Neurology
Conference Coverage
Growing proportion of cardiac arrests in U.S. considered opioid related
Due to a steep rise, opioid-associated cardiac arrests have become a major public health issue.
From the Journals
‘Deeper dive’ into opioid overdose deaths during COVID pandemic
Results also showed that, compared to 2019, significantly more men died from overdoses in 2020 in Colorado and Indiana.
News from the FDA/CDC
EDs saw more benzodiazepine overdoses, but fewer patients overall, in 2020
Fentanyl became increasingly involved in benzodiazepine overdose deaths through the first half of the year.
News
FDA OKs IV Briviact for seizures in kids as young as 1 month
The approval marks the first time that the IV formulation will be available for children.
Conference Coverage
Angiography can wait for cardiac arrest without ST-elevation
Results of the TOMAHAWK trial show that immediate transfer for angiography after out-of-hospital arrest without ST-segment elevation provided no...
Feature
NIH to study COVID vaccine booster in people with autoimmune disease
The trial will look at the impact of a booster in patients with five different autoimmune diseases who are either on or off immunosuppressives.
From the Journals
Pandemic derails small success in lowering diabetes-related amputations
Minor diabetes-related lower extremity amputations increased at the expense of major amputations in some groups to 2017, but COVID-19 has likely...
From the Journals
Opioid prescribing laws having an impact
The number of days an opioid was prescribed for each Medicare beneficiary decreased by 11.6 days in 2018 in states that imposed duration limits....
From the Journals
Mobile stroke teams treat patients faster and reduce disability
A pilot program in New York City found that patients treated by a mobile interventional stroke team received care sooner and were more likely to...
From the Journals
Legalization of cannabis tied to drop in opioid-related ED visits
Nearly half of the U.S. population lives in a state that allows recreational cannabis use.
Feature
Record number of U.S. drug overdoses in 2020
The spikes are largely attributed to the rise in the use of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.