Archives
Wed, October 4 – 10 Stories of The Day!
4 Oct, 2017 | 00:01h | UTC
1 – Report: Ending Cholera: A Global Roadmap to 2030 – World Health Organization (free) (RT @Onisillos)
News release: Partners commit to reduce cholera deaths by 90% by 2030 (free)
See also: WHO’s work on cholera (free resources)
2 – Potential deaths averted in USA by replacing cigarettes with e-cigarettes – Tobacco Control (free)
Commentaries: Switch to vaping could prevent millions of premature deaths – OnMedica (free) AND Tobacco smokers could gain 86 million years of life if they switch to vaping, study finds – eCancer News (free) AND Switching to e-cigarettes could save 6.6 million American smokers: researchers – Reuters (free)
Related review: Key issues surrounding the health impacts of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and other sources of nicotine – CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (free)
Invited commentary: Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography—The First Test for Evaluating Patients With Chest Pain? (free)
Commentary: Coronary CT Angiography vs. Stress Testing: Meta-Analysis Offers Mixed Results – Physician’s First Watch (free)
Coronary Computed Tomografic Angiography (CCTA) was associated with a very small reduction in the incidence of myocardial infarction (0.7% vs 1.1% = 0.4% absolute risk reduction), but without differences in death or cardiac hospitalization. Patients undergoing CCTA were significantly more likely to undergo invasive coronary angiography (11.7% vs 9.1%), revascularization (7.2% vs 4.5%) and were also more likely to receive a diagnosis of new CAD and to have initiated aspirin or statin therapy.
Source: Critical Care Review Newsletter
Commentary: After a disaster, contaminated floodwater can pose a threat for months to come – The Conversation (free)
Related guideline: Hurricane Season Public Health Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Guidance for Health Care Providers, Response and Recovery Workers, and Affected Communities — CDC, 2017 (free) AND Commentary: CDC issues guidance on storm recovery – Reuters (free)
6 – Olfactory Dysfunction Predicts Subsequent Dementia in Older U.S. Adults – Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Elderly Who Have Trouble Identifying Odors Face Risk of Dementia – NewsWise (free) AND Poor Sense of Smell May Signal Impending Dementia – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND Sniffing out dementia with a simple smell test – Medical News Today (free)
Commentaries: Early babies could face lifelong fitness risks – The University of Queensland (free) AND Early-Term Birth Tied to Poor Cardiorespiratory Fitness Later – Medscape (free registration required) AND Early ‘full-term’ babies have poorer fitness into young adulthood – Cardiovascular Business (free)
Commentary: Type 2 Diabetes and Antidepressant Drug Use: Is There a Causal Link? – Endocrinology Advisor (free)
Commentary: People with type 2 diabetes should ‘save carbs for last’, study claims – NHS Choices (free)
10 – Review: Palliative Care in Neurology – Mayo Clinic Proceedings (free)
Thu, October 5 – 10 Stories of The Day!
5 Oct, 2017 | 02:05h | UTC
Commentaries: First human trial of DNA-based Zika vaccine shows promise – CIDRAP (free) AND DNA-based Zika vaccine candidate found safe and effective at inducing immune response – University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, via EurekAlert (free) AND Zika vaccine shows promise in early human trial – Reuters (free)
See also other articles in The Changing Face of Clinical Trials Series (all free)
“All too often non-inferiority clinical trials are a means of asserting false equivalence” (RT @EricTopol see Tweet)
4 – New Choosing Wisely Recommendations
Choosing Wisely US: Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question: American Academy of Pediatrics – Section on Endocrinology (free) AND Commentary: Choosing Wisely: 5 Pediatric Endocrinology Tests to Avoid – Physician’s First Watch (free)
Choosing Wisely Canada: Nine Things Nurse Practitioners and Patients Should Question – Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada (free)
See more on the Choosing Wisely initiative in our April 5 issue (see #6)
5 – Outcomes In Two Massachusetts Hospital Systems Give Reason For Optimism About Communication-And-Resolution Programs – Health Affairs (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: After medical error, apology goes a long way – Stanford University Medical Center, via ScienceDaily (free) AND Conflict Resolution Program: ‘Cause for Optimism’ – MedPage Today (free registration required)
