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Patients > 65 years with moderate hyperlipidemia and hypertension had no benefit from pravastatin for primary prevention. “A nonsignificant direction toward increased all-cause mortality with pravastatin was observed among adults 75 years and older” (HR 1.34; 95% CI, 0.98-1.84; P = .07).

Lack of Evidence for Benefit From Long-term Use of Opioid Analgesics for Patients With Neuropathy

24 May, 2017 | 14:35h | UTC

Association of Long-term Opioid Therapy With Functional Status, Adverse Outcomes, and Mortality Among Patients With Polyneuropathy – JAMA Neurology (free)

Editorial: Lack of Evidence for Benefit From Long-term Use of Opioid Analgesics for Patients With Neuropathy (free)

Commentaries: Long-Term Opioid Treatment Seems Only to Add Complications to Polyneuropathy – Physician’s First Watch (free) AND Long-Term Opioids May Not Help in Polyneuropathy – MedPage Today (free registration required)

“Patients had worse functional outcomes than controls; some became dependent” (from MedPage Today)

Tue, May 23 – 10 Medical Stories of The Day!

23 May, 2017 | 00:10h | UTC

1- Effect of Statin Treatment vs Usual Care on Primary Cardiovascular Prevention Among Older Adults: The ALLHAT-LLT Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA Internal Medicine (free) (RT @EricTopol see Tweet)

Editorial: Risks of Statin Therapy in Older Adults (free)

Commentaries: Older adults may not benefit from taking statins to prevent heart disease – Medical News Today (free) AND Pravastatin Doesn’t Improve Clinical Outcomes in Seniors – Physician’s First Watch (free)

2 – Fruit Juice in Infants, Children, and Adolescents: Current Recommendations – American Academy of Pediatrics (free)

Commentaries: Pediatricians Advise No Fruit Juice Until Kids Are 1 – NPR Health News (free) AND Pediatricians Say No Fruit Juice in Child’s First Year – New York Times (10 articles per month are free)

3 – #ATS2017 – Effect of Home Noninvasive Ventilation With Oxygen Therapy vs Oxygen Therapy Alone on Hospital Readmission or Death After an Acute COPD Exacerbation: A Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA (free)

Editorial: Home Noninvasive Ventilation to Reduce Readmissions for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (free)

Commentary: Addition of Home Noninvasive Ventilation Tied to Fewer Readmissions After COPD Exacerbation – Physician’s First Watch (free)

4 – #ATS2017 – Directly Observed Therapy for Multidrug-Resistant TB Decreases Mortality – ATS 2017 Conference (free summary)

Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) was associated with a 77 percent decrease in mortality in observational study.

5 – Cancer screening in the United States, 2017: A review of current American Cancer Society guidelines and current issues in cancer screening – CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (free)

6 – Guidelines on eosinophilic esophagitis: evidence-based statements and recommendations for diagnosis and management in children and adults – United European Gastroenterology Journals (free)

7 – Reoperation and Medicare Expenditures After Laparoscopic Gastric Band Surgery – JAMA Surgery (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Following gastric band surgery, device-related reoperation common, costly – Science Daily (free) AND Safety, Effectiveness of Gastric Banding Called Into Question – Medscape (free registration required) AND 1 In 5 Gastric Band Surgeries Require Corrective Operations – American Council on Science and Health (free)

8 – American Urological Assn. Adds 5 More Unnecessary Practices to Choosing Wisely – Physician’s First Watch (free)

9 – Effects of the Informed Health Choices primary school intervention on the ability of children in Uganda to assess the reliability of claims about treatment effects: a cluster-randomised controlled trial – The Lancet (free registration required)

Commentaries: Belief in health bullshit is a global problem; a big study points to solutions – HealthNewsReview (free) AND This researcher may have discovered the antidote to health bullshit – VOX (free)

10 – Metformin, Lifestyle Intervention, and Cognition in the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study – Diabetes Care (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Long-term Metformin Use ‘Has No Cognitive Impact’ – Medscape (free registration required)

Contradicting previous studies suggesting a link between metformin use and cognitive impairment, possibly related to an impaired absorption of B12, this study has shown no such association.

Cancer screening in the United States, 2017

23 May, 2017 | 14:27h | UTC

Cancer screening in the United States, 2017: A review of current American Cancer Society guidelines and current issues in cancer screening – CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (free)

Home Noninvasive Ventilation to Reduce Readmissions for COPD

23 May, 2017 | 14:30h | UTC

#ATS2017 – Effect of Home Noninvasive Ventilation With Oxygen Therapy vs Oxygen Therapy Alone on Hospital Readmission or Death After an Acute COPD Exacerbation: A Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA (free)

Editorial: Home Noninvasive Ventilation to Reduce Readmissions for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (free)

Commentary: Addition of Home Noninvasive Ventilation Tied to Fewer Readmissions After COPD Exacerbation – Physician’s First Watch (free)

American Urological Assn. Adds 5 More Unnecessary Practices to Choosing Wisely

23 May, 2017 | 14:24h | UTC

American Urological Assn. Adds 5 More Unnecessary Practices to Choosing Wisely – Physician’s First Watch (free)

Directly Observed Therapy for Multidrug-Resistant TB Decreases Mortality

23 May, 2017 | 14:29h | UTC

#ATS2017 – Directly Observed Therapy for Multidrug-Resistant TB Decreases Mortality – ATS 2017 Conference (free summary)

Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) was associated with a 77 percent decrease in mortality in observational study.

