Daily Archives: June 7, 2017 | LinksMedicus Free Medical News & Perspectives

This meta-analysis and the author’s conclusions do not favor antibiotics alone for the treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis, contradiction the results of other recent meta-analysis, as well as a recent guideline on the subject, suggesting antibiotics might be an option in selected cases.

WHO updates Essential Medicines List

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:26h | UTC

News release: WHO updates Essential Medicines List with new advice on use of antibiotics, and adds medicines for hepatitis C, HIV, tuberculosis and cancer (free)

Report 1: The 2017 Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines (free PDF)

Report 2: WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (free PDF)

Report 3: WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (free PDF)

Commentaries: WHO creates controversial ‘reserve’ list of antibiotics for superbug threats – The Washington Post (free) AND Health officials set to release a list of drugs everyone on Earth should be able to access – STAT News (free) AND WHO’s New Essential Medicines List Includes a 40-Year First – Medscape (free registration required)

WHO Essential Medicines List is used by many countries to guide decisions regarding which medications should be available for their population.

Inflammatory bowel disease: Five things physicians and patients should question

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:19h | UTC

Inflammatory bowel disease: Five things physicians and patients should question – Choosing Wisely Canada (free)

The impact of the environment on children’s health – New WHO Reports

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:14h | UTC

The impact of the environment on children’s health – New WHO Reports

News release: The cost of a polluted environment: 1.7 million child deaths a year, says WHO – World Health Organization (free)

Report 1: Don’t pollute my future! The impact of the environment on children’s health – World Health Organization (free)

Report 2: Inheriting a sustainable world: Atlas on children’s health and the environment – World Health Organization (free)

Related links: WHO’s work on environmental health (free) AND 10 facts on children’s environmental health (free)

Current Tobacco Smoking and Desire to Quit Smoking Among Students Aged 13–15 Years

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:17h | UTC

Current Tobacco Smoking and Desire to Quit Smoking Among Students Aged 13–15 Years — Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 61 Countries, 2012–2015 – MMWR: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (free)

Commentaries: What’s The Rate Of Smoking In The 13- To 15-Year-Old Crowd? – NPR Goats and Soda (free)

Simplified diagnostic management of suspected pulmonary embolism

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:12h | UTC

Simplified diagnostic management of suspected pulmonary embolism (the YEARS study): a prospective, multicentre, cohort study – The Lancet(link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Simplified Diagnosis of Acute PE: The YEARS Study – American College of Cardiology, Latest in Cardiology (free) AND A Simple, Safe Approach to Decrease Use of CT for Pulmonary Embolism – Journal Watch (free)

Association Between Cirrhosis and Stroke

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:18h | UTC

Association Between Cirrhosis and Stroke in a Nationally Representative Cohort – JAMA Neurology (free)

Commentary: Cirrhosis Tied to Stroke Risk- Physician’s First Watch (free)

Patients with cirrhosis seem to have a higher risk of stroke, particularly hemorrhagic stroke.

#ASCO2017 – Small studies get big headlines

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:12h | UTC

#ASCO2017 – Small studies get big headlines at ASCO 2017 – HealthNewsReview (free)

“Claim – Biggest breakthrough in a decade”. “Reality – The trial included only 15 women; no survival outcomes measured” (RT @HealthNewsRevu see Tweet)

More people now die from NCDs than from causes like malaria and polio

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:10h | UTC

Small Steps Can Save Millions of Lives – Bloomberg (free) (RT @ghn_news see Tweet)

“More people now die from noncommunicable diseases than from causes like malaria and polio. Policy makers need to catch up”.

BSACI guideline for the diagnosis and management of peanut and tree nut allergy

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:20h | UTC

BSACI guideline for the diagnosis and management of peanut and tree nut allergy – British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (free)

Editorial: Nut allergy guideline (free)

Commentary: First ever single guidance published for investigating and managing nut allergy – EurekAlert (free)

See also related guidelines (U.S.) and commentaries recommending early introduction of peanuts to prevent allergies in our January 6 issue, see #1 and #2.

#ASCO2017 – Biosimilar May Be As Effective as Trastuzumab for Early Breast Cancer

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:13h | UTC

#ASCO2017 – CT-P6 compared with reference trastuzumab for HER2-positive breast cancer: a randomised, double-blind, active-controlled, phase 3 equivalence trial – The Lancet Oncology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Biosimilar May Be As Effective as Trastuzumab for Early Breast Cancer – Physician’s First Watch (free)

Data Sharing Statements for Clinical Trials

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:09h | UTC

Data Sharing Statements for Clinical Trials — A Requirement of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (free)

20 million starving to death

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:05h | UTC

20 million starving to death: inside the worst famine since World War II – VOX (free)

What is the best antidote for a jellyfish sting?

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:08h | UTC

Assessing the Efficacy of First-Aid Measures in Physalia sp. Envenomation, Using Solution- and Blood Agarose-Based Models – Toxins (free)

Commentary: What is the best antidote for a jellyfish sting? (Clue: it’s not urine) – The Guardian (free)

Vinegar seems to be the best treatment.

