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“Corticosteroid therapy reduced mortality and morbidity in adults with severe CAP; the number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome was 18 patients (95% CI 12 to 49) to prevent one death. Corticosteroid therapy reduced morbidity, but not mortality, for adults and children with non-severe CAP”

3 – Estimates of global seasonal influenza-associated respiratory mortality: a modelling study – The Lancet (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Respiratory diseases linked to seasonal flu claim thousands of lives every year – UN health agency (free) AND Up to 650 000 people die of respiratory diseases linked to seasonal flu each year – World Health Organization (free) AND CDC says more people die of influenza worldwide than some experts have estimated – PBS NewsHour (free)

4 – Effect of High-Intensity Treadmill Exercise on Motor Symptoms in Patients With De Novo Parkinson Disease: A Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA Neurology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Exercise May Aid Parkinson’s Disease, but Make It Intense – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND High-Intensity Exercise May Cut Parkinson’s Motor Symptoms – Medscape (free registration required) AND Vigorous Exercise May Hold Benefit in Early Parkinson’s – MedPage Today (free registration required) High-intensity exercise delays Parkinson’s progression – Northwestern University, via ScienceDaily (free)

5 – Associations between fast food and physical activity environments and adiposity in mid-life: cross-sectional, observational evidence from UK Biobank – The Lancet Public Health (free)

Commentaries: The built environment and obesity in UK Biobank: right project, wrong data? – The Lancet Public Health (free) AND Living near exercise facilities linked to lower BMI and smaller waists – OnMedica (free) Living near physical activity facilities linked to smaller waistline, lower BMI and lower body fat percentage – London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (free)

6 – Association between microcephaly, Zika virus infection, and other risk factors in Brazil: final report of a case-control study – The Lancet Infectious Diseases (link to abstract – $ for full-text) (via @Onisillos)

Commentaries: Zika virus, not vaccine or insecticide, linked to birth defects in Brazil – STAT (free) AND Study bolsters Zika-microcephaly link, rules out others – CIDRAP (free)

7 – Healthcare-acquired infections: prevention strategies – Internal Medicine Journal (free)

Source: Hospital Medicine Virtual Journal Club

8 – Association Between Methylphenidate and Amphetamine Use in Pregnancy and Risk of Congenital Malformations: A Cohort Study From the International Pregnancy Safety Study Consortium – JAMA Psychiatry (free)

Editorial: Shedding Light on the Risks of Methylphenidate and Amphetamine in Pregnancy (free)

Commentary: ADHD med use during pregnancy and risk of birth defects – Brigham and Women’s Hospital, via ScienceDaily (free) AND Class of ADHD medication linked to increased risk of congenital heart defects – Cardiovascular Business (free)

“Researchers find small increase in the risk of heart defects following first-trimester exposure to methylphenidate but not to amphetamines” (from ScienceDaily)

9 – The Surprising Effects of Loneliness on Health – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)

10 – Individualized Glycemic Control for U.S. Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis – Annals of Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Individualized Glycemic Control Could Safely Cut Costs in Type 2 Diabetes – Physician’s First Watch (free) AND Individualized HbA_1c Targets for Diabetes Drop Cost, Improve QoL – Medscape (free registration required) AND Personalized Blood Sugar Goals Can Save Diabetes Patients Thousands – University of Chicago Medical Center, via NewsWise (free)

Review – Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Thymus: The Oncologist Point of View

26 Dec, 2017 | 18:41h | UTC

Neuroendocrine tumors of the thymus: the oncologist point of view – Journal of Thoracic Disease (free)

Review – Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Thymus

26 Dec, 2017 | 18:42h | UTC

Neuroendocrine tumors of the thymus – Journal of Thoracic Disease (free)

Thu, December 14 – 10 Stories of The Day!

14 Dec, 2017 | 01:25h | UTC

1 – The BMJ Christmas Issue – “The soul of the Christmas issue is originality. We don’t want to publish anything that resembles anything we’ve published before” (see details).

Original Article 1: Does Peppa Pig encourage inappropriate use of primary care resources? (free) AND Commentary: Peppa Pig might inspire unrealistic expectations of GPs – OnMedica (free)

Original Article 2 The science behind “man flu” (free) AND Commentary: Of mice and “man flu” – HealthNewsReview (free)

2 – The Less-Is-More Crusade — Are We Overmedicalizing or Oversimplifying? – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

3 – Noninvasive Cardiac Radiation for Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: A ‘Game Changer’ for Patients With Irregular Heart Rhythm – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)

“The use of stereotactic radiotherapy in five patients with refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT) showed a 99.9% reduction in VT burden”. (via @NEJM see Tweet with infographic)

4 – The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Clinical Practice Guideline for the Prevention of Venous Thromboembolic Disease in Colorectal Surgery – Diseases of The Colon & Rectum (free)

5 – AAFP Decides to Not Endorse AHA/ACC Hypertension Guideline – American Academy of Family Physicians (free) (via @kennylinafp see Tweet)

Commentary: New Hypertension Guideline: A Case of Guideline Creep? – Medscape (free registration required)

6 – Artificial Intelligence Promising for CA, Retinopathy Diagnoses – Physician’s Weekly (free)

Original Article 1: Diagnostic Assessment of Deep Learning Algorithms for Detection of Lymph Node Metastases in Women With Breast Cancer – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text) AND Commentary: Findings Show Potential Use of Artificial Intelligence in Detecting Spread of Breast Cancer – The JAMA Network (free)

Original Article 2: Development and Validation of a Deep Learning System for Diabetic Retinopathy and Related Eye Diseases Using Retinal Images From Multiethnic Populations With Diabetes – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text) AND Commentary: Artificial Intelligence Detects Diabetic Retinopathy and Related Eye Diseases among Patients with Diabetes – The JAMA Network (free)

7 – People Don’t Take Their Pills. Only One Thing Seems to Help. – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)

“High-tech approaches and “reminder” packaging don’t work well. Reducing prices does”.

8 – Supplement: The Economics of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease – American Journal of Preventive Medicine (free editorials, reviews and research articles)

Source: EvidenceAlerts

9 – Phone Addiction Is Real — And So Are Its Mental Health Risks – Forbes (free)

Related commentaries: We Need to Talk About Kids and Smartphones – TIME (free) AND Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? – The Atlantic (free) How Smartphones Hijack Our Minds – The Wall Street Journal (a few articles per month are free)

10 – Atraumatic versus conventional lumbar puncture needles: a systematic review and meta-analysis – The Lancet (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Atraumatic needles associated with fewer side effects for lumbar puncture – ACP Hospitalist Weekly (free) AND Atraumatic Lumbar Puncture Needles Show Major Benefit in Meta-Analysis – Physician’s First Watch (free)

Review: Bariatric Surgery and Long-Term Nutritional Issues

26 Dec, 2017 | 18:39h | UTC

Bariatric surgery and long-term nutritional issues – World Journal of Diabetes (free)

Research: Incidence of Psychotic Disorders in Different Countries

12 Dec, 2017 | 12:25h | UTC

Treated Incidence of Psychotic Disorders in the Multinational EU-GEI Study – JAMA Psychiatry (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Environment May Play Major Role in Psychosis – PsychCentral (free) AND Psychosis incidence highly variable internationally – University College London, via EurekAlert (free)

The other big drug problem: Older people taking too many pills

12 Dec, 2017 | 12:26h | UTC

The other big drug problem: Older people taking too many pills – The Whashington Post (free)

Related Website and Guidelines: Canadian Deprescribing Network (CaDeN) (free) AND CaDeN Deprescribing Guidelines and Algorithms (free) AND Deprescribing guidelines for the elderly – Ontario Pharmacy Evidence Network (free)

Wed, December 13 – 10 Stories of The Day!

