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Patients from the lowest socioeconomic groups had first stroke a median of 7 years earlier than those from the highest and a 26% higher adjusted risk of 1-year mortality.

Tue, March 20 – 10 Stories of The Day!

20 Mar, 2018 | 00:20h | UTC

1 – 2018 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of syncope – European Heart Journal (free for a limited period)

News release: European Society of Cardiology guidelines on syncope launched today at EHRA 2018 (free)

2 – The 2018 European Heart Rhythm Association Practical Guide on the use of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation – European Heart Journal (free for a limited period)

News release: New EHRA Practical Guide on non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants launched (free)

3 – MRI-Targeted or Standard Biopsy for Prostate-Cancer Diagnosis – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

Commentaries: Prostate MRI reveals more treatable cancers, reduces overdiagnosis than standard biopsy – European Urology Association, via EurekAlert (free) AND MRI Before Biopsy Better Than TRUS in Prostate Cancer – Medscape (free registration required)

4 – Direct-Acting Antiviral Prophylaxis in Kidney Transplantation From Hepatitis C Virus–Infected Donors to Noninfected Recipients: An Open-Label Nonrandomized Trial – Annals of Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: HCV Prophylaxis Could Expand Kidney Availability – Renal & Urology News (free) AND HCV-infected kidney donors could save lives – 2 Minute Medicine (free) AND One year posttransplant, recipients of hepatitis C kidneys disease-free – Johns Hopkins Medicine, ScienceDaily (free)

5 – Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and colorectal cancer risk in the UK Biobank – British Journal of Cancer (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Binge watching TV could increase bowel cancer risk in men – Imperial College London (free) AND Expert reaction to study on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and bowel cancer risk – Science Media Centre (free)

6 – Efficacy of Vaginal Estradiol or Vaginal Moisturizer vs Placebo for Treating Postmenopausal Vulvovaginal Symptoms: A Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period)

Invited commentary: Rethinking the Approach to Managing Postmenopausal Vulvovaginal Symptoms (free for a limited period)

Author interview: Efficacy of Vaginal Estradiol or Moisturizer vs Placebo for Postmenopausal Vulvovaginal Symptoms (free)

Commentary: Vaginal Estradiol Offers Little Help for Postmenopausal Symptoms – Moisturizer no better than placebo gel, either – MedPage Today (free registration required)

7 – MMWR Report: Fatal Yellow Fever in Travelers to Brazil, 2018 – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (free)

Commentaries: Thinking of Going to Brazil? You Will Need a Yellow Fever Vaccination – The New York Times (free) AND Brazil’s yellow fever outbreak, explained – VOX (free)

8 – Richard Lehman’s journal review, 19 March 2018 – The BMJ Opinion (free)

Richard Lehman reviews the latest research in the top medical journals.

9 – Are shorter courses of systemic steroids as effective as conventional longer courses in the treatment of patients with flare-ups of COPD? – Cochrane Library (free)

“Information from a new large study has increased our confidence that five days of oral corticosteroids is likely to be sufficient for treatment of adults with acute exacerbations of COPD”.

10 – Suicide After Deliberate Self-Harm in Adolescents and Young Adults – Pediatrics (free)

Commentary: Young People Who Self-Harm Face Striking Increase in Suicide Risk – Physician’s First Watch (free)

“Teens who self-harm are nearly 50 times more likely to commit suicide in the next year compared with their non-self-harming peers” (via @Physns1stWatch see Tweet)

2018 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of syncope

19 Mar, 2018 | 13:12h | UTC

2018 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of syncope – European Heart Journal (free for a limited period)

Wed, March 21 – 10 Stories of The Day!

21 Mar, 2018 | 00:13h | UTC

1 – Screening for Skin Cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement – JAMA (free)

Related Recommendation Statement: Behavioral Counseling to Prevent Skin Cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force (free)

JAMA Editorials: Sun Protection and Skin Self-examination and the US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation on Behavioral Counseling for Skin Cancer Prevention (free) AND Should Pediatricians Be More Proactive in Counseling Children About Skin Cancer Risk? Implications of the USPSTF Recommendation Statement (free) AND The Potential of Behavioral Counseling to Prevent Skin Cancer (free) AND USPSTF Recommendations for Behavioral Counseling for Skin Cancer Prevention: Throwing Shade on UV Radiation (free) AND The Value of Behavioral Counseling for Skin Cancer Prevention: Actions We Can Take Now and Guidance for the Future (free)

Author Interviews: Screening for Skin Cancer (free audio) AND USPSTF Recommendation: Behavioral Counseling to Prevent Skin Cancer (free)

Commentaries: Doctors endorse counseling of some kids, young adults to prevent skin cancer – Reuters (free) AND Evidence insufficient to make recommendation regarding visual skin examination by a clinician – The JAMA Network, via EurekAlert (free)

2 – Gender differences in the associations between age trends of social media interaction and well-being among 10-15 year olds in the UK – BMC Public Health (free)

