Technology FTW

HOT TOPIC

An infectious disease surveillance system created by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and used at a university hospital was successfully able to identify cases of a drug-resistant infection spread by eye drops months before national public health officials announced the outbreak.

The hospital-based program, called Enhanced Detection System for Healthcare-Associated Transmission (EDS-HAT), identified two cases of a drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in October 2022, before the CDC issued a warning in February 2023. The system compares the genetic sequences of patient samples, allowing scientists in Pittsburgh to see the unique DNA “fingerprints” of pathogens in a sample from a patient with an infection. When this genetic code from two different patients is very similar, it means either one patient somehow transmitted the disease to the other, or they both got it from the same external source, indicating a potential outbreak. 

The two cases of drug-resistant infection detected using EDS-HAT indicated a potential outbreak, prompting the hospital infection department to step in, but no commonality could be found between the patients. The patients also hadn’t interacted with each other, didn’t use the same clinicians, didn’t stay in the same examination rooms, and hadn’t used the same standard hospital equipment.

When the CDC shared the genetic code from contaminated eye drops, both cases were found to be a part of the newly announced artificial tears-linked outbreak. Through further research, the Pittsburgh researchers were able to take all available sequences of P. aeruginosa that had been shared publicly and determine that the drops were likely contaminated in an overseas manufacturing facility in late 2021 or early 2022. (Read more here.)

My Two Cents

Technology is wild. The idea that these researchers could find this connection between two seemingly random patients with random infections and tie it to the same overseas artificial tear manufacturing facility is beyond impressive. Even more amazing, we still can’t figure out how to get shady online optical and contact lens companies to verify a contact lens prescription properly!

OUTSIDE THE LANE

Nothing Easy Comes Without a Cost

A new study has found that patients taking the popular weight loss medications Wegovy, Ozempic, Victoza, and Saxenda may be at higher risk for serious digestive problems such as stomach paralysis, pancreatitis, and bowel obstruction.

It is important to note that the study found the risk of these events happening to patients to be extremely rare, with about 1% of patients taking Ozempic being diagnosed with stomach paralysis. However, with tens of millions of patients around the globe now taking these medications, this small percentage can still add up to hundreds of thousands of new cases. “When you have millions of people using these drugs, you know, a 1% risk still translates to many people who may experience these events,” said lead study author and epidemiologist Mahyar Etminan, PharmD, MSc.

The study was conducted by Dr. Etminan and his team at the University of British Columbia. Data were obtained from a random sample of more than 16 million insurance claims from a large prescription drug database that covers approximately 93% of all outpatient prescriptions in the United States between 2006 and 2020. The researchers looked for patients who were prescribed two injected drugs—semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) and liraglutide (Victoza)—and who were not also diagnosed with diabetes or taking any other drug to control their blood sugar. (Read more here.)

My Two Cents

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, right? Here in southern Louisiana, it seems everyone is on one of these weight loss medications, with many showing extremely impressive results. Fortunately, these patients have healthy eyes and taking these drugs for weight loss isn’t causing any ocular adverse effects. The study profiled in this article is impressive, and I encourage each of you to read it in its entirety, as it offers a wealth of information!

CAN YOU RELATE

We recently hosted members of the eye care industry at our dry eye center. At first, I was hesitant about having anyone shadow me in our hectic clinic and interact with my patients. Admittedly, I was concerned my patients would see as me selling out to “big pharma.” The trust they have in me and my image to them is critical, and I would be crushed if anything tarnished that. However, upon recommendation from other doctors in the practice, I let a few of them shadow me.

To say that it was a wonderful experience would be a massive understatement. I explained to my patients that, “Ms. Rep is here to observe our clinic today and to see the ground floor of the dry eye world. This experience will highlight to her company what is needed in the dry eye space and what we can do to help patients in their everyday lives.” Once they understood the reason behind having the “outsiders” present, many of my patients kept the representatives in the room after I left to let them know their desires and where they saw the faults in the current dry eye treatment paradigm. These patients felt heard by someone other than their doctor, and the industry partners gained valuable insights into the patient base to whom they are attempting to create and market products.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up.”

— Vince Lombardi, American football coach