13 Dec, 2017 | 01:31h | UTC

1 – The Altmetric TOP 100 Articles. What academic research caught the public imagination in 2017? (free)

2 – Universal Health Coverage Day, 12 December 2017 – World Health Organization (free resources)

Fact Sheet: Universal Health Coverage (UHC) – World Health Organization (free)

3 – Hormone Therapy for the Primary Prevention of Chronic Conditions in Postmenopausal Women: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement – JAMA (free)

JAMA Editorials: Menopausal Hormone Therapy for Primary Prevention of Chronic Disease (free) AND Evidence for Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy to Prevent Chronic Conditions: Success, Failure, and Lessons Learned (free) AND Menopausal Hormone Therapy for the Primary Prevention of Chronic Conditions: Unfulfilled Expectations (free)

Audio Interview: USPSTF Recommendation Statement: Hormone Therapy After Menopause (free)

Summary: Hormone Therapy Not Recommended for Prevention of Chronic Conditions in Postmenopausal Women – The JAMA Network (free)

“The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against the use of combined estrogen and progestin in postmenopausal women, or estrogen alone in postmenopausal women who have had a hysterectomy, to prevent chronic conditions such as heart disease, dementia and stroke”.

4 – CAR T-Cell Therapies Drive Outcomes in Lymphoma, Myeloma: Treatments Hold Promise for People with Hard-to-Treat Blood Cancers – 2017 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (free)

5 – Topical Tranexamic Acid Compared With Anterior Nasal Packing for Treatment of Epistaxis in Patients Taking Antiplatelet Drugs: Randomized Controlled Trial – Academic Emergency Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Topical TXA in Epistaxis – R.E.B.E.L.em (free)

6 – Get Ready For A Tsunami Of ECGs – Cardiobrief (free)

7 – State of The Art Review: Recent advances in pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV – The BMJ (free fo 2 weeks)

8 – All-cause mortality and major cardiovascular outcomes comparing percutaneous coronary angioplasty versus coronary artery bypass grafting in the treatment of unprotected left main stenosis: a meta-analysis of short-term and long-term randomised trials – OpenHeart (free)

“PCI is associated with a reduction in the risk of major cardiovascular outcomes at short-term follow-up in patients with LMCA stenosis; but at long term, MACCE rate is increased for PCI”

9 – Pediatric Injuries Related to Window Blinds, Shades, and Cords – Pediatrics (free)

Commentaries: Researchers: Window Blind Cords as Dangerous to Young Children as Bodies of Water – Physician’s First Watch (free) AND Kids continue to die in window-blind accidents, despite safety warnings – Reuters (free)

10 – Severe COPD and the transition to a palliative approach – Breathe (free)

See more on palliative care in chronic respiratory disorders in our Decembe 6^th issue (see #10)

Research: Mortality Associated with Metformin Versus Sulfonylurea Initiation

12 Dec, 2017 | 12:24h | UTC

Mortality Associated with Metformin Versus Sulfonylurea Initiation: A Cohort Study of Veterans with Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease – Journal of General Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Metformin appears better than sulfonylureas as first-line therapy for patients with CKD – ACP Diabetes (free) AND Metformin May Up Survival in Older Men With Moderate CKD – Medscape (free registration required)

Research: Diet quality is associated with disability and symptom severity in multiple sclerosis

12 Dec, 2017 | 12:23h | UTC

Diet quality is associated with disability and symptom severity in multiple sclerosis – Neurology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Healthy diet may be linked to less disability, fewer symptoms for people with MS – News Medical (free) AND High-quality Diet, Healthy Lifestyle May Reduce MS Disability – Medscape (free registration required) AND Healthy Diet Tied to Less MS Disability – MedPage Today (free registration required)

Guideline: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2018 Abridged for Primary Care Providers

12 Dec, 2017 | 12:17h | UTC

Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2018 Abridged for Primary Care Providers – Diabetes Care (free PDF)

Commentary: ADA 2018 Abridged Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes: Update for Primary Care – Medscape (free registration required

Review: Lung Manifestations in the Rheumatic Diseases

12 Dec, 2017 | 12:22h | UTC

Lung Manifestations in the Rheumatic Diseases – Chest (free)

Source: Critical Care Reviews Newsletter

Guideline: ADA 2018 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes

12 Dec, 2017 | 12:18h | UTC

ADA 2018 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes – Diabetes Care (Free Supplement)

News Release: American Diabetes Association Releases 2018 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, with Notable New Recommendations for People with Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes (free)

Summary of Revisions: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2018 (free)

Commentaries: ADA 2018 Standards Address Diabetes Drugs With CV Benefit – Medscape (free registration required)

See Updated Guideline: ADA 2019 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes (free supplement)