2017 has been a year of ups and downs for medicine, with new drug approvals and treatment guidelines, turmoil in Washington, and the continuing opioid epidemic. Test your knowledge about the most-read news stories of the year.
FDA Drug Approvals Include New Antibiotics
Each year the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) makes headlines with drug approvals and warnings, and 2017 was no exception. High-profile drug approvals included the first fixed-dose oral combination for gout and the first drug for the treatment of nocturnal polyuria, as well as several new antibiotics. One of those antibiotics, delafloxacin (Baxdela, Melinta Therapeutics), was approved for sale in June.
Work Hour Rules for Residents
In March, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) announced a change in work hour rules for first-year residents. Comments flooded in from Medscape readers, with many saying the new rules were “inhumane” or repeating past mistakes, whereas others argued that the problems in medicine are not tied to work hours.
Location of Physician Training and Inpatient Outcomes
Researchers reported this year that inpatient mortality was higher among Medicare patients treated in the hospital by internists trained in a certain setting.
ACP/AAFP Hypertension Guidelines Updated
In January, the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) released a joint practice guideline on systolic blood pressure targets for people aged 60 years and older with hypertension.
Opioid Epidemic and Medicare Fraud
In the midst of the opioid epidemic, law enforcement agencies have gone after some physicians for unethical prescribing, and several physicians have been convicted of operating a pill mill. Yet one case stands out because of its magnitude. In July, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced charges against more than 400 people, upward of 120 of whom were involved in prescribing and distributing narcotics, in connection with healthcare fraud and opioid scams.
Dramatic Drop in Cancer Deaths, but One Cancer Still Up
The death rate from all cancers combined in the United States dropped by 25% from 1991 to 2014, according to a 2017 report. However, deaths resulting from one common cancer continue to increase.
Even Short-term Oral Steroids Carry Serious Risk
Oral corticosteroids are prescribed for a variety of conditions, and short-term use has been considered relatively safe. However, a cohort study of more than 1.5 million adults found that even short courses of these drugs are associated with significant increased risk.
New ACP Guidelines for Nonradicular Low Back Pain
The American College of Physicians released updated guidelines for the noninvasive treatment of nonradicular subacute, acute, and chronic low back pain in primary care.
Medicine Takes Center Stage in Washington
With Republicans in control of Congress and the White House, efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have been in high gear.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar