Healio (3/8, Weldon) said, “Four children born with HIV who initiated ART within 48 hours of delivery later remained in treatment-free remission for over a year after ART was paused, researchers reported.” The data were presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.
HealthDay (3/8, Mundell ) reported that in the study, “four out of six newborns infected at birth with HIV went into long-term remission after prompt treatment with antiviral drugs.” All of the children “began receiving ART within 48 hours of delivery, in an effort to drive HIV into remission. When they reached the age of 5, doctors interrupted each child’s ART to see if their remission held without medication.”

Related Links:

— “Four children achieve treatment-free HIV remission for 1 year,”Rose Weldon, Healio, March 8, 2024

Healthcare Finance News (3/8, Lagasse ) reported, “At a rate of 72.3%, patients receiving opioid treatment through in-network insurance overwhelmingly stayed in treatment for at least 180 days, in comparison with those who were either out-of-network or uninsured and paying for treatment with cash, a new study finds.” Published in Health Affairs Scholar, the study found that “compared to cash-pay patients, those who could use in-network benefits had almost twice the retention rate for six months of treatment, a quality benchmark established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.” Additionally, “uninsured cash-pay patients had a 48.1% retention rate, which was higher than the 37% six-month retention rate of insured out-of-network cash-pay patients.”

Related Links:

— “Insurance coverage improves opioid use disorder treatment retention,”Jeff Lagasse, Healthcare Finance News, March 8, 2024

Psychiatric News (3/8) reported, “A meta-analysis…suggests that biperiden, mirtazapine, and vitamin B6 are the three most effective treatment options for” patients with “antipsychotic-induced akathisia.” Investigators analyzed “data from 15 randomized clinical trials testing potential pharmacotherapies for akathisia in people taking antipsychotics.” Altogether, “the combined data included 492 patients, 324 of whom received an active drug and 168 received placebo.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Mirtazapine and Vitamin B6 May Be Best Options for Antipsychotic-Induced Akathisia, Psychiatric News, March 8, 2024

Healthcare Finance News (3/8, Lagasse ) reported, “Through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Biden administration has earmarked nearly $50 million for HRSA’s Rural Opioid Treatment and Recovery Initiative.” The investment “will support establishing and expanding comprehensive substance use disorder treatment and recovery services in rural areas, including by increasing access to medications for opioid use disorder such as buprenorphine.”

Related Links:

— “Feds launch $50M rural opioid treatment initiative,”Jeff Lagasse, Healthcare Finance News, March 8, 2024

Healio (3/7, Welsh) reports, “Opioid and teratogenic medication prescriptions decreased and prescriptions for medications for diabetes and mental health conditions increased among pregnant women after 2010 in the U.S., researchers reported” in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. According to the study, “the most prescribed medications in MarketScan data were ondansetron (16.8%), amoxicillin (13.5%) and azithromycin (12.4%), and the most prescribed medications in MAX/TAF data were nitrofurantoin (22.2%), acetaminophen (21.3%) and ondansetron (19.5%).” Additionally, “the most prescribed medications in NHANES were levothyroxine (5%), sertraline (2.9%) and insulin (2.9%).”

Related Links:

— “Changes in prescription medication use by pregnant women after 2010 in US,”Erin T. Welsh, Healio, March 7, 2024