“Explaining and apologizing to patients after a medical error does not increase lawsuits, large US study finds” (RT @bmj_latest see Tweet)
Commentary: Just One Hour of Exercise a Week May Help Prevent Depression – TIME Magazine (free) AND One hour of exercise a week can prevent depression – EurekAlert (free) AND What’s the ultimate way to defy depression, disease and early death? Exercise – The Guardian (free)
Related: Cancer drugs are getting better and dearer – The Economist (a few articles per month are free) Financial toxicity: 1 in 3 cancer patients have to turn to friends or family to pay for care – STAT News (free) AND Not Just Nausea And Vomiting: Cancer Docs Now Worry About ‘Financial Toxicity’ – WBUR (free) AND Financial Toxicity and Cancer Treatment (PDQ®) – National Institute of Cancer (free) AND Financial Toxicity: Cancer Supportive Care Professionals Consider the Side Effects of Soaring Costs – ASCO Post (free)
8 – Meta-Analysis of the Antidepressant Effects of Acute Sleep Deprivation – The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Summary of studies on sleep deprivation didn’t caution that depression benefits are short lived – HealthNewsReview (free) AND Sleep Deprivation May Treat Depression. But Would It Ever Be Prescribed? – Forbes (free) AND Sleep Deprivation a Rapid, Effective Depression Treatment – Medscape (free registration required) AND Sleep deprivation rapidly reduces depression symptoms in nearly half of depressed patients – News Medical (free)
Related article published recently: Effect of Lung Recruitment and Titrated Positive End-Expiratory Pressure (PEEP) vs Low PEEP on Mortality in Patients With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA (free) AND Editorial: Lung Recruitment and Titrated PEEP in Moderate to Severe ARDS: Is the Door Closing on the Open Lung? (free)
10 – Association Between Use of Antithrombotic Medication and Hematuria-Related Complications – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Antithrombotics Associated with Gross Hematuria – Physician’s First Watch (free) AND Haematuria more common in people taking antithrombotics – OnMedica (free)
Research: The Importance of Breakfast in Atherosclerosis Disease
3 Oct, 2017 | 21:59h | UTCThe Importance of Breakfast in Atherosclerosis Disease: Insights From the PESA Study – Journal of The American College of Cardiology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Skipping Breakfast May Be Bad For The Heart – But There Are Caveats – Forbes (free) AND Most important meal of the day? Skipping breakfast may be linked to poor heart health – The Guardian (free) AND Cardiologists, moms agree: Breakfast the most important meal of the day – Cardiovascular Business (free) Skipping breakfast associated with hardening of the arteries – American College of Cardiology, via ScienceDaily (free)
Managing Head Trauma in Children
3 Oct, 2017 | 21:55h | UTCManaging Head Trauma in Children – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Related Articles: Reducing Head CT Use for Children With Head Injuries in a Community Emergency Department – Pediatrics (link to abstract – $ for full-text) AND Development and Internal Validation of a Clinical Risk Score for Treating Children With Mild Head Trauma and Intracranial Injury – JAMA Pediatrics (free PDF) AND Identification of children at very low risk of clinically-important brain injuries after head trauma: a prospective cohort stud – The Lancet (free PDF)
Review: Acute Coronary Syndromes: The Way Forward From Mechanisms to Precision Treatment
3 Oct, 2017 | 21:50h | UTCAcute Coronary Syndromes: The Way Forward From Mechanisms to Precision Treatment – Circulation (free)
Research: Efficiency and safety of varying the frequency of whole blood donation
3 Oct, 2017 | 21:57h | UTCCommentaries: The price of blood is measured in iron – The Lancet (free) AND Increasing frequency of blood donation has no major side effects – ScienceDaily (free)
Research: Development and validation of QMortality risk prediction algorithm to estimate short term risk of death and assess frailty
3 Oct, 2017 | 21:58h | UTCEditorial: Identifying frailty in primary care (free)
Commentary: Frailty calculator to support GPs in targeting patients for better care – MyScience (free)
See calculators: QMortality®-2017 risk calculator (free) AND QFrailty®-2017 risk calculator (free)
“the tool can reliably estimate risk of dying within 12 months and risk of unplanned admissions among patients aged between 65 and 100 years old” (from MyScience).
Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency
3 Oct, 2017 | 21:54h | UTC
Guidelines for Diagnostic Imaging During Pregnancy and Lactation
3 Oct, 2017 | 21:52h | UTCSee also: Guideline Summary
Richard Lehman’s journal review, 2 October 2017
3 Oct, 2017 | 21:53h | UTCRichard Lehman’s journal review, 2 October 2017 – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Richard Lehman reviews the latest research in the top medical journals.
Mon, October 2 – 10 Stories of The Day!
2 Oct, 2017 | 00:18h | UTC
1 – International Day of Older Persons – 1st October 2017: Health services must stop leaving older people behind – World Health Organization (free)
Related Guideline: WHO Guidelines on Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) – World Health Organization (free)
See also: WHO’s work on ageing
2 – Guideline: Preventive chemotherapy to control soil-transmitted helminth infections in at-risk population groups – World Health Organization (free)
News release: WHO recommends large-scale deworming to improve children’s health and nutrition (free)
Infographic: WHO publishes recommendations for large-scale deworming to improve children’s health and nutrition (free)
See also: WHO intestinal worms website (free resources) AND Fact sheet: Soil-transmitted helminth infections (free)
Editorial: Telephone first consultations in primary care (free)
Commentaries: Phone-first GP consults ‘no panacea for reducing workload’ – OnMedica (free) AND No evidence to support claims that telephone consultations reduce GP workload or hospital referrals – University of Cambridge (free)
Related study: Direct-To-Consumer Telehealth May Increase Access To Care But Does Not Decrease Spending – Health Affairs (link to abstract – $ for full-text) AND Commentaries: Telehealth Doctor Visits May Be Handy, But Aren’t Cheaper Overall – NPR (free) AND Are Virtual Doctor Visits Really Cost-Effective? Not So Much, Study Says – Health News Florida (free)
4 – Medical News & Perspectives: Study Questions Use of Acid Suppressors To Curb Mild Infant Reflux – JAMA (free) (RT @DeeMangin see Tweet)
See study abstract presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting: Infants prescribed antacids for reflux have increased risk of bone fractures (free)
5 – Perspectives: Lost in Thought: The Limits of the Human Mind and the Future of Medicine – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
6 – A single mutation in the prM protein of Zika virus contributes to fetal microcephaly – Science (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: A Single Mutation Helps Modern Zika Cause Birth Defects – Scientific American (free) AND The Zika Virus Grew Deadlier With a Small Mutation, Study Suggests – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND Zika was a mild bug. A new discovery shows how it turned monstrous – The Washington Post (free) AND How Zika Became So Dangerous For Babies – NPR (free)
7 – Association of Vision Loss With Cognition in Older Adults – JAMA Ophthalmology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Vision and Hearing Loss Are Tied to Cognitive Decline – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND Visual impairment among older adults associated with poor cognitive function – Medical News Today (free)
“Our findings indicate that both short and long sleep duration is associated with an increased risk of all‐cause mortality and cardiovascular events”.
9 – Effect of a Community Health Worker–Led Multicomponent Intervention on Blood Pressure Control in Low-Income Patients in Argentina: A Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Community Intervention among Low-Income Patients Results in Improved Blood Pressure Control – The JAMA Network (free)
“The proportion of patients with controlled hypertension (BP <140/90 mm Hg) increased from 17 percent at baseline to 73 percent in the intervention group and from 18 percent to 52 percent in the usual care group”.
Commentary: Home blood pressure monitoring works best with extra support – Reuters (free)
Guideline for the management of adults with primary Sjögren’s Syndrome
3 Oct, 2017 | 21:51h | UTCSee also: Guideline Summary (free)
Commentary: Guidelines for treatment of primary Sjögren’s syndrome: a first useful stone but still much to do – Rheumatology (free)
Tue, October 3 – 10 Stories of The Day!
3 Oct, 2017 | 00:42h | UTC
1 – The Importance of Breakfast in Atherosclerosis Disease: Insights From the PESA Study – Journal of The American College of Cardiology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Skipping Breakfast May Be Bad For The Heart – But There Are Caveats – Forbes (free) AND Most important meal of the day? Skipping breakfast may be linked to poor heart health – The Guardian (free) AND Cardiologists, moms agree: Breakfast the most important meal of the day – Cardiovascular Business (free) Skipping breakfast associated with hardening of the arteries – American College of Cardiology, via ScienceDaily (free)
Editorial: Identifying frailty in primary care (free)
Commentary: Frailty calculator to support GPs in targeting patients for better care – MyScience (free)
See calculators: QMortality®-2017 risk calculator (free) AND QFrailty®-2017 risk calculator (free)
“the tool can reliably estimate risk of dying within 12 months and risk of unplanned admissions among patients aged between 65 and 100 years old” (from MyScience).
