Results: Of 217,755 persons newly reported, 107,209 (49.2%) were HCV antibody positive only, and 110,546 (50.8%) were reported with a positive HCV RNA result that confirmed current HCV infection. In both groups, persons were most likely to have been born during 1945–1965 (58.5% of those who were HCV antibody positive only; 67.2% of those who were HCV RNA positive). Among all persons newly reported for whom death data were available, 6,734 (3.4%) were known to have died; deaths were most likely among persons aged 50–59 years. In 2011, across all sites, the annual rate of persons newly reported with HCV infection (positive HCV antibody only and HCV RNA positive) was 84.7 per 100,000 population.
Hepatitis C
Hep C Drug Linked to Fatal Skin Reactions
The oral hepatitis C drug telaprevir (Incivek) will now carry a boxed warning about potentially fatal skin reactions in the wake of multiple deaths, its manufacturer said Wednesday.
via Hep C Drug Linked to Fatal Skin Reactions.
Oops.
CDC Recommends Hepatitis C Testing For All Boomers
One reason so many boomers are infected is that more than a few used injected drugs much earlier in their lives, says Dr. John Ward, who runs the CDC’s viral hepatitis division.
CDC Recommends Hepatitis C Testing For All Boomers : Shots – Health Blog : NPR.
Link to the CDC report below:
Spider Angioma — NEJM Images in Clinical Medicine
Compression of the central arteriole caused the entire lesion to blanch, and it quickly refilled once the compression was released This pattern of blanching and refilling characterizes spider angiomas, which are suggestive of liver disease.
For the underwriter who always wondered what one of these things looks like. For the geekiest underwriters, click on and take a look at the video. And for the underwriter who thinks she should have a Medical Doctor, the following is from the NEJM Resident E-Bulletin of 02.23.12.
Clinical Pearls
- What is the differential diagnosis of a subacute confusional state in a patient with liver disease?
The differential diagnosis includes five major syndromes: hepatic encephalopathy, Wernicke’s encephalopathy, alcohol withdrawal, occult seizures, and infection. Hepatic encephalopathy refers to an alternation in cognitive function that is secondary to a metabolic process caused by liver failure. Wernicke’s encephalopathy refers to the triad of gait ataxia, ophthalmoplegia and confusion caused by thiamine deficiency, commonly seen in chronic alcoholics. Alcohol withdrawal, occult seizures, and underlying infection may also cause a subacute confusional state in a patient with chronic liver disease.
Hepatitis C Now Bigger Killer than HIV
Nearly two days, no aftershocks, no earthquakes. Time to get back to underwriting!
A CDC review of death certificate data from 1999 through 2007 found that mortality due to hepatitis C virus HCV has risen dramatically, overtaking deaths due to HIV in 2006.
lifeunderwriter.net 