News|Articles|September 5, 2023

Doctors left ‘dinner plate sized tool’ in woman after C-section; False claim that covid vaccines killed 676,000; Touch-induced Fentanyl overdose impossible - Morning Medical Update

Author(s)Logan Lutton

The top news stories in primary care today.

Doctors left ‘dinner-plate-sized tool’ in woman after C-section

After undergoing a C-section in 2020, a New Zealand woman spent 18 months with an Alexis wound retractor in her abdomen. According to a news release, ‘on Monday New Zealand’s health and disability commissioner ruled that the medical group that performed the C-section reached the country’s code of patient rights.’ The medical group has since apologized to the patient.

False claim that covid vaccines killed 676,000

Anti-vaccine activist Steve Kirsch shared vaccine misinformation on Facebook related to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a federal data base. The post read “the COVID vaccines are killing an estimated 1 person per 1,000 doses (676,000 dead Americans).” VAERS data includes unverified reports and cannot be used to determine vaccine outcomes.

Touch-induced fentanyl overdose impossible

In light of ongoing claims that emergency personnel are overdosing by touching fentanyl, toxicology experts say it is impossible. “It’s really hard to get fentanyl into your body unless you directly snort it into your nose, directly drink it or inject it with a needle,” Robert Valuck, executive director of the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention at the University of Colorado, said in an interview. The symptoms people report after superficial contact are dizziness and increased heart rate, neither of which are consistent with actual overdose.


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