Prenatal antidepressant use and risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:07h | UTC

Prenatal antidepressant use and risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring: population based cohort study – The BMJ (free)

Editoral: The safety of antidepressants in pregnancy (free)

Commentary: Kids’ ADHD Risk May Be Linked to Mother’s Underlying Mental Health, Not Prenatal Antidepressant Use – Physician’s First Watch(free)

Growth and Rupture Risk of Small Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:11h | UTC

Growth and Rupture Risk of Small Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: A Systematic Review – Annals of Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Growth, rupture risk appear low for small intracranial aneurysms, review indicates – ACP Internist Weekly (free) AND How Frequently Do Small Brain Aneurysms Rupture? – MedPage Today (free registration required)

“The annualized rupture rate was 0% for aneurysms 3 mm or smaller, below 0.5% for aneurysms 5 mm or smaller, and below 1% for aneurysms 7 mm or smaller”

Why health IT is such a tragedy

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:02h | UTC

Why health IT is such a tragedy – Suneel Dhand, MD via KevinMD.com (free)

Prebiotic for Overweight or Obesity Children?

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:03h | UTC

Prebiotic Reduces Body Fat and Alters Intestinal Microbiota in Children With Overweight or Obesity (free PDF)

Commentary: Prebiotics reduce body fat in overweight children – American Gastroenterological Association, via EurekAlert (free)

Small randomized trial (42 patients) suggests prebiotics might be useful for overweight and obese children.

The Specialists’ Stranglehold on Medicine

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:04h | UTC

The Specialists’ Stranglehold on Medicine – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)

Thirty-Year Mortality After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

7 Jun, 2017 | 15:05h | UTC

Thirty-Year Mortality After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: A Danish Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study – Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Many good years after heart bypass surgery, but something happens after ten years – Aarhus University, via Science Daily (free)

“For patients who make it through the first month after the operation is close to that of the population in general. But 8-10 years after a heart bypass operation, mortality increases by 60-80 per cent” (from Science Daily)

Wed, June 7 – 10 Medical Stories of The Day!

7 Jun, 2017 | 00:48h | UTC

1 – News release: WHO updates Essential Medicines List with new advice on use of antibiotics, and adds medicines for hepatitis C, HIV, tuberculosis and cancer (free)

Report 1: The 2017 Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines (free PDF)

Report 2: WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (free PDF)

Report 3: WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (free PDF)

Commentaries: WHO creates controversial ‘reserve’ list of antibiotics for superbug threats – The Washington Post (free) AND Health officials set to release a list of drugs everyone on Earth should be able to access – STAT News (free) AND WHO’s New Essential Medicines List Includes a 40-Year First – Medscape (free registration required)

WHO Essential Medicines List is used by many countries to guide decisions regarding which medications should be available for their population.

2 – Pharmacologic Management of Newly Detected Atrial Fibrillation: Updated clinical practice guideline: – American Academy of Family Physicians (free PDF)

Key Recommendations: Pharmacologic Management of Newly Detected Atrial Fibrillation (free)

3 – #ASCO2017 (Unpublished results) – Risk-Based Approach to Chemotherapy Duration Recommended for Stage III Colon Cancer – ASCO Daily News (free) AND ASCO2017:The IDEA Collaboration: Global Study Sets New Risk-Based Standard to Personalize Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer After Surgery – ASCO Post (free)

Commentaries: Chemo Cut in Half Following Surgery Without Increased Recurrence Risk in Patients With Low-Risk Colon Cancer – Targeted Oncology (free) Less Is More: Patients With Colon Cancer Get a Chemo Break – Medscape (free registration required) Cutting Chemo Time in Low-Risk Colon Ca an Option – MedPage Today (free registration required)

4 – #ASCO2017 (Unpublished results) – Pregnancy After Breast Cancer Does Not Increase Chance of Recurrence – ASCO News Releases (free)

Commentaries: Yes, a Pregnancy After Breast Cancer Is Safe – Medscape (free registration required) AND Pregnancy after breast cancer doesn’t raise recurrence risk – Reuters Health News (free) AND Pregnancy After Breast Cancer Does Not Increase Recurrence Risk – Oncology Times (free)

5 – Antibiotics Versus Surgical Therapy for Uncomplicated Appendicitis: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Controlled Trials – Annals of Surgery (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Antibiotics Versus Surgery: Equally Effective in Treating Appendicitis? – Medscape (free registration required)

This meta-analysis and the author’s conclusions do not favor antibiotics alone for the treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis, contradiction the results of other recent meta-analysis, as well as a recent guideline on the subject, suggesting antibiotics might be an option in selected cases.

6 – BSACI guideline for the diagnosis and management of peanut and tree nut allergy – British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (free)

Editorial: Nut allergy guideline (free)

Commentary: First ever single guidance published for investigating and managing nut allergy – EurekAlert (free)

See also related guidelines (U.S.) and commentaries recommending early introduction of peanuts to prevent allergies in our January 6 issue, see #1 and #2.

7 – Data fabrication and other reasons for non-random sampling in 5087 randomised, controlled trials in anaesthetic and general medical journals – Anaesthesia (free)

Commentaries: Dozens of recent clinical trials may contain wrong or falsified data, claims study – The Guardian (free) AND Two in 100 clinical trials in eight major journals likely contain inaccurate data: Study – Retraction Watch (free)

8 – Inflammatory bowel disease: Five things physicians and patients should question – Choosing Wisely Canada (free)

9 – Association Between Cirrhosis and Stroke in a Nationally Representative Cohort – JAMA Neurology (free)

Commentary: Cirrhosis Tied to Stroke Risk- Physician’s First Watch (free)

Patients with cirrhosis seem to have a higher risk of stroke, particularly hemorrhagic stroke.

10 – Current Tobacco Smoking and Desire to Quit Smoking Among Students Aged 13–15 Years — Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 61 Countries, 2012–2015 – MMWR: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (free)

Commentaries: What’s The Rate Of Smoking In The 13- To 15-Year-Old Crowd? – NPR Goats and Soda (free)