JAMA news releases are made available to the public after 3 pm US Central time on the first 4 Tuesdays of each month. The Archives Journals news releases are made available to the public after 3 pm Central time on Mondays. We also provide a list of previous news releases.
THIS WEEK'S CONTENT
JAMA NEWS RELEASES
(Embargoed for Early Online Release: 3 p.m. CT Tuesday, December 9, 2008)
SUPPLEMENTATION WITH VITAMIN E OR SELENIUM DOES NOT REDUCE RISK OF PROSTATE CANCER
NEITHER VITAMIN C OR E ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED RISK OF PROSTATE CANCER, OR OTHER CANCERS
(Embargoed for Release: 3 p.m. CT Tuesday, December 9, 2008)
UNINTENTIONAL OVERDOSE DEATHS ASSOCIATED WITH NONMEDICAL USE OF PRESCRIPTION PAIN RELIEVERS
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES APPEAR EFFECTIVE FOR SHORT-TERM WEIGHT LOSS
USE OF STEROID MEDICATION TO REDUCE NAUSEA AND VOMITING FOLLOWING TONSILLECTOMIES ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF POST-OPERATIVE BLEEDING IN CHILDREN
JAMA REPORT (VIDEO SCRIPT)
VIDEO: Windows Media | Quicktime
STUDY FINDS MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO DIE FROM UNINTENTIONAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG OVERDOSE OBTAINED DRUGS ILLEGALLY
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THESE NEWS RELEASES IS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT. JOURNAL ATTRIBUTION IS REQUIRED.
Please Note: This week's JAMA Report video is on unintentional overdose deaths often being associated with the nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers. The report will be fed Tuesday, December 9, from 9:00 - 9:30 a.m. ET and 2:00 - 2:30 p.m. ET, on Galaxy 28 (C-Band), Transponder 19, downlink frequency: 4080 vertical, audio 6.2/6.8. For more information, call 312/464-JAMA.
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Embargoed for Early Release: 3:00 p.m. CT, Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Media Advisory: To contact Scott M. Lippman, M.D., call Robin Davidson at 713-794-1731. To contact editorial author Peter H. Gann, M.D., Sc.D., call Sherri McGinnis Gonzalez at 312-996-8277.
SUPPLEMENTATION WITH VITAMIN E OR SELENIUM DOES NOT REDUCE RISK OF PROSTATE CANCER
CHICAGO—In perhaps the largest cancer chemoprevention trial ever conducted, researchers have found that supplementation with vitamin E or selenium, alone or in combination, was not associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer or other cancers. This study, along with another cancer prevention study, will be published in the January 7 issue of JAMA, and both reports are being released early online because of public health implications.
The number of prostate cancer deaths in the United States has declined in recent years, but this cancer remains one of the most common malignancies in U.S. men, with approximately 186,000 new cases and 29,000 deaths (the second leading cause of cancer death) estimated for 2008. An effective prevention strategy for prostate cancer would have substantial public health benefits, according to background information. Previous studies have indicated the potential of selenium and vitamin E for preventing prostate cancer.
Scott M. Lippman, M.D., of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and Eric A. Klein, M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland, and colleagues conducted the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) to examine the effects of selenium and vitamin E, alone or in combination, on the risk of prostate cancer and other health outcomes in relatively healthy men. The trial included 35,533 men, age 50 years or older for African-American men and age 55 years or older for other men at the start of the study, from the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. The participants were randomly assigned to receive one of four interventions between August 2001 and June 2004 for a planned minimum follow-up of 7 years: selenium (200 μg/day); vitamin E (400 IU/day), selenium + vitamin E, or placebo.
On September 15, 2008, the independent data and safety monitoring committee recommended the discontinuation of study supplements because the alternative hypothesis of no evidence of benefit from either study agent was convincingly demonstrated and there was no possibility of a benefit to the planned degree with additional follow-up. The notice to discontinue study supplements went out to all active study sites on October 23, 2008, when median (midpoint) overall follow-up was 5.46 years.
