristics of adolescent EVALI patients relative to young adult and adult EVALI patients.
23 Apr EVALI: E-Cigarette & Vaping Lung Injury Hospitalizations and Deaths
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_53973" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Werner[/caption]
Angela K. Werner, PhD, MPH
Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
National Center for Environmental Health
CDC
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In August 2019, emergency department (ED) visits related to e-cigarette, or vaping, product-associated lung injury (EVALI) increased sharply, followed by a peak in September. This was followed by a gradual but persistent decline in the number of cases.
As of February 18, 2020 (CDC’s latest and final published update), there were a total of 2,807 hospitalized EVALI cases or deaths reported to CDC from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands). Sixty-eight deaths were confirmed in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Although clinical presentations and outcomes of EVALI patients have been reported, data on patients who died are more limited. This article fills a gap by reporting on a national study assessing detailed demographic, substance use, and clinical characteristics of EVALI patients who have died, and comparing them to the characteristics of EVALI patients who survived.
04 Oct Rotavirus Vaccination Reduced Severe Illness and Hospitalizations in Young Children
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51743" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Payne[/caption]
Daniel C. Payne, PhD, MSPH
Senior Scientific Advisor
Viral Gastroenteritis Branch
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Rotavirus vaccines have been recommended for US infants for more than 10 years. This study used seven years of active surveillance data from seven hospitals around the US to evaluate the effectiveness of rotavirus vaccines in the US.
20 Aug Many Contact Lens Wearers Don’t Recall Receiving Care Instructions
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50953" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Nuadum Konne[/caption]
Nuadum Konne
Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch
CDC
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: An estimated 45 million Americans enjoy the benefits of contact lens wear. Most of them practice some behaviors that put them at risk for serious eye infections.
Surveys of contact lens wearers and eye care providers were conducted in 2018. One third of lens wearers recalled never hearing any lens care recommendations.
Most eye care providers reported sharing recommendations always or most of the time.
09 Aug CDC: More Naloxone Prescriptions Needed esp in Rural Areas
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_32722" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Gery Guy[/caption]
Gery P. Guy Jr., PhD, MPH
Senior Health Economist
Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention
CDC
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In 2017, among the 70,237 drug overdose deaths in the United States, 47,600 (67.8%) involved prescription or illicit opioids. Distribution of the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone to reverse overdose is a key part of the public health response to the opioid overdose epidemic. The 2016 CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain recommended clinicians consider offering naloxone when overdose risk factors, such as history of overdose or opioid use disorder, higher opioid dosages, or concurrent benzodiazepine use, are present.
However, recent analyses examining pharmacy-based naloxone dispensing are lacking. To address this gap and to inform future overdose prevention and response efforts, CDC examined trends and characteristics of naloxone dispensed from retail pharmacies at the national and county level in the United States.
02 Aug Drug Resistant Candida auris Presents Urgent Threat
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50527" align="alignleft" width="185"] This image depicts a strain of Candida auris cultured in a petri dish at the Centers for Disease Control and PreventionCredit: Shawn Lockhart[/caption] Snigdha Vallabhaneni, MD, MPH Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We are concerned about the fungus Candida auris (or C. auris) because it causes serious infections, is often resistant to medications, and continues to spread at alarming rates in U.S. healthcare settings. Candida. auris primarily affects patients in who are hospitalized for a long time or are residents of nursing homes that take care of patients on ventilators. C. auris is still rare in the United States and most people are at low risk of getting infected. People who get C. auris or other Candida infections are often already sick from other medical conditions and often have invasive medical care, including ventilators for breathing support, feeding tubes, central venous catheters, and have received lots of antibiotics. Many patients infected and colonized with C. auris move frequently between post-acute care facilities and hospitals, which increases the risk of spreading C. auris between facilities.
09 Jul What Accounts for Increase in National Spending on Antidiabetic Drugs?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Xiaohui Zhuo, PhD Division of Diabetes Translation National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Prescription drug spending (spending from families and individuals, their medical providers (doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, etc.) and employees across the United States) has increased at a much higher rater than other components of the total medical expenditure associated with diabetes. The share of spending on prescription drugs in per capita annual excess expenditure due to diabetes increased from 27% to 41% between 1987 and 2011, according to a previous study using national data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Medical Expenditures Panel Surveys. In this most recent study, CDC researchers estimated the increase in the national spending on antidiabetic drugs from 2005 to 2016 in total and by drug class and broke down the increase in total national spending by examining what factors have contributed to the increase estimating the magnitude of each factor’s contribution.