Reoperation and Medicare Expenditures After Laparoscopic Gastric Band Surgery

23 May, 2017 | 14:25h | UTC

Reoperation and Medicare Expenditures After Laparoscopic Gastric Band Surgery – JAMA Surgery (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Following gastric band surgery, device-related reoperation common, costly – Science Daily (free) AND Safety, Effectiveness of Gastric Banding Called Into Question – Medscape (free registration required) AND 1 In 5 Gastric Band Surgeries Require Corrective Operations – American Council on Science and Health (free)

Science Has Begun Taking Gluten Seriously

19 May, 2017 | 18:06h | UTC

Science Has Begun Taking Gluten Seriously – The Atlantic (free)

Original article: Long term gluten consumption in adults without celiac disease and risk of coronary heart disease: prospective cohort study – The BMJ (free)

“New research from Harvard and Columbia says gluten does not cause heart disease. Why is that even a question?”

Reducing Recurrent Stroke With PFO Closure

19 May, 2017 | 18:00h | UTC

Finally, Success Reducing Recurrent Stroke With PFO Closure – Medscape (free registration required)

Two randomized trials presented at the 3rd European Stroke Organization Conference (ESOC) 2017 showed that in carefully selected stroke patients in whom Patent Foramen Oval (PFO) was suspected to be a cause of their strokes, a reduction in recurrent stroke was observed with PFO closure.

Guidelines on eosinophilic esophagitis

23 May, 2017 | 14:26h | UTC

Guidelines on eosinophilic esophagitis: evidence-based statements and recommendations for diagnosis and management in children and adults – United European Gastroenterology Journals (free)

Time to Treatment and Mortality during Mandated Emergency Care for Sepsis

19 May, 2017 | 18:08h | UTC

Time to Treatment and Mortality during Mandated Emergency Care for Sepsis – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

Commentary: Doctors have resisted guidelines to treat sepsis. New study suggests those guidelines save lives – STAT News (free)

“For every hour you delay antibiotics in sepsis, mortality goes up” (RT @CMichaelGibson see Tweet)

“Trauma: Golden Hour

Cardiology: Time is muscle

Neurology: Time is brain

Sepsis: Early antibiotics to survive”

(interesting remark by @CMichaelGibson see Tweet)

Italy passes law obliging parents to vaccinate children

19 May, 2017 | 18:07h | UTC

Italy makes 12 vaccinations compulsory for children – BBC Health News (free) AND Italy passes law obliging parents to vaccinate children – Reuters Health (free)

“If children are not vaccinated by the age of six, the school starting age, their parents will be fined” (RT @anetrid see Tweet)

Without action on antibiotics, medicine will return to the dark ages

19 May, 2017 | 18:02h | UTC

Without action on antibiotics, medicine will return to the dark ages – The Guardian (free)

See more on “superbugs” in our February 28^th issue (see #1), April 6^th issue (see #9) and also in our Selection of news and education resources on Antibiotic Resistanc e

Mon, May 22 – 10 Medical Stories of The Day!

22 May, 2017 | 00:01h | UTC

1 – Time to Treatment and Mortality during Mandated Emergency Care for Sepsis – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

Commentary: Doctors have resisted guidelines to treat sepsis. New study suggests those guidelines save lives – STAT News (free)

“For every hour you delay antibiotics in sepsis, mortality goes up” (RT @CMichaelGibson see Tweet)

“Trauma: Golden Hour

Cardiology: Time is muscle

Neurology: Time is brain

Sepsis: Early antibiotics to survive”

(interesting remark by @CMichaelGibson see Tweet)

2 – Italy makes 12 vaccinations compulsory for children – BBC Health News (free) AND Italy passes law obliging parents to vaccinate children – Reuters Health (free)

“If children are not vaccinated by the age of six, the school starting age, their parents will be fined” (RT @anetrid see Tweet)

3 – Science Has Begun Taking Gluten Seriously – The Atlantic (free)

Original article: Long term gluten consumption in adults without celiac disease and risk of coronary heart disease: prospective cohort study – The BMJ (free)

“New research from Harvard and Columbia says gluten does not cause heart disease. Why is that even a question?”

4 – The effect of replacing saturated fat with mostly n-6 polyunsaturated fat on coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials – Nutrition Journal (free)

There has been a lot of controversy going on over the benefits and harms of saturated fats (April 27^th issue, see #3) and it is difficult to interpret this new meta-analysis from randomized trials suggesting there may be no benefit from replacing saturated fats for unsaturated fats, since they contradict current guidelines and most epidemiological data from high-quality, long-term prospective cohort studies.

5 – Report: Healthier, fairer, safer: the global health journey 2007–2017 (free)

“New report on WHO’s role in Global Health by Sir Liam Donaldson” (RT @WHO see Tweet)

6 – Healthcare Access and Quality Index based on mortality from causes amenable to personal health care in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2015: a novel analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 – The Lancet (free)

Commentaries: First-ever global study finds massive health care inequity – Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluatio (IHME) (free) AND Account for primary health care when indexing access and quality – The Lancet (free)

7 – Without action on antibiotics, medicine will return to the dark ages – The Guardian (free)

See more on “superbugs” in our February 28^th issue (see #1), April 6^th issue (see #9) and also in our Selection of news and education resources on Antibiotic Resistance

8 – Finally, Success Reducing Recurrent Stroke With PFO Closure – Medscape (free registration required)

9 – Report: #StatusOfMind Social media and young people’s mental health and wellbeing – Royal Society of Public Health (link to introduction – free PDF)

Commentaries: Instagram ‘worst for young mental health’ – BBC News (free) AND Instagram worst social media app for young people’s mental health – CNN news (free)

10 – Point of view: Is ‘Internet Addiction’ Real? – NPR Health News (free)

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