Jimmy Carter ‘Coming to the End’; U.S. Overdose Deaths Drop; Drowning Deaths Rise

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Health news and commentary gathered by MedPage Today staff

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MedPage Today Staff

May 15, 2024

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Former President Jimmy Carter is “coming to the end” after more than a year in hospice care, his grandson said. (The Hill)

Here’s how risky surgery for a near-fatal aneurysm in 1988 changed President Joe Biden’s life. (Washington Post)

U.S. overdose deaths in 2023 decreased to 107,543, a 3% lower figure than the year prior and the first decrease since 2018, according to provisional CDC data.

A federal appeals court said a health insurance provider can be liable for denying coverage for gender-affirming care to transgender people under the Civil Rights Act. (AP)

In North Carolina, lawmakers have proposed legislation that critics say could make it illegal to wear face masks for medical reasons. (AP)

The CDC launched an influenza A wastewater dashboard to help track the outbreak of H5N1 bird flu.

Eli Lilly entered a settlement agreement to stop Totality Medispa from suggesting it sells Lilly’s tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) and prohibit the spa from making certain claims about its compounded version of the drug.

An anti-abortion activist who led an invasion and blockade of a reproductive health clinic in 2020 was sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison. (AP)

A year after therapy based on his own research in melanoma, Australian doctor Richard Scolyer, MBBS, MD, said he remains free of glioblastoma. (BBC)

Following a letter from the FDA to health providers, Getinge said it will pause promotional activities of its Cardiohelp System and Cardiosave intra-aortic balloon pump in the U.S. until outstanding quality improvement actions have been addressed and approved.

The FDA added 191 products to its list of cleared medical devices enabled by artificial intelligence, bringing the total to 882.

But the agency rejected expanded use of hepatitis B vaccine (Heplisav-B) for end-stage renal disease patients on hemodialysis, vaccine maker Dynavax said.

Unintentional drowning death rates were higher in 2022, 2021, and 2020 than in 2019, a CDC Vital Signs report showed.

Equipping primary care practitioners with validated tools including eye-tracking measures may help young children with autism be diagnosed sooner. (JAMA Network Open)

Nearly a third of 482 U.S. foodborne outbreaks caused by four common bacteria from 2009 to 2022 were linked with food that could have been irradiated but was not. (Emerging Infectious Diseases)

The number of older adults regularly exposed to dangerous acute heat globally in 2050 is projected to grow by anywhere from 177 million to 246 million. (Nature Communications)

Mental health awareness for teens may be backfiring, a psychologist suggested. (New York Times)

A Boston hospital program helped hospitality workers know how to respond if customers have an opioid overdose. (STAT)

The former mechanical engineering student who invented the Impella heart pump offered advice to new graduates. (NPR)

British boxer Sherif Lawal died at age 29 after a blow to the head during his professional debut. (CBS News)

Amidst a surge in global dengue cases, the WHO authorized a second vaccine against the mosquito-borne disease.