United Way’s Take on OC Health Issues; Mission Debuts Heart Scanner
The Food and Drug Administration recently cleared Beckman Coulter Inc., the Fullerton-based medical diagnostic company, to market a new test to detect the illicit drug ecstasy and other forms of amphetamines.
Hospitals and other laboratories are set to be the primary users of the test, a Beckman spokesman said. Beckman’s test is done on urine samples and uses its Synchron CX or LX chemistry systems. The procedure is one of the most sensitive available because it can detect 2.6 micrograms of ecstasy per millimeter of urine, and also can detect other forms of methamphetamine, according to the company.
Beckman’s new test can be used in a wide range of clinical settings, including emergency room toxicology, said Ron Berman, the company’s market manager for clinical chemistry and automation, in a release. Berman added it could be used in forensic testing, as well as for screening employees, athletes, prisoners and those undergoing drug rehabilitation.
Ecstasy’s clinical name is 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine. It also goes by the street names of E, X, XTC and Adam, and is most often used by teens and those in their 20s at dance clubs and all-night parties known as raves.
Studies have shown, however, that ecstasy has dangerous side effects. Those effects include hallucinations, confusion, agitation, seizures, hypotension, coma, brain damage and even death.
Still, studies have shown that ecstasy’s use has gone up in recent years. The federal Drug Abuse Warning Network reported that nationwide hospital emergency room mentions linked to the drug rose from 70 in 1993 to 2,850 in 1999.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reported that seizures of ecstasy tablets turned in to its labs jumped from 196 in 1993 to 216,300 for the first six months of 1999 the last period for which figures are available. The DEA classifies Ecstasy as a Schedule I controlled substance, which makes it subject to criminal penalties similar to those for cocaine, heroin and other abused drugs.
United Way on OC’s Health
Orange County’s United Way, Irvine, released the second phase of its community assessment report just over a week ago. The United Way is considered the county’s largest private funder of health and human services; its most recent campaign raised $25 million and funded more than 100 nonprofit agencies.
Among other things, the United Way found that more than 335,000 OC residents are uninsured. The charity also said there is a need for programs promoting healthy lifestyles,its survey showed that 90% of OC children aren’t eating five or more fruits and vegetables a day, and nearly 18% of the county’s residents smoke.
Additionally, the United Way’s study found that the population of adults 60 and older would increase 36% by 2010, necessitating increased services for people 75 and older.
Mission Introduces Scanner to OC
Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, Mission Viejo, recently began using a multi-row detection CT heart-scanning machine. Mission officials say the device is the first of its kind in Orange County and only the second operating in the U.S.
The device is used to detect heart calcifications. It allows physicians to capture a clear, three-dimensional image of the heart while it beats. The scan, which takes around 10 minutes to perform, reveals not only the presence of coronary plaque, but also its extent and severity.
Mission is touting the scanner as an accurate, precise and reliable way to identify people at risk for developing heart disease, even those who don’t have typical warning signs.
Bits and Pieces:
Larry Ainsworth, president and chief executive of St. Joseph Hospital-Orange, will discuss “Health Care vs. Managed Care: Hospital Challenges, Issues and Opportunities” at the Nov. 9 meeting of the Orange County Employee Benefit Council. Tickets are $25 for members and $35 for non-members. For information: (714) 573-8605 PacifiCare of California, Cypress, signed contracts with Calabasas-based PTPN for outpatient rehabilitation and Building Blocks Pediatric Home Health Services, Newport Beach, for pediatric home healthcare Micro Therapeutics Inc., Irvine, said Michel Mawad and Jacques Moret, two interventional neuroradiologists, presented results supporting its Onyx liquid embolic system at the Live Interventional Neuroradiology Conference held earlier this month in Houston. The physicians used Micro Therapeutics’ system in studies for treating brain aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations IntraLase Corp., Irvine, said its IntraLASIK vision correction procedure was the subject of presentations at the annual American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in Dallas TriZetto Group, Newport Beach, signed BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Inc. as its first HealthWeb/Facets system customer VitalCom Inc., Tustin, said it signed contracts with Valley Baptist Medical Center, a 588-bed hospital in Harlingen, Texas, and The Valley Hospital, a 427-bed facility in Ridgewood, N.J. The pacts are for VitalCom’s PatientNet wireless information network HeartSavers opened a cardiac, lung and full-body imaging center in Irvine. The facility uses an ultra-fast CT scanner from Imatron Inc. of San Francisco.
