Our most intriguing medical facts of 2002

At American Medical News we encounter a number of fascinating pieces of information every week. Here is a look back at the year just past, as reflected in our own selection of the most interesting or noteworthy fact from each issue. Click for the article.

• 80% of patients with uncomplicated infections recover within a week without antibiotics.    (Dec. 23/30)
• In 19th century medicine, cataracts were not removed, just pushed down.    (Dec. 16)
• 70% to 86% of people want to die at home, yet only 25% do.    (Dec. 9)
• Children vaccinated for smallpox would have to stay out of school or day care for the next 30 days.    (Dec. 2)
• After a decade of decline, syphilis rates increased in 2001.    (Nov. 25)
• A family physician discovered his Web site had links for sex toys.    (Nov. 18)
• A drug approved for treatment of narcolepsy is attracting interest from sleepy type A's.    (Nov. 11)
• Hearing loss is the No. 1 disability among the elderly.    (Nov. 4)
• 92.7 million doses of flu vaccine will be available this season, 5.7 million more than in 2001.    (Oct. 28)
• 85% of donor lungs are rejected for transplant.    (Oct. 21)
• Acetaminophen misuse is linked to 100 deaths and 2,000 hospitalizations annually.    (Oct. 14)
• A single CT scan gives roughly as much radiation as 100 x-rays.    (Oct. 7)
• 20 million people miss work each year due to pain, costing business some $50 billion in replacement labor.    (Sept. 23/30)
• Some physicians are trying liposuction to manage diabetes.    (Sept. 16)
• Urban family doctors earned only $2,100 more than rural counterparts in 1999.    (Sept. 9)
• Grateful patients raised $40,000 to pay their oncologist's liability premium.    (Sept. 2)
• 50% of cardiothoracic surgeons now practicing will retire by 2010.    (Aug. 26)
• There are 474 brains in a Maryland tissue bank.    (Aug. 19)
• 20% of people with eating disorders will die as a result of the disease.    (Aug. 12)
• Thong underwear may cause recurrent vaginal infections.    (Aug. 5)
• Patients are being targeted for marketing campaigns based on their medical records.    (July 29)
• Abused women experience a 50% to 70% increase in health problems.    (July 22)
• 12 states are already in a liability crisis; 30 more are headed that way.    (July 8/15)
• Genetics plays the strongest role in people who live to 100.    (July 1)
• A quarter of parents miss children's doctor appointments because of work.    (June 24)
• 25% of consumers always verify Web health information.    (June 17)
• Medicare reimburses for telemedicine, but not for e-mail.    (June 10)
• 1 in 5 seniors takes analgesics regularly.    (June 3)
• Drug companies spend more than $12 billion a year marketing to doctors.    (May 27)
• 60,000 people will undergo weight loss surgery in the U.S. this year.    (May 20)
• Arizona's sanction rate against physicians is highest; the District of Columbia's lowest.    (May 13)
• Hemophilia A affects one in 5,000 men; hemophilia B affects about one in 20,000 men.    (May 6)
• 86% of Texas malpractice suits last year resulted in no award to the plaintiff.    (April 22/29)
• 70% of all U.S. surgeries in 2000 were outpatient.    (April 15)
• Almost half of HMO coverage denials going to external review are reversed.    (April 8)
• 4 out of 5 adult smokers began smoking before age 18.    (April 1)
• 87.7 million doses of flu vaccine were produced, but 10 million were not used.    (March 25)
• 50,000 units of blood donated after the Sept. 11 attacks had to be destroyed.    (March 18)
• 13% of internists failed on their first recertification attempt in 2000.    (March 11)
• 42 states expect Medicaid budget shortfalls this year.    (March 4)
• Uninsured women with breast cancer are more than twice as likely to die.    (Feb. 25)
• In 1999, 19% of doctor pay incentives were based on quality, 72% on productivity.    (Feb. 18)
• Diabetes increased 49% during the last decade.    (Feb. 11)
• Montana screens newborns for 3 disorders, Iowa for 36.    (Feb. 4)
• 1 in 4 Afghan children die before age 5.    (Jan. 28)
• Florida is logging more deaths from painkiller overdoses than from heroin.    (Jan. 21)
• Most physicians doing medical relief work abroad pay their own way.    (Jan. 14)
• Medicaid is the largest and fastest growing element of most state budgets.    (Jan. 7)

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