The researchers found that there were no statistically significant differences in the absolute numbers (or 5-year incidence rates) of prostate cancer diagnoses between the four groups: placebo, 416 cases (5-year rate of 4.43 percent); selenium, 432 cases (4.56 percent); vitamin E, 473 cases (4.93 percent); selenium + vitamin E, 437 cases (4.56 percent). There were nonsignificant increased risks of prostate cancer in the vitamin E group and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the selenium group, but not in the selenium + vitamin E group.
"In conclusion, SELECT has definitively demonstrated that selenium, vitamin E, or selenium + vitamin E (at the tested doses and formulations) did not prevent prostate cancer in the generally healthy, heterogeneous population of men in SELECT. These data underscore the prudence that is needed in considering recommendations to use agents for the prevention or control of disease in the absence of convincing clinical trial results. These findings also compel the medical research community to continue the search for new, effective agents for prostate cancer prevention," the authors write.
(JAMA. 2009;301[1]:doi:10.1001/jama.2008.864. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
EDITORIAL: RANDOMIZED TRIALS OF ANTIOXIDANT SUPPLEMENTATION FOR CANCER PREVENTION-FIRST BIAS, NOW CHANCE—NEXT, CAUSE
In an editorial, Peter H. Gann, M.D., Sc.D., of the University of Illinois at Chicago, comments on the "disappointing news" that two major trials (which were "conceived during the wave of hope" of earlier studies suggesting that cancer might be prevented by selenium or vitamin E) showed that neither selenium nor vitamin E produced any reduction in prostate cancer or other cancers.
"...single-agent interventions, even in combinations, may be an ineffective approach to primary prevention in average-risk populations. It may be time to give up the idea that the protective influence of diet on prostate cancer risk...can be emulated by isolated dietary molecules given alone or in combination to middle-aged and older men. ...On the other hand, nonpharmacological dietary prevention of prostate cancer is probably more complex and may involve certain inconvenient truths. Fortunately, no dietary change this profound is likely to be beneficial for prostate cancer alone. If it requires whole foods, extracts, or dietary patterns, it may be necessary to give up the reductionist need to know which molecule is most responsible and perhaps give up the notion of placebo controls as well."
"Epidemiology teaches that every statistical association has only 3 possible explanations: bias, chance, and cause. Regarding nutritional prevention of prostate cancer, first-generation phase 3 trials were too reliant on biased interpretation of prior research, second-generation trials may have been too reliant on chance, yet there is every reason to believe that the next generation will have a firmer basis for causal hypotheses. Until then, physicians should not recommend selenium or vitamin E—or any other antioxidant supplements—to their patients for preventing prostate cancer."
(JAMA. 2009;301[1]:doi:10.1001/jama.2008.863. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
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Embargoed for Early Release: 3:00 p.m. CT, Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Media Advisory: To contact J. Michael Gaziano, M.D., M.P.H., call Lori Shanks at 617-534-1604.
NEITHER VITAMIN C OR E ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED RISK OF PROSTATE CANCER, OR OTHER CANCERS
CHICAGO—In a major cancer prevention study, long-term supplementation with vitamin E or C did not reduce the risk of prostate or other cancers for nearly 15,000 male physicians. This study, along with another cancer prevention study, will be published in the January 7 issue of JAMA, and both reports are being released early online because of public health implications.
In some observational studies, intake or blood levels of vitamins E and C have been associated with reduced risk of certain cancers. "However, definitive proof that vitamins E and C can reduce the risk of overall or site-specific cancers must rely on large-scale randomized trials," the authors write. "A number of trials have addressed the potential role of vitamins in the prevention of cancer; however, the results from these trials have not been consistent." Despite uncertainty about the long-term health effects or benefits, more than half of U.S. adults take vitamin supplements, and vitamins E and C are among the most popular individual supplements, according to background information in the article.
