- Medical Groups Warn About Unnecessary Tests and Treatments
- New Silicone-Gel Breast Implant Approved by FDA
- Robin Roberts Returns to 'Good Morning America'
- Special K Red Berries Cereal Recalled Due to Risk of Glass Fragments
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Medical Groups Warn About Unnecessary Tests and Treatments
Dozens of types of tests and treatments are too often recommended by doctors when patients don't need them, according to a warning issued Thursday by a coalition of leading medical groups in the United States.
This unnecessary care wastes time and money and sometimes causes harm to patients, according to the organizations that represent more than 350,000 doctors, the Associated Press reported.
The Choosing Wisely Coalition said patients need to ask their doctors, "Do I really need that?". The coalition was formed by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation.
Too many people "think that more is better, that more treatment, more testing somehow results in better health care," Dr. Glen Stream, former president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, told the AP. "That really is not true."
The academy contributed to this year's list of 90 examples of potentially needless care, which adds to 45 examples included on last year's list. Among the newly-added warnings:
- Don't screen for a clogged neck artery in healthy people with no stroke signs. It could lead to risky surgery for a blockage that would cause no harm.
- Don't try feeding tubes in people with advanced dementia. Helping them eat is a better approach.
- Don't routinely give heartburn medicine to infants with reflux. This treatment hasn't been proven effective in babies and could cause side effects.
- Don't prescribe opioid painkillers for migraines except as a last resort. Opioids can carry the risk of addiction and can actually worsen migraines. Instead, use more migraine-specific drugs.
- Don't induce labor if a pregnant woman misses her due date and both mother and baby are doing fine.
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New Silicone-Gel Breast Implant Approved by FDA
A new silicone-gel breast implant for women 22 years and older has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The agency said that Allergan's Natrelle 410 implant contains silicone gel that is firmer than the company's older Natrelle models, the Associated Press reported.
The approval was based on data from 941 women collected over seven years. Allergan's studies did not compare the safety of the new implant with that of the older models.
"The data we reviewed showed a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness," said Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, the FDA's medical device director, the AP reported. "We will be looking at the results from post-approval studies that will focus on their long-term safety and effectiveness."
Silicone-gel implants were banned by the FDA in 1992 due to fears they could cause illnesses such as cancer and lupus. But the ban was lifted in 2006 after research ruled out most of the health concerns.
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Robin Roberts Returns to 'Good Morning America'
Five months after receiving a bone marrow transplant, Robin Roberts returned to ABC's "Good Morning America" Wednesday.
Roberts needed the transplant due to myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood and bone marrow disease. She began experiencing symptoms about a year ago and last appeared on TV's top-rated morning show in August, the Associated Press reported.
"I have been waiting 174 days to say this. Good morning, America," Roberts said on the show Wednesday.
She looked thin but had a big smile and didn't bother to cover her hair loss with a wig. After the show, Roberts said she wasn't tired and was working on adrenaline, the AP reported.
However, the bright studio lights affected her eyesight and she said she started having trouble seeing the teleprompters midway through the show. Bottles of hand sanitizer were placed nearby for people who come into regular contact with Roberts, whose immune system requires time to build back up.
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