A common cause of death is narcotic overdose, accidental and intentional. The approval of nasal narcan is a major breaththrough in the timely treatment of this dangerous situation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a warning regarding increases in fentanyl drug confiscations and a potential increased risk for fentanyl-related overdose fatalities.
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Editor's Note:
A recent Medscape article contended that controversial legislation now wending its way through the Georgia and Florida legislatures would, if enacted, put an end to malpractice litigation in those states and could serve as a template for other states to follow suit, replacing the current medical tort system with an administrative system for redress.
Bupropion, otherwise known as Wellbutrin, is commonly prescribed for major depression, and for smoking cessation. It's major adverse side effects are seizures; but there are additional adverse effects too. In high enough doses it also increases sexual desire in men and women, and produces a high that has been compared to that of cocaine. The following report describes the data of increasing use. A future blog entry will discuss the problems associated with bupropion abuse.
Marijuana is a commonly used drug. In some states it is legal. The following article appeared in the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, and it describes the correct approach and standard of practice in the treatment of marijuana overdose resulting in psychosis in the emergency department. The citation is noted at the bottom of the article.
A recent article by Dr. Segal in Medscape discusses two defensible cases that resulted in surprising horrific outcomes for the two doctors who were sued. There is a take home message and lesson to be learned embedded in these two cases.
A Sensible Alternative to Our Broken System?
As every physician knows, our tort system is broken. Various solutions have been suggested over the years, only to fade away. But now, a promising new system for patient compensation in cases of medical error is being proposed in two states: Georgia and Florida. It makes sense for doctors and patients alike, and for our healthcare system as a whole.
Physicians should take certain precautions in prescribing the first-generation antihistamine hydroxyzine to minimize the drug’s risk for potentially fatal heart arrhythmias, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced recently.
Long-acting opioids were associated with a greater than 2-fold risk for unintentional overdose compared with short-acting formulations, according to a cohort study published online February 16 in JAMA Internal Medicine. Moreover, the risk was more than 5-fold greater in the first 2 weeks of using a long-acting opioid.