J. Michael Gaziano, M.D., M.P.H., of Brigham and Women's Hospital and VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, and colleagues conducted the Physicians' Health Study II, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to examine the effects of vitamin E and vitamin C on prostate cancer and total cancer. The study included 14,641 male physicians in the United States, age 50 years or older at the time of entering the trial, of whom 1,307 had a prior history of cancer. Participants were randomized to receive individual supplements of 400 IU of vitamin E every other day and 500 mg. of vitamin C daily.
During an average follow-up of 8.0 years, there were 1,943 confirmed total cancer cases and 1,008 prostate cancer cases. Compared with placebo, vitamin E had no effect on the incidence of prostate cancer or total cancer. The researchers also found no significant effect of vitamin C on total cancer or prostate cancer. Neither vitamin E nor vitamin C had a significant effect on site-specific cancers, including colorectal, lung, bladder and pancreatic. Stratification by various cancer risk factors demonstrated no significant modification of the effect of vitamin E on prostate cancer risk or either agent on total cancer risk.
"These data provide no support for the use of these supplements in the prevention of cancer in middle-aged and older men," the authors conclude.
(JAMA. 2009;301[1]:doi:10.1001/jama.2008.862. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
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Embargoed for Release: 3:00 p.m. CT, Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Media Advisory: To contact Aron J. Hall, D.V.M., M.S.P.H., call Gail Hayes at 770-488-4902. To contact editorial co-author A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D., call Bonnie Catone at 215-399-0980.
UNINTENTIONAL OVERDOSE DEATHS ASSOCIATED WITH NONMEDICAL USE OF PRESCRIPTION PAIN RELIEVERS
CHICAGO—An examination of unintentional overdose deaths in West Virginia, a state that has experienced one of the highest increases in the rate of drug overdose deaths, finds that the majority of these were associated with the nonmedical use and diversion of pharmaceuticals, primarily pain relievers, according to a study in the December 10 issue of JAMA.
In 1997, two expert panels in the United States introduced clinical guidelines for management of chronic pain, including encouraging expanded use of opioid pain medications after careful patient evaluation and counseling when other treatments are inadequate. In the 10 years since the guidelines were first published, per capita retail purchases of the pain relievers methadone, hydrocodone, and oxycodone in the United States increased dramatically, according to background information in the article. Along with the increase in legitimate sales of opioids, rates of emergency department visits and deaths attributable to opioid analgesic overdoses have also increased.
Aron J. Hall, D.V.M., M.S.P.H., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and colleagues conducted a study to determine the risk characteristics and other factors associated with persons dying of unintentional pharmaceutical overdose in West Virginia in 2006. During 1999-2004, West Virginia experienced the nation's most substantial increase (550 percent) in death from unintentional poisoning. The researchers used data from medical examiner, prescription drug monitoring program, and opiate treatment program records.
Of 295 persons who died (decedents), 198 (67.1 percent) were men and 271 (91.9 percent) were age 18 through 54 years. Among all decedents, 63.1 percent had used pharmaceuticals that contributed to their death without documented prescriptions (i.e., diversion), and 21.4 percent had 5 or more clinicians prescribe them controlled substances in the year prior to death (i.e., doctor shopping). Women were significantly more likely to have evidence of doctor shopping than men (30.9 percent vs. 16.7 percent). Prevalence of diversion was greatest among the group age 18 through 24 years. Relative to all other age groups, the group age 35 through 44 years was associated with a significantly greater rate of doctor shopping (30.7 percent vs. 18.2 percent). Of the 295 persons who died, 94.6 percent had at least 1 indicator of substance abuse.
Compared with deaths involving prescribed pharmaceuticals, deaths involving diversion were associated with history of substance abuse, nonmedical route of pharmaceutical administration, and a contributory illicit drug. In contrast, decedents with evidence of doctor shopping were significantly more likely to have had a previous overdose and significantly less likely to have used contributory alcohol compared with decedents who had fewer than 5 clinicians prescribe them controlled substances in the year prior to death.
