Latest news with #painkillers
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Call for guidelines to be tightened after newborn death
A coroner has called for guidelines to be tightened following the death of a newborn baby after her mother was left unattended, despite being in a coma due to a reaction to painkillers. Liliwen Iris Thomas died on 10 October 2022, 20 hours after she was born at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. An inquest that concluded earlier this month heard there was a "failure to take adequate care" of mother Emily Brazier, who was not checked for an hour after being given a cocktail of painkillers. The coroner, Rachel Knight, has now published a Prevention of Future Deaths Report calling on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to address issues raised in the inquest. Baby died after unattended mum gave birth in coma NHS staff want 'dehumanising' corridor care to end The coroner said she believed the current NICE guidelines on induction of labour and childbirth do not deal explicitly with analgesia levels and supervision. The Chief Executive of NICE must respond to the report by 3 September. The inquest had heard how Ms Brazier was given 100mg of pethidine, 60mg of codeine and repeatedly used gas and air, but a midwife failed to spot she was in active labour meaning she should have been moved to one-to-one care. The ward was said to be exceptionally busy at the time. Ms Brazier was not checked at all between 01:15 and 02:14 when a "faint cry for help was heard" and midwives rushed to her. Baby Liliwen was found in a "poor condition" and died 20 hours later, with the cause of death given as asphyxia or a lack of oxygen during birth. A report by a medical expert said it was likely Ms Brazier suffered an "exaggerated pharmacological response resulting in a coma, during which time she delivered the baby unattended and was unable to summon help". The Head of Midwifery at Cardiff and Vale health board Abigail Holmes has previously apologised to the family and said that "profound changes" had been made following Liliwen's death. The coroner said the health board has taken significant steps to significantly restrict the use of analgesia during induction and labour, including reductions of prescribed doses, allowing only limited access to analgesia on the wards. There is also increased levels of supervision of mothers under analgesia. A copy of the Prevention of Future Deaths report has also been sent to the family and to the chief executive of the Welsh NHS. The coroner suggested the conclusions could be sent to other health boards around Wales. Too few consequences for NHS underperformance - Miles Couple feel vindicated by critical maternity care report Dad demands changes over maternity service failures
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Health
- Bloomberg
House Bill Seeks to Help Veterans Access Alternatives to Opioids
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced legislation to help veterans access alternatives to opioids, part of a broader push to promote safer painkillers and reduce overdose deaths. The Nopain for Veterans Act would require the US Department of Veterans Affairs to include non-opioid pain drugs on its formulary, making it easier for patients to access them. The bill has several sponsors, including Reps. Greg Landsman, a Democrat from Ohio, and Derrick Van Orden, a Republican from Wisconsin and former Navy Seal.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Footy star Jeremy Howe reveals he took so many drugs to overcome an injury that his wife wouldn't let him pick up their three-year-old son
Collingwood veteran Jeremy Howe has opened up on the shocking aftermath of a devastating injury that left him taking so much medication he couldn't pick up his son. Howe suffered three separate breaks in his arm after he landed awkwardly during the Pies' round-one clash with Geelong in 2023, the pain of which he described as 'like a blowtorch to my arm'. And that was just the start of his problems. Surgery on the injury did not go according to plan and he had to return to hospital to treat an infection in the same arm, ultimately sidelining him for four months. 'It was the pills and the painkillers that got me the most,' Howe told Unfiltered with Hamish McLachlan. 'I've taken anti–inflams and I've taken pain relief to get through games flat-out – it's probably not ideal but it's generally what I've done. 'Taking so many antibiotics, painkillers, all at the same time, for a large period of time, 11 days in a row. 'I was in such a haze I had no emotion. I didn't know what I was doing. (My wife) Kahlia would bring (our son) Zander in and I couldn't pick him up, I wasn't allowed to touch him. 'I questioned everything - is this really worth this, is this what I want to be at 32? I'm not even capable of picking my son up. 'If I can't be a husband and I can't be a dad, footy just gets parked and that's genuinely when I thought I was going to scrap it.' Howe, who has likened the trauma from his brutal arm injury to that of a car accident, says he still has nerve damage. 'I've got no feeling in my thumb,' he said. 'I don't know when that will come back.' Howe was kept on 'about a dozen' antibiotics for a long while after his accident so that the infection didn't return, and that created its own problems. 'I was taking so many antibiotics and the strength of what they were, my gut started eroding from the inside and ended up having to go back into hospital and getting more pills trying to fight what the other antibiotics are doing while I'm still playing,' he said. 'I was questioning, is this really worth doing this? I don't want to be 40 and all of a sudden my intestines are gone. Cooked. 'I managed to wean myself off the antibiotics... It was either stop playing and get the metal out or scrap the antibiotics and pray the infection never came back. 'So we just stopped the antibiotics... and it (the infection) never came back. 'I got off them and it instantly made me feel better. And I managed to win a flag at the end of the year.' In March 2025, the footy star and his wife welcomed their second child into the world just 24 hours before the Magpies' season opener against GWS. The delighted couple shared the news that three–year–old son Zander now has a baby brother named Saxon.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Call for guidelines to be tightened after newborn death
A coroner has called for guidelines to be tightened following the death of a newborn baby after her mother was left unattended, despite being in a coma due to a reaction to Iris Thomas died on 10 October 2022, 20 hours after she was born at the University Hospital of Wales in inquest that concluded earlier this month heard there was a "failure to take adequate care" of mother Emily Brazier, who was not checked for an hour after being given a cocktail of coroner, Rachel Knight, has now published a Prevention of Future Deaths Report calling on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to address issues raised in the inquest. The coroner said she believed the current NICE guidelines on induction of labour and childbirth do not deal explicitly with analgesia levels and Chief Executive of NICE must respond to the report by 3 inquest had heard how Ms Brazier was given 100mg of pethidine, 60mg of codeine and repeatedly used gas and air, but a midwife failed to spot she was in active labour meaning she should have been moved to one-to-one ward was said to be exceptionally busy at the Brazier was not checked at all between 01:15 and 02:14 when a "faint cry for help was heard" and midwives rushed to Liliwen was found in a "poor condition" and died 20 hours later, with the cause of death given as asphyxia or a lack of oxygen during birth.A report by a medical expert said it was likely Ms Brazier suffered an "exaggerated pharmacological response resulting in a coma, during which time she delivered the baby unattended and was unable to summon help".The Head of Midwifery at Cardiff and Vale health board Abigail Holmes has previously apologised to the family and said that "profound changes" had been made following Liliwen's coroner said the health board has taken significant steps to significantly restrict the use of analgesia during induction and labour, including reductions of prescribed doses, allowing only limited access to analgesia on the is also increased levels of supervision of mothers under analgesia.A copy of the Prevention of Future Deaths report has also been sent to the family and to the chief executive of the Welsh coroner suggested the conclusions could be sent to other health boards around Wales.
South China Morning Post
14-07-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Scientists use bacteria to turn plastic waste into medicine
Scientists have discovered a way to turn plastic waste into painkillers using bacteria. One of the most widely used medicines worldwide is paracetamol. It is made from fossil fuel by-products, often through cheap and polluting methods. A team of British researchers wanted to reduce plastic waste and climate change. They looked at the bacteria which is usually known for making people sick if they eat contaminated food. First, the chemists used a molecule derived from PET plastic – which is used in bottles and many other plastic products – to spark a chemical reaction in a strain of This created a new molecule, according to the study in Nature Chemistry. The chemists were able to transform their molecule into paracetamol. This work shows that PET plastic can be transformed into valuable new products, the study's lead, Stephen Wallace, said.
