New England Journal of Medicine Article on Tennessee Outbreak Published Today

NASHVILLE – The New England Journal of Medicine this week will include an article on the outbreak of illnesses in Tennessee associated with contaminated methylprednisolone acetate. The piece was written by staff members of the Tennessee Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The process of researching, writing and publishing an article in the New England Journal of Medicine can take months, but due to the importance of sharing information about the outbreak quickly, this was completed in three weeks,” said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “The piece will be beneficial to clinicians who want and need more technical information to assist them with treating current patients infected by contaminated methylprednisolone. It should also be a valuable resource for future clinical work.”

The print version of the publication will be available later this week; the article is available now online at:  www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1212972.  

The mission of the Tennessee Department of Health is to protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. For more information about TDH services and programs, visit http://health.state.tn.us/.