Commentaries: Mental health risks to girls who spend more than an hour a day on social media – new study – The Conversation (free) AND How much is too much? Does increasing use of social media having a damaging effect on young girls? – BMC Series Blog (free) AND Social Media May Be More Harmful To Girls Than Boys, Study Finds – Forbes (free)

See also a recent Pediatrics supplement: Children, Adolescents and Screens: What We Know and What We Need To Learn (free articles) and related texts on Social Media and Mental Health (free articles and commentaries)

3 – Are we prepared for the looming epidemic threat? – The Guardian (free) (via @Onisillos)

4 – Cardiology World Erupts Into Controversy Over Change In Major Clinical Trial – Cardiobrief (free)

5 – Blood pressure-lowering treatment strategies based on cardiovascular risk versus blood pressure: A meta-analysis of individual participant data – PLOS Medicine (free)

Related study with similar conclusions: Impact of Cardiovascular Risk on the Relative Benefit and Harm of Intensive Treatment of Hypertension – Journal of the American College of Cardiology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

“An intelligent approach towards blood pressure management: by the individual’s risk instead of just their measurements” (via @EricTopol see Tweet)

6 – Burden of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease in childhood cancer survivors: data from the German CVSS-study – European Heart Journal (free)

Commentaries: Survivors of childhood cancer are at great risk of heart problems in adulthood – eCancerNews (free) AND Higher heart risk for survivors of childhood cancer – OnMedica (free)

Related study: The cumulative burden of surviving childhood cancer: an initial report from the St Jude Lifetime Cohort Study (SJLIFE) – The Lancet (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

7 – Extensive impact of non-antibiotic drugs on human gut bacteria – Nature (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: The overlooked side effect of many drugs – Nature Microbiology Community (free) AND Study: Non-antibiotic drugs affect gut bacteria, could promote resistance – CIDRAP (free)

8 – Pulse oximetry for diagnosis of critical congenital heart defects – Cochrane Library (free)

Original article: Pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart defects – Cochrane Library (free)

9 – European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA)/Heart Rhythm Society (HRS)/Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS)/Latin American Heart Rhythm Society (LAHRS) expert consensus on arrhythmias and cognitive function: what is the best practice? (free)

Commentary: New Expert Statement on Arrhythmias and Cognitive Function – Medscape (free registration required)

10 – Association of Inhaled Corticosteroids and Long-Acting β-Agonists as Controller and Quick Relief Therapy With Exacerbations and Symptom Control in Persistent Asthma: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis – JAMA (free for a limited period)

Commentary: Reviews Reveal Benefits of LAMAs, LABAs, and SMART in Asthma – Medscape (free registration required)

Mon, March 19 – 10 Stories of The Day!

19 Mar, 2018 | 00:01h | UTC

1 – The impact of confounding on the associations of different adiposity measures with the incidence of cardiovascular disease: a cohort study of 296 535 adults of white European descent – European Heart Journal (free)

Commentaries: New study casts further doubt on the idea that you can be ‘fat and fit’ – NHS Choices (free) AND A ‘Sweet Spot’ for Heart Health – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND A ‘sweet spot’ BMI to reduce heart disease risk? What you need to know – HealthNewsReview (free)

2 – Clinical Guideline Synopsis: Evaluation and Treatment of Male Hypogonadism – JAMA (free)

Original Guideline: Testosterone Therapy in Men With Hypogonadism: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline – The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (free PDF)

Commentary: New Testosterone Treatment Guidelines ‘Useful but Not Gospel’ – Medscape (free registration required)

3 – Free Online Course (small fee if applying for certificate). Starts March 26, 2018. The Sustainable Development Goals – A global, transdisciplinary vision for the future – University of Copenhagen and Coursera

4 – New Series from The Lancet Journals: Pathology and laboratory medicine in low-income and middle-income countries (free registration required for all articles and commentaries)

5 – Preventing physician suicide – ACP Hospitalist (free)

Related: What I’ve learned from my tally of 757 doctor suicides – The Washington Post (free) AND Why are doctors killing themselves? – MJA InSight (free) AND Why are doctors plagued by depression and suicide? A crisis comes into focus – STAT (free) AND Protecting interns and other physicians from depression and suicide – STAT (free)

6 – The DiPEP (Diagnosis of PE in Pregnancy) biomarker study: An observational cohort study augmented with additional cases to determine the diagnostic utility of biomarkers for suspected venous thromboembolism during pregnancy and puerperium – British Journal of Haematology (free)

Commentary: Imaging is the only way to diagnose blood clots in pregnancy – NIHR Signal (free)

“No blood test can accurately tell if a pregnant or recently pregnant woman has a blood clot. All pregnant women with a suspected clot should continue to have imaging investigations” (via @NIHR_DC see Tweet)

7 – Tracheotomy in the intensive care unit: guidelines from a French expert panel – Annals of Intensive Care (free)

8 – Older Abuse: Sometimes It’s Self-Inflicted – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)

“The house is filthy. The elderly resident is struggling. But who has the right to intervene?” (via @NYTHealth see Tweet)

9 – Diastolic Blood Pressure and Adverse Outcomes in the TOPCAT (Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure With an Aldosterone Antagonist) Trial – Journal of the American Heart Association (free for a limited period)

“DBP values ≥90 and <60 mm Hg are associated with a significant risk of adverse outcomes in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction who are treated for hypertension”.

