Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: Cancer, Cataracts, Synthetic Tissue, Abortion And More
CIDRAP: Study Reveals Pandemic-Related Delays In Cancer-Related Diagnoses
The COVID-19 pandemic has likely caused delays in new cancer diagnoses, which in combination with disrupted cancer treatment could lead to poor patient outcomes, according to a national study of more than 9 million Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System patients published yesterday in Cancer. Led by University of Maryland at Baltimore researchers, the study measured decreases in patient visits related to prostate, lung, bladder, and colorectal cancers, related diagnostic procedures, and new cancer diagnoses before and after the emergence of COVID-19. The median age of patients having diagnostic or screening procedures for the four cancers was 67 years, 92% were men, 22% were Black, and 6.1% were Latino. (12/7)
JAMA Network: Association Between Cataract Extraction And Development Of Dementia
Is cataract extraction associated with reduced risk of developing dementia? In this cohort study assessing 3038 adults 65 years of age or older with cataract enrolled in the Adult Changes in Thought study, participants who underwent cataract extraction had lower risk of developing dementia than those who did not have cataract surgery after controlling for numerous additional risks. In comparison, risk of dementia did not differ between participants who did or did not undergo glaucoma surgery, which does not restore vision. (Lee et al, 12/6)
ScienceDaily: Synthetic Tissue Can Repair Hearts, Muscles, And Vocal Cords
Combining knowledge of chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering, scientists from McGill University developed a biomaterial tough enough to repair the heart, muscles, and vocal cords, representing a major advance in regenerative medicine. (McGill University, 11/30)
CIDRAP: Study Links FDA Warnings To Fewer Fluoroquinolone Prescriptions
A new study suggests that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) warnings about adverse events linked to fluoroquinolone antibiotics may have helped lower prescribing of the drugs, but not all physicians have been responsive to those warnings. The study, published this week in JAMA Network Open, looked at data on more than 1.2 million Medicare patients who received fluoroquinolones and found that overall fluoroquinolone prescribing started declining significantly in the 31 months before the FDA issued a warning on fluoroquinolones in 2013. The decline continued at a slower rate after the 2013 and 2016 warnings. (Dall, 12/3)
New England Journal of Medicine: Abortion Safety And Use With Normally Prescribed Mifepristone In Canada
After mifepristone became available as a normal prescription, the abortion rate remained relatively stable, the proportion of abortions provided by medication increased rapidly, and adverse events and complications remained stable, as compared with the period when mifepristone was unavailable. (Schummers et al, 12/18)