Multiple contributory substances were implicated in 234 deaths (79.3 percent). Opioid analgesics were the most prevalent class of drugs, contributing to 93.2 percent of deaths; of these, only 44.4 percent included evidence of prescription documentation for all of the contributory opioids. The most common drug identified was methadone, which was involved in 40 percent of all deaths. The percentage of decedents with valid prescriptions for methadone was lower than the percentage of those with valid prescriptions for hydrocodone or oxycodone.
"Clinicians have a critical role to play in preventing the diversion of prescription drugs. Clinicians and pharmacists need to counsel patients who are prescribed opioids not only about the risk of overdose to themselves but also about the risk to others with whom they might share their medication. In addition, clinicians should follow recent published guidelines for the management of chronic pain and refer patients as needed to pain management specialists. Clinicians should also make use of state prescription drug monitoring programs to determine whether their patients are getting scheduled drugs from other clinicians. Clinicians can now obtain such information about their patients from prescription drug monitoring programs in most states," the authors write.
(JAMA. 2008;300[22]:2613-2620. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
EDITORIAL: PRESCRIPTION OPIOIDS, OVERDOSE DEATHS, AND PHYSICIAN RESPONSIBILITY
In an accompanying editorial, A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D., of the Treatment Research Institute, and Barbara Turner, M.D., Ms.Ed., of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, write that there are steps physicians can take to help reduce the likelihood of prescription diversion.
"When deciding whether to prescribe an opioid, physicians should ask patients about their prior and current histories of alcohol and other drug use. Patients with histories of substance use, mental health problems, or both should receive special attention and co-management from pain management specialists when possible. Treatment of mental health disorders should be considered part of successful pain management."
"Physicians also should consider an opioid treatment agreement (contract) with the patient stipulating the frequency of obtaining medications, timely refills but no early replacements for lost prescriptions, safe storage, no sharing, single-source prescribing, monitoring through urine screens, and adherence to monitoring visits. The agreement should be presented as a way of simultaneously protecting the patient from adverse events and promoting a collaborative, responsible relationship."
(JAMA. 2008;300[22]:2672-2673. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
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Embargoed for Release: 3:00 p.m. CT, Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Media Advisory: To contact Kevin G. Volpp, M.D., Ph.D., call Marc Kaplan at 215-349-5660.
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES APPEAR EFFECTIVE FOR SHORT-TERM WEIGHT LOSS
CHICAGO—A preliminary study suggests that economic incentives appear to be effective for achieving short-term weight loss, according to a report in the December 10 issue of JAMA.
"In 2004, 71 percent of U.S. adults were overweight or obese according to standard definitions, and at present obesity falls just behind smoking as a preventable cause of premature death," the authors provide as background information. "Although many variables contribute to the increase in obesity prevalence in the United States, behavioral economics has identified several patterns of behavior that help explain why people engage in self-destructive behavior, including the tendency to put disproportionate emphasis on immediate gratifications, such as the pleasure of eating, relative to the much smaller emphasis put on delayed benefits, such as enjoying good health." The author suggest "new strategies are needed to help reduce the rate of obesity in the U.S. population."
Kevin G. Volpp, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Wharton School, VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Philadelphia, and colleagues, designed two incentive-based approaches for losing weight. One was a lottery-based group in which the participants played a lottery and received the earnings if they achieved or lost more than the target weight and the other was a deposit contract condition in which the participants invested their own money, which they lost if they failed to achieve weight goals. Fifty-seven participants were randomly assigned to participate in either a weight-monitoring program involving monthly weigh-ins, or the same program with one of the two financial incentive plans (deposit contract or lottery). All participants had a goal weight loss of 16-pounds over 16 weeks.
"The incentive groups lost significantly more weight than the control group (mean [average] 3.9 pounds)," the authors report. "Compared with the control group, the lottery group lost a mean of 13.1 pounds and the deposit contract group lost a mean of 14.0 pounds. About half of those in both incentive groups met the 16-pound target weight loss: 47.4 percent in the deposit contract group and 52.6 percent in the lottery group, whereas 10.5 percent in the control group met the 16-pound target." As for the incentives: "Over the course of the 16-week study, the average amount of money earned in weight loss incentives was $378.49 in the deposit contract condition and $272.80 in the lottery condition." The authors note that the study participants in both of the incentive groups gained weight between the end of the weight loss incentive intervention and the end of 7 months, but still weighed less at 7 months than they did at the start of the study.