02 Jul Don’t Swallow Pool Water! Diarrhea-Causing Crypto Lurks in Summer Swimming Pools
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50076" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Gharpure[/caption]
Radhika Gharpure MPH DVM
Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer
CDC
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this report? Would you tell us about cryptosporidiosis infections? Where is is found? How is it transmitted?
Response: The data from our most recent report looked at outbreaks caused by Cryptosporidium (Crypto) in the United States during 2009 – 2017. Outbreaks have increased an average of 13% each year. Crypto, a parasite, is spread through the poop of infected humans or animals. People can get sick after they swallow the parasite in contaminated water or food or after contact with infected people or animals.
Crypto is the leading cause of disease outbreaks in the United States linked to water, specifically outbreaks linked to pools or water playgrounds.
02 Jul How Well Did California’s Interventions to Improve Vaccination Rates Work?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ms. Cassandra Pingali Ms. Pingali worked on this paper while a a graduate student at Emory University, and completed it post-graduation. She is currently an ORISE fellow at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Immunization Services Division MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Despite high overall immunization coverage in the United States, we are currently experiencing the largest measles outbreak since measles was declared eliminated in 2000. In 2014, California grappled with a very large measles outbreak known as the “Disneyland” outbreak. Later investigation revealed that most of the affected children were unvaccinated against measles despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. In order to prevent future outbreaks, California officials wanted to improve their declining childhood vaccination coverage. California passed two laws and implemented an educational program for school staff to increase vaccination rates in the state. We felt it was important to take a systematic look at these interventions and examine if public health initiatives such as these are working to improve vaccination rates.
24 Jun Measles Vaccine in Early Childhood Associated with Long Term Health and Cognitive Benefits
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_49954" align="alignleft" width="122"]
Dr. Nandi[/caption]
Arindam Nandi PhD
Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The motivation for this study comes from a small but growing body of evidence on the potential long-term benefits of vaccines. The recent resurgence of measles outbreaks in several countries which had previously eliminated the virus makes our study additionally relevant. There have been over 1,000 measles cases reported across 28 states in the US so far in 2019, which is the largest number of cases the country has seen in almost 3 decades. Similarly high number of cases have been reported in several European countries in recent years. This study reiterates the importance of vaccination and proves the long-term benefits of the measles vaccine in low- and middle-income countries, which account for a large proportion of global measles cases.
24 Jun Decrease in Obesity Among Young US Children Enrolled in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program 2010-2016
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_49924" align="alignleft" width="150"] Dr. Pan[/caption]
Liping Pan, MD, MPH
Epidemiologist
Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Children with severe obesity face significant health and social challenges. Children with obesity are at higher risk for having other chronic health conditions and diseases, such as asthma, sleep apnea, bone and joint problems, and type 2 diabetes. They also have more risk factors for heart disease such as high blood pressure, impaired glucose tolerance, and high cholesterol than their healthyweight peers. Children with obesity can be bullied and teased more than their healthyweight peers. They are also more likely to suffer from social isolation, depression, and lower self-esteem. Children with obesity are also more likely to have obesity as adults. This can lead to lifelong physical and mental health problems. Adult obesity is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and many types of cancers.
Childhood obesity is more common among children from lower-income families, as many lack access to healthy, affordable foods and beverages and opportunities for low-cost physical activity.
16 Jun Insulin Costs Rise But Mostly Not Paid For Out-of-Pocket by Patients
The major driver for increases in average total payments for a 30-day supply of insulin were explained by increases in payments for existing products and not by changes in the market share of insulin types....
29 May Mandates Improve With Influenza Vaccination Rates of Hospital Personnel
[caption id="attachment_49409" align="alignleft" width="200"] Megan C. Lindley[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Megan C. Lindley, MPH
Deputy Associate Director for Science
Immunization Services Division
CDC
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Despite longstanding recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, healthcare personnel influenza vaccination coverage remains below the Healthy People 2020 target of 90%. Healthcare employers use a variety of strategies to promote influenza vaccination among healthcare personnel, including facility-level mandates for vaccination. Several U.S. states have also enacted laws related to healthcare personnel influenza vaccination, but the effect of these laws on vaccination uptake is unclear.
Our study used influenza vaccination coverage data reported by over 4,000 U.S. hospitals to examine three kinds of laws:
(1) Assessment laws, which require hospitals to assess healthcare personnel influenza vaccination status;
(2) Offer laws, which require hospitals to offer the influenza vaccine to healthcare personnel; and
(3) Ensure laws, which require hospitals to require healthcare personnel to demonstrate proof of influenza vaccination.
22 May Some Emergency Departments See Drop in Heroin Overdoses
Monitoring overdose fatalities is difficult as a result of time lags in reporting...
