Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
When It Comes To Dying, Doctors Are No Different Than The Rest Of Us
The Washington Post: The Sobering Thing Doctors Do When They Die
In "How Doctors Die," a powerful essay that went viral in 2011, a physician described how his colleagues meet the end: They go gently. At the end of life, they avoid the mistakes — the intensive, invasive, last-ditch, expensive and ultimately futile procedures that many Americans endure until their very last breath. "Of course, doctors don’t want to die; they want to live. But they know enough about modern medicine to know its limits," Ken Murray wrote. A new study reveals a sobering truth: Doctors die just like the rest of us. (Johnson, 6/6)
NPR: Febrile Seizures After Childhood Vaccines Are Rare, Study Finds
A seizure caused by a fever in a young child can be terrifying, and some parents worry that the occasional fever that can follow a vaccine may cause one. But febrile seizures after vaccines are rare, a study finds, affecting 3 children out of 10,000. And children almost always recover completely. The study, published Monday in Pediatrics, found that only a few vaccines or vaccine combinations increase the risk of febrile seizures. The pneumococcal vaccine given alone increases the risk, and so does the flu vaccine if given at the same time as either the pneumococcal vaccine or DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) vaccine. (Haelle, 6/6)
The Sacramento Bee: How Doctors Are Treating Strokes In Even Less Time
Traditionally, vascular surgeons used ultrasound and lasers or clot-busting drugs to break up blood clots. Stent retrievers, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2012, are a newer innovation, along with new generations of flexible suction catheters. Used at Sutter Health and other local hospitals, they are considered a better way to quickly remove large blood clots. (Buck, 6/6)
The Oregonian: Hey, Kids, Turn Down The Music: Study Reports Hearing Damage In Youth
A new study of adolescents found that more than a quarter of those exposed to loud music already reported early hearing damage. A study published Monday in the journal Scientific Reports focused on the prevalence of tinnitus, or a buzzing or ringing in the ears, in students between the ages of 11 and 17, according to a news release. (Frazier, 6/6)