10 – Oral vitamin B12 compared with intramuscular vitamin B12 for vitamin B12 deficiency – Cochrane Library (free)

Commentary: Oral vs. Intramuscular Vitamin B₁₂: Efficacy, Safety Compared – MPR (free)

Cluster-Randomized Trial of Blood-Pressure Reduction in Black Barbershops

16 Mar, 2018 | 03:37h | UTC

#ACC18 – Cluster-Randomized Trial of Blood-Pressure Reduction in Black Barbershops – New England Journal of Medicine (free for a limited period)

Commentaries: Barbershop-Based Intervention Leads to Blood Pressure Reductions in African-American Men – American College of Cardiology (free) AND Mixing Haircuts and Hypertension Rx a ‘Home Run’ for Blood Pressure Control – TCTMD (free)

“Among black male barbershop patrons with uncontrolled hypertension, health promotion by barbers resulted in larger blood-pressure reduction when coupled with medication management in barbershops by specialty-trained pharmacists”.

Research: Carvedilol for Prevention of Chemotherapy Related Cardiotoxicity

16 Mar, 2018 | 03:38h | UTC

#ACC18 – Carvedilol for Prevention of Chemotherapy Related Cardiotoxicity – Journal of the American College of Cardiology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Beta Blocker Shows Mixed Results in Protecting Against Chemo-Induced Heart Damage – American College of Cardiology (free) AND Carvedilol Effect in Preventing Chemotherapy Induced CardiotoxicitY – CECCY – American College of Cardiology (free)

“According to the CECCY trial, carvedilol had no effect on left ventricular function in breast cancer patients treated w/ doxorubicin, but did result in a reduction in troponin I levels & diastolic dysfunction”. (via @ACCinTouch see Tweet)

Research: Low-Dose ‘Triple Pill’ Lowers Blood Pressure More Than Usual Care

16 Mar, 2018 | 03:36h | UTC

#ACC18 – Low-Dose ‘Triple Pill’ Lowers Blood Pressure More Than Usual Care – American College of Cardiology (free) AND Low-Dose, Three-Drug Polypill TRIUMPHs for Blood Pressure – TCTMD (free)

Viewpoint: Big Data and Machine Learning in Health Care

16 Mar, 2018 | 03:35h | UTC

Big Data and Machine Learning in Health Care – JAMA (free for a limited period)

Do Antidepressants Work?

16 Mar, 2018 | 03:36h | UTC

Do Antidepressants Work? – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)

“The most comprehensive study on them has recently been published, showing mostly modest effects”.

Research: Mapping child growth failure in Africa between 2000 and 2015

16 Mar, 2018 | 03:34h | UTC

Mapping child growth failure in Africa between 2000 and 2015 – Nature (free)

Invited commentary, by Kofi Annan: Data can help to end malnutrition across Africa (free)

Other commentaries: Africa ‘very, very far away’ from meeting global target to end child malnutrition – The Guardian (free) Local Burden of Disease – Child Growth Failure – IHME (free) AND Zooming in on advances and opportunities – IHME (free)

Did a pricey cholesterol-lowering drug really reduce deaths, as headlines claim?

16 Mar, 2018 | 03:33h | UTC

Did a pricey cholesterol-lowering drug really reduce deaths, as headlines claim? – Health News Review (free)

See original article and commentaries in our March 12^th issue (see #2)

Editorial: AI diagnostics need attention

16 Mar, 2018 | 03:31h | UTC

Editorial: AI diagnostics need attention – Nature (free) (via @RasoiniR see Tweet)

NICE Guideline: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

16 Mar, 2018 | 03:34h | UTC

Guideline: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (free)

The ODYSSEY Trial Ends Well— But Will It Be Enough?

16 Mar, 2018 | 03:32h | UTC

#ACC18 – The ODYSSEY Trial Ends Well— But Will It Be Enough? – Cardiobrief (free) AND Ten Quick Thoughts on ODYSSEY – John Mandrola, via Medscape (free registration required)

“An absolute risk reduction of 1.6% in the primary endpoint translates to a number needed to treat of 64. Using the current price of $14,500 per year, Kaul calculated that preventing one event over the trial period of almost 3 years would cost about $2.6 million” (via John Mandrola). This study was presented at #ACC18 and has not been published yet. Among the many commentaries, these two were selected for a balanced point of view.

Grader Variability and the Importance of Reference Standards for Evaluating Machine Learning Models for Diabetic Retinopathy

16 Mar, 2018 | 03:30h | UTC

Grader Variability and the Importance of Reference Standards for Evaluating Machine Learning Models for Diabetic Retinopathy – Ophthalmology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Google’s AI program: Building better algorithms for detecting eye disease – ScienceDaily (free)

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