"In conclusion, incentive approaches based on behavioral economic concepts appear to be highly effective in inducing initial weight loss. However, this weight loss was not fully sustained and further work is needed to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these approaches in achieving sustained weight loss," the authors write.
(JAMA. 2008;300[22]:2631-2637. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
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Embargoed for Release: 3:00 p.m. CT, Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Media Advisory: To contact corresponding author Martin R. Tramer, M.D., D.Phil., email martin.tramer@hcuge.ch.
USE OF STEROID MEDICATION TO REDUCE NAUSEA AND VOMITING FOLLOWING TONSILLECTOMIES ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF POST-OPERATIVE BLEEDING IN CHILDREN
CHICAGO—Use of the steroid medication dexamethasone is effective in reducing nausea and vomiting after tonsillectomies for children, but also is associated with an increased risk of postoperative bleeding, according to a study in the December 10 issue of JAMA.
Tonsillectomy is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures in children, with about 186,000 procedures performed on an outpatient basis every year in the U.S. Common complications include postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and the drug dexamethasone is widely used and recommended to prevent these complications. However, the effective dosing for prevention of PONV symptoms remains unclear, as are dexamethasone's adverse effects, according to background information in the article.
Christoph Czarnetzki, M.D., M.B.A., of the University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, and colleagues conducted a study to determine at what doses dexamethasone reduces the risk of PONV at 24 hours after tonsillectomy. The trial included 215 children undergoing elective tonsillectomy at a hospital in Switzerland from February 2005 to December 2007. Children were randomly assigned to receive dexamethasone (0.05, 0.15, or 0.5 mg/kg) or placebo intravenously after the start of anesthesia. Acetaminophen-codeine and ibuprofen were given as postoperative pain relief. Follow-up continued until the 10th postoperative day.
Within 24 hours after surgery, at least 1 PONV episode had occurred in 44 percent of children who received placebo; 38 percent of children who received dexamethasone, 0.05 mg/kg; 24 percent of children who received dexamethasone, 0.15 mg/kg; and 12 percent of children who received dexamethasone, 0.5 mg/kg. There were 26 postoperative bleeding episodes in 22 children, with bleeding occurring in 4 percent of children who received placebo; 11 percent who received dexamethasone, 0.05 mg/kg; 4 percent who received dexamethasone, 0.15 mg/kg; and 24 percent who received dexamethasone, 0.5 mg/kg.
The largest dose of dexamethasone was associated with a nearly 7 times higher risk of bleeding. Eight children needed emergency re-operation because of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage; they had all received dexamethasone. The authors note that the association between dexamethasone and increased risk of bleeding was unexpected. The trial was stopped early for safety reasons.
"In summary, in children undergoing tonsillectomy, dexamethasone has a significant and dose-dependent antiemetic [prevents or alleviates nausea and vomiting] effect and decreases the need for rescue analgesia with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs]. However, it cannot be excluded that dexamethasone, possibly through inhibition of wound healing, increases the risk of postoperative bleeding in this specific setting. Randomized trials that are specifically designed to confirm or refute our findings are needed, although it may be difficult to perform such trials in children. Future trials should involve several centers to improve the applicability of the results. In the meantime, and even though dexamethasone is a potent antiemetic drug, it may be prudent to avoid it in children undergoing tonsillectomy," the authors write.
(JAMA. 2008;300[22]:2621-2630. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
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JAMA REPORTS
VIDEO:
Windows Media |
Quicktime
STUDY FINDS MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO DIE FROM UNINTENTIONAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG OVERDOSE OBTAINED DRUGS ILLEGALLY
INTRO:
The number of unintentional overdose deaths from non-medical use of prescription drugs has risen dramatically in the U.S. Now, a new study looks at how Americans are obtaining these drugs and why one state in particular is seeing the largest increase in overdose deaths. Alissa Krinsky explains in this week's JAMA Report.