21 May Few Teen Moms Protect Themselves with Condoms and Long Acting Contraceptives
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lee Warner, PhD Chief of the Women’s Health and Fertility Branch Division of Reproductive Health CDC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Previous research has found lower prevalence of condom use combined with the most effective reversible contraceptive methods among teens, but this is the first study to our knowledge to confirm the finding among sexually active teen mothers in the postpartum period. Our new paper finds that only 3 in 10 postpartum teen mothers report using condoms combined with a more effective contraceptive method (either long-acting reversible contraception or LARC or a non-LARC hormonal method). Dual use was 50 percent lower among LARC users compared with users of non-LARC hormonal methods.
17 May Why Do 700 US Women Die of Pregnancy-Related Causes Each Year?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_49233" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Peterson[/caption]
Emily Petersen, MD.
Lead for the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System
Division of Reproductive Health
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: About 700 women die of pregnancy-related causes each year in the United States. The new analysis provides much-needed perspective on the circumstances surrounding pregnancy-related deaths and summarizes potential strategies to prevent future deaths.
02 May Emergency Personnel: Unintentional Occupational Exposure to Opioids
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sophia K. Chiu, MD Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health CDC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Responders across the United States are reporting work-related health effects during incidents in which suspected opioids (including fentanyl) and other illicit drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, cathinones, and synthetic cannabinoids are present, often as a mixture. These health effects have interfered with responders’ ability to perform their job duties. Since 2018, a number of responder organizations have requested that NIOSH investigate the health effects experienced by emergency responders during these response incidents. These organizations are looking for ways to protect their responders and prevent the symptoms responders have reported experiencing, so that they can in turn better serve the public. NIOSH’s goal is to increase awareness among responders of how they can remain safe while providing the care the public needs.
23 Apr Soft Bedding such as Blankets and Pillows Can Suffocate Babies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48770" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Erck Lambert[/caption]
Alexa B. Erck Lambert, MPH
DB Consulting Group, Inc, Silver Spring, Maryland
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Contractor
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Unintentional suffocation is the leading cause of injury death among infants under 1 year old in the US. This study investigates cases in CDC’s SUID Case Registry that were assigned the category of explained suffocation with unsafe sleep factors per CDC’s SUID Case Registry classification system, which was developed to consistently differentiate SUID cases into well-defined categories (including no autopsy or death scene investigation, incomplete case information, no unsafe sleep factors, unsafe sleep factors, possible suffocation with unsafe sleep factors, and explained suffocation with unsafe sleep factors) using standardized criteria and definitions. Cases classified as possible and explained suffocation were assigned one more mechanisms to which the airway obstruction was attributed including soft bedding, wedging, overlay and other – other was excluded from this analysis.
Most explained suffocations (69%) were attributed to soft bedding like a blanket or a pillow followed by overlay (19%), and wedging (12%). Although explained suffocation deaths represent a small proportion of all sudden unexpected infant deaths (14%), these losses are particularly tragic because they can be prevented by placing a baby to sleep in a safe environment.
20 Mar Nonmedical Use of Prescription Drugs a Common Cause of Emergency Room Visits
[caption id="attachment_48017" align="alignleft" width="145"] Dr. Geller[/caption]
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
CDR Andrew Geller, MD
Medical Officer, Medication Safety Program
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion,
CDC
Atlanta GA 30329
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: There has been a lot of recent attention on drug overdoses in the United States, particularly fatal overdoses which involve opioids. But the overall frequency with which patients end up in the emergency department (ED) due to nonmedical use of medications across the US is unknown.
- Nonmedical use refers to a spectrum of circumstances, including intentionally using more medication than is recommended in an attempt to treat a health condition (therapeutic misuse) to using medication to attain euphoria or get “high” (abuse).
- Specifically, we used data from a nationally-representative sample of hospital EDs to identify the medications with the highest numbers of emergency visits for harms following nonmedical use of medications and to identify the patient groups with the highest risks.
12 Feb Most Counties See Opioid Prescription Rates Falling
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_32722" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Gery Guy[/caption]
Gery Guy, PhD, MPH
Injury Center
CDC
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: This study examined opioid prescribing at the national and county-level in 2015 and 2017.
During 2015 to 2017, the amount of opioids prescribed decreased 20.1% in the United States. The amount of opioids prescribed per person varies substantially at the county-level. The average amount of opioids prescribed in the highest quartile of counties was nearly 6 times the amount in the lowest quartile. Reductions in opioid prescribing could be related to policies and strategies aimed at reducing inappropriate prescribing, increased awareness of the risks associated with opioids, and release of the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.