CHECKUP POOR GET OPIOIDS MORE OFTEN.Byline: - Staff and Wire Services Whether your doctor prescribes potent opioid drugs for your back pain can depend on some unlikely factors: where you live, what type of insurance you have and your educational level and income. New research concludes that lesser-educated, lower-income patients and those living in the South are more likely to be given opioids. Those drugs, which are sometimes referred to as narcotics, are prescribed for their potent painkilling ability and have the potential for addiction. Xuemei Luo, a research associate at the Duke University Medical Center, and her team analyzed data from 1996 to 1999 in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a national survey conducted by the government. The findings appear in the April 15 issue of Spine. In the study, Luo evaluated the use of codeine codeine (kō`dēn), alkaloid found in opium. It is a narcotic whose effects, though less potent, resemble those of morphine. An effective cough suppressant, it is mainly used in cough medicines. Like other narcotics, codeine is addictive. , morphine, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, oxycodone oxycodone /oxy·co·done/ (-ko´don) an opioid analgesic derived from morphine; used in the form of the hydrochloride and terephthalate salts. ox·y·co·done n. , methadone methadone (mĕth`ədōn', –dŏn'), synthetic narcotic similar in effect to morphine. Synthesized in Germany, it came into clinical use after World War II. It is sometimes used as an analgesic and to suppress the cough reflex. , fentanyl fentanyl /fen·ta·nyl/ (fen´tah-nil) an opioid analgesic; the citrate salt is used as an adjunct to anesthesia, in the induction and maintenance of anesthesia, in combination with droperidol (or similar agent) as a neuroleptanalgesic, and and other opioids. Doctors in the South were more likely than those in other regions to prescribe the opioids, Luo found. The big surprise, she said, was that patients with public insurance rather than private insurance were more likely to be on opioids. CANCER BREAKTHROUGH: A new test that identifies DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. changes in your stool could lead to a noninvasive way of screening for colon cancer colon cancer, cancer of any part of the colon (often called the large intestine). Colon cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in the United States. , according to a study in the April 17 issue of The Lancet. An Austrian research team found that by testing stool samples for changes in DNA methylation, which is a form of genetic alteration common in colorectal cancer colorectal cancer Malignant tumour of the large intestine (colon) or rectum. Risk factors include age (after age 50), family history of colorectal cancer, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, benign polyps, physical inactivity, and a diet high in fat. cells, they were able to identify colorectal cancer about 90 percent of the time. ``There are certain types of changes in DNA that are specific to certain tumors,'' said lead researcher Dr. Martin Widschwendter, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology obstetrics and gynecology Medical and surgical specialty concerned with the management of pregnancy and childbirth and with the health of the female reproductive system. from the Medical University of Innsbruck It is currently the largest education facility in the Austrian Bundesland of Tirol and third largest in Austria according to student population, behind Vienna University and Graz University. . One of these is called DNA methylation, he explained. According to Widschwendter, earlier fecal DNA tests for colorectal cancer have looked at gene mutations. However, these tests are not nearly as accurate as this new one, he said. STRONG SALMONELLA: Taiwanese doctors have identified a potentially fatal strain of salmonella bacteria that is resistant to two antibiotics widely used to treat serious infections. The appearance of the multiresistant strain ``is a serious threat to public health, and thus constant surveillance is warranted,'' physicians at the Chang Gung University College of Medicine report in the April 17 issue of The Lancet. About 40,000 salmonella infections are reported in the United States each year. Most cause diarrhea and other intestinal problems that clear up in a few days without antibiotic treatment. Infections tend to be more common and more serious in underdeveloped countries because the bacteria is spread by contaminated food and water. The salmonella isolated from a 58-year-old Taiwanese man is resistant to both Cipro and Rocephin, the Taiwanese doctors report. Resistance to Cipro is common. The new study contains their first report of a strain resistant to Rocephin as well. |
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