As you can see, our cover story is on the advances made in technology surrounding the monitoring and treatment of diabetes. Unfortunately, the product we originally had on the cover—a Medtronic Paradigm insulin pump—had an adverse event report from the Food & Drug Administration after the manufacturer issued a safety notification to all users and distributors of the pump. Specifically, the problem lies in the pump’s tubing connectors. If insulin or other fluids come in contact with the inside of the tubing connector, it can temporarily block the vents that allow the pump to properly prime. This can result in too much or too little insulin being delivered, resulting in hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia, which can be severe and lead to serious illness, according to the FDA.
So far, no deaths have been linked to this malfunction, but there have been a few cases of users being hospitalized. Affected models were manufactured from October 2001 to June 2013 and distributed from December 2001 to June 2013.
Despite this recall, technology in the world of diabetes monitoring and care will continue to move forward. These items are highlighted in the cover story by Eric Seaborg that discusses breakthroughs in this quickly changing realm (p. 20). However, even though these new developments are changing the way patients are treated (and treating themselves in many cases), the article poses an interesting question: What if physicians and patients opt out?
In a recently published survey by Medscape’s Physician Lifestyle Report, 40% of endocrinologists suffer from job burnout. Maybe that’s not surprising considering the ever-growing number of hoops physicians of all stripes are expected to jump through. And with the implementation of the Aff ordable Care Act looming, more endocrinologists may succumb to ennui than ever before. What is surprising was that the survey showed that up to 26% of endocrinologists experience this feeling early in their careers, between the ages of 36 and 45. On page 24 Glenda Fauntleroy discusses this phenomenon as well as the reasons and possible solutions to conquer this feeling.
Anyone who made the trip to San Francisco for ENDO 2013 saw firsthand the voluminous amount of research that was presented. Associate editor Derek Bagley gives a brief overview of some of the data presented at the conference on page 34. From studies on diabetes and obesity to new findings on genetics and thyroid cancer, clinicians and researchers from all corners of the field of endocrinology gave some compelling presentations.
If you have any story ideas or topics you’d like to see covered in Endocrine News, don’t hesitate to drop me a line at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.
Mark A. Newman
Managing Editor, Endocrine News
Loading ...