VIDEO:
B-ROLL
Prescription drug tablets
AUDIO:
THEY’RE PRESCRIPTION NARCOTICS YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD OF.
VIDEO:
SOT/FULL
Super @ :05
Aron Hall, D.V.M, M.S.P.H.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Runs :07
AUDIO:
"Some common brand names for these drugs include vicodin, percocet, as well as methadone or methadose."
VIDEO:
B-ROLL
Ambulance with siren coming down street.
AUDIO:
PAINKILLERS, OFTEN AT THE ROOT OF UNINTENTIONAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS. THE NUMBER OF THESE DEATHS HAS RISEN DRAMATICALLY IN THE U.S. DOCTORS ARON (Air’-un) HALL AND LEONARD POULOZZI (Puh-lah’-zee) OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION - ALONG WITH COLLEAGUES –STUDIED THE TREND BY FOCUSING ON ONE PARTICULAR STATE: WEST VIRGINIA.
VIDEO:
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Super @ :31
Leonard Paulozzi, M.D., M.P.H.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Runs :09
AUDIO:
"We picked West Virginia because it had some of the highest rates of prescription drug overdose in the country and it has seen a recent dramatic increase in those rates."
VIDEO:
B-ROLL
GXF/JAMA COVER
GFX/
Accidental Prescription Drug Overdoses
- 295 West Virginians
- 2006
- Men, 18-54
- From State’s Poorest Counties
- Past History of Substance Abuse
B-ROLL
Doctors walking
AUDIO:
THE STUDY APPEARS THIS WEEK IN JAMA, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. IT LOOKED AT THE ACCIDENTAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS OF 295 WEST VIRGINIANS IN 2006...FINDING THE HIGHEST RATES AMONG MEN...AGES EIGHTEEN TO FIFTY-FOUR...LIVING IN THE STATE’S POOREST COUNTIES...MANY WITH A HISTORY OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE. THE STUDY HAD TWO OTHER NOTEWORTHY FINDINGS
VIDEO:
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Aron Hall, D.V.M, M.S.P.H.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Runs :09
AUDIO:
"In our study we found that a majority of people who overdosed on prescription drugs did not have prescriptions for the drugs that killed them."
VIDEO:
B-ROLL
Box of prescription tablets
AUDIO:
NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OBTAINED DRUGS WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION. STILL OTHERS GOT DRUGS THROUGH WHAT’S CALLED "DOCTOR-SHOPPING."
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Leonard Paulozzi, M.D., M.P.H.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Runs :06
AUDIO:
"They had gone to multiple physicians - five or more in the past year - trying to get as many prescriptions for the drugs as they could."
VIDEO:
B-ROLL
Emergency room sign & door closing
AUDIO:
AND SO IT’S CRITICAL TO TRY AND PREVENT THE ILLEGAL, NON-MEDICAL USE OF PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS.
VIDEO:
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Aron Hall, D.V.M, M.S.P.H.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Runs :14
AUDIO:
"Our study emphasizes the importance of clinicians and pharmacists counseling their patients. Not only about the risks of overdose to themselves, but the potential risk of overdose to other individuals with which they might share their medication."
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Leonard Paulozzi, M.D., M.P.H.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Runs :10
AUDIO:
"And use state drug monitoring programs where available to see whether their patients are getting controlled substances from other providers."
VIDEO:
B-ROLL
Boxes of prescription tablets
AUDIO:
PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS ARE POWERFUL DRUGS THAT CAN BE USEFUL – BUT ALSO DANGEROUS. AWARENESS CAN SAVE LIVES. ALISSA KRINSKY, THE JAMA REPORT.
TAG:
The study is the first to link medical examiner records with the prescription records of the deceased. For more information about this study you can log on to www.jama.com.
