CDC sees possible link between opioids and horrific birth defect

https://komonews.com/news/healthworks/cdc-sees-possible-link-between-opioids-and-horrific-birth-defect

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Thursday, January 17th 2019

Health officials are looking into a possible link between prescription opioids and a horrific birth defect.

Babies born with the defect have their intestines hanging outside the stomach, due to a hole in the abdominal wall. Surgery is often needed to fix it.

Roughly 1,800 such cases are seen in the U.S. each year, but the number has been rising.

A study released Thursday noted cases were 60 percent more common in counties that had highest opioid prescription rates.

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