Commentaries: The price of blood is measured in iron – The Lancet (free) AND Increasing frequency of blood donation has no major side effects – ScienceDaily (free)
4 – Managing Head Trauma in Children – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Related Articles: Reducing Head CT Use for Children With Head Injuries in a Community Emergency Department – Pediatrics (link to abstract – $ for full-text) AND Development and Internal Validation of a Clinical Risk Score for Treating Children With Mild Head Trauma and Intracranial Injury – JAMA Pediatrics (free PDF) AND Identification of children at very low risk of clinically-important brain injuries after head trauma: a prospective cohort stud – The Lancet (free PDF)
5 – How well do flu shots work? Here’s what the science says – VOX (free)
7 – Richard Lehman’s journal review, 2 October 2017 – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Richard Lehman reviews the latest research in the top medical journals.
See also: Guideline Summary (free)
See also: Guideline Summary (free)
Commentary: Guidelines for treatment of primary Sjögren’s syndrome: a first useful stone but still much to do – Rheumatology (free)
10 – Review: Acute Coronary Syndromes: The Way Forward From Mechanisms to Precision Treatment – Circulation (free)
How well do flu shots work?
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:23h | UTCHow well do flu shots work? Here’s what the science says – VOX (free)
Research: Conscious Sedation versus General Anesthesia for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:24h | UTCConscious Sedation versus General Anesthesia for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Insights from the NCDR® STS/ACC TVT Registry – Circulation (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Conscious Sedation in TAVR Linked to Lower Mortality, Shorter Hospital Stays: TVT Registry – TCTMD (free)
Research: D-dimer to guide the intensity of anticoagulation after mechanical heart valve replacement
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:24h | UTCD-dimer to guide the intensity of anticoagulation in Chinese patients after mechanical heart valve replacement: a randomized controlled trial – Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Source: ACP Journal Wise ($)
Research: Concurrent bariatric operations and perioperative outcomes
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:25h | UTC“Concurrent bariatric operations occurred infrequently, but when they did, there was no observable increased risk for adverse perioperative outcomes compared with non-concurrent operations”.
Roads are becoming more deadly in developing countries
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:22h | UTCRoads are becoming more deadly in developing countries – The Economist (a few articles per month are free) (RT @equitylist see Tweet)
What’s the Difference? Global Health Defined
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:22h | UTCWhat’s the Difference? Global Health Defined – Global Health NOW (free)
Review: People’s outcomes should be analyzed in their original groups
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:20h | UTCPeople’s outcomes should be analyzed in their original groups – Students 4 Best Evidence (free)
Short commentary: Death by Fluids
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:21h | UTCShort commentary: iSepsis – Death by Fluids, Part 1 – EMCrit (free)
Original article: Effect of an Early Resuscitation Protocol on In-hospital Mortality Among Adults With Sepsis and Hypotension: A Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA (free) AND Editorial: Trying to Improve Sepsis Care in Low-Resource Settings (free)
Research: Association of Thyroid Function With Life Expectancy With and Without Cardiovascular Disease
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:18h | UTCAssociation of Thyroid Function With Life Expectancy With and Without Cardiovascular Disease: The Rotterdam Study – JAMA Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: High-Normal Thyroid Function Tied to Early Death – MedPage Today (free registration required)
Research: Health Concerns and Health Service Utilization in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:20h | UTCCommentary: Many Young Adults With Autism Also Have Mental Health Issues – NPR (free)
Systematic Review: Self-monitoring of blood pressure in hypertension
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:14h | UTCCommentary: Home blood pressure monitoring works best with extra support – Reuters (free)
Choosing Wisely Canada: Nine Things Nurse Practitioners and Patients Should Question
1 Oct, 2017 | 16:17h | UTCNew Guide from Choosing Wisely Canada: Nine Things Nurse Practitioners and Patients Should Question – Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada (free)
See more on the Choosing Wisely initiative in our April 5 issue (see #6)