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Management of Breech Presentation

28 Mar, 2017 | 16:47h | UTC

Management of Breech Presentation: Green-top Guideline – British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (free)

Tue, Mar 28 – Top 10 Medical News Stories

28 Mar, 2017 | 00:01h | UTC

1 – A framework for malaria elimination – World Health Organization (free) (RT @Onisillos)

News release: WHO releases new guidance on malaria elimination (free)

“Updated 2017 framework gives guidance, tools, activities and strategies to achieve malaria elimination, 10 years on” (RT @MalariaAtlas)

2 – Implementation and Evaluation of a Large-Scale Teleretinal Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Program in the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services – JAMA Internal Medicine (free) (RT @PreetiNMalani)

Editorial: Seeing the Effect of Health Care Delivery Innovation in the Safety Net (free)

A large-scale telemedicine diabetic retinopathy screening program increased overall rates of screening by 16.3%, and wait times for screening were reduced by 89.2%.

3 – Association of Gastric Acid Suppression with Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (link to abstract – $ required for full-text)

“Another study that suggests gastric acid suppression may increase risk of recurrent Clostridium difficile” (RT @PreetiNMalani)

4 – The Comics Revealing Medical School’s Hidden Flaws and Hard Lessons – The Atlantic (free)

Source: Global Health Now Newsletter

Very interesting read…

5 – A.I. VERSUS M.D – What happens when diagnosis is automated? – The New Yorker (free) (RT @EricTopol)

“In some trials, “deep learning” systems have outperformed human experts.”

6 – Richard Lehman’s weekly review of medical journals, 27 March 2017 – The BMJ Blogs (free)

7 – Just Started: Leading Healthcare Quality and Safety – Free Online Course from The George Washington University and Coursera (free)

8 – Management of Breech Presentation: Green-top Guideline – British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (free)

9 – Enhanced recovery after surgery: Current research insights and future direction – World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery (free)

10 – Diagnosis of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension – European Respiratory Review (free)

Telehealth Doctor Visits

27 Mar, 2017 | 00:57h | UTC

Telehealth Doctor Visits May Be Handy, But Aren’t Cheaper Overall – NPR Health News (free)

Link to original article abstract ($ required for full-text): Direct-To-Consumer Telehealth May Increase Access to Care But Does Not Decrease Spending – Health Affairs

Costs have increased in this study because 88 percent of telehealth visits represented people who would not have gone to a doctor otherwise.

Surgeries are being performed with the patient awake

27 Mar, 2017 | 00:59h | UTC

Going Under the Knife, With Eyes and Ears Wide Open – New York Times (free access to 10 articles per month)

“More and more surgeries are being performed with the patient awake and looking on, for financial and medical reasons”.

Revised Framingham Stroke Risk Profile

27 Mar, 2017 | 00:48h | UTC

Revised Framingham Stroke Risk Profile to Reflect Temporal Trends – Circulation (free)

“A revised Framingham Stroke Risk Profile more accurate at predicting contemporary stroke risk”.

“Instant classic paper on stroke risk prediction?! Will patients be interested in this?” (RT @MaryCushmanMD)

Adverse Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatments

27 Mar, 2017 | 00:48h | UTC

Adverse Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatments Vary – MedPage Today (free registration required)

Study 1 – Link to abstract ($ required for full-text): Association Between Radiation Therapy, Surgery, or Observation for Localized Prostate Cancer and Patient-Reported Outcomes After 3 Years – JAMA

Study 2 – Link to abstract ($ required for full-text): Association Between Choice of Radical Prostatectomy, External Beam Radiotherapy, Brachytherapy, or Active Surveillance and Patient-Reported Quality of Life Among Men With Localized Prostate Cancer – JAMA

HER2 Testing and Clinical Decision Making in Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma

27 Mar, 2017 | 00:53h | UTC

HER2 Testing and Clinical Decision Making in Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma: Guideline From the College of American Pathologists, American Society for Clinical Pathology, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (free)

Source: EvidenceAlerts (free registration required)

#WorldTBDay, 24 March 2017

24 Mar, 2017 | 17:19h | UTC

#WorldTBDay, 24 March 2017 – Highlights from Today’s Campaigns and Resources

1 – #WorldTBDay – World Health Organization Campaign (free)

See also: WHO’s work on TB (free)

2 – #WorldTBDay – Ethics guidance for the implementation of the End TB strategy 2017 – World Health Organization (free)

News Release: WHO issues ethics guidance to protect rights of TB patients (free)

3 – #WorldTBDay – The End TB Strategy – World Health Organization (free)

See also: Implementing the end TB strategy: the essentials (free)

4 – #WorldTBDay – Global tuberculosis report 2016 – World Health Organization (free)

News release: WHO report warns global actions and investments to end tuberculosis epidemic are falling far short (free)

5 #WorldTBDay – WHO treatment guidelines for drug-resistant tuberculosis (2016 update) – World Health Organization (free)

See also: WHO resources on drug-resistant tuberculosis (free)

6 – #WorldTBDay – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Campaign (free)

7 – #WorldTBDay – The epidemiology, pathogenesis, transmission, diagnosis, and management of multidrug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant, and incurable tuberculosis – The Lancet Respiratory Medicine (free registration required)

“Rise of multi-drug resistant strains of tuberculosis could derail global efforts to eradicate the disease, according to a new report”

8 – #WorldTBDay – Open Access Special collection from Elsevier Journals (free)

9 – #WorldTBDay – Clinical management of adults and children with multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis – Clinical Microbiology and Infection (free)

10 – #WorldTBDay – Preventing the spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and protecting contacts of infectious cases – Clinical Microbiology and Infection (free)

Prenatal nutrition, socioenvironmental conditions, and child development

27 Mar, 2017 | 00:43h | UTC

Maternal multiple micronutrient supplementation and other biomedical and socioenvironmental influences on children’s cognition at age 9–12 years in Indonesia: follow-up of the SUMMIT randomised trial – The Lancet Global Health (free)

Related commentary: Prenatal nutrition, socioenvironmental conditions, and child development (free)

“Maternal MMN had long-term benefits for child cognitive development at 9–12 years of age, thereby supporting its role in early childhood development, and policy change toward MMN”. The related commentary above does not seem to agree with this statement from the authors, stating that the new evidence does not provide enough weight for a policy change from prenatal iron and folate to MMN supplementation.

Efficacy of Heat-Stable Oral Rotavirus Vaccine

23 Mar, 2017 | 17:18h | UTC

Efficacy of a Low-Cost, Heat-Stable Oral Rotavirus Vaccine in Niger – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

Editorial: Rotavirus Vaccines – A New Hope (free)

Quick Take Video Summary: Efficacy of Heat-Stable Oral Rotavirus Vaccine (free)

Mon, Mar 27 – Top 10 Medical News Stories

27 Mar, 2017 | 00:37h | UTC

1 – Gates Foundation announces open-access publishing venture – Nature News (free)

Another victory for open science.

2 – Going Under the Knife, With Eyes and Ears Wide Open – New York Times (free access to 10 articles per month)

“More and more surgeries are being performed with the patient awake and looking on, for financial and medical reasons”.

3 – Telehealth Doctor Visits May Be Handy, But Aren’t Cheaper Overall – NPR Health News (free)

Link to original article abstract ($ required for full-text): Direct-To-Consumer Telehealth May Increase Access to Care But Does Not Decrease Spending – Health Affairs

Costs have increased in this study because 88 percent of telehealth visits represented people who would not have gone to a doctor otherwise.

4 – ESPEN guideline: Clinical nutrition in surgery – Clinical Nutrition (free)

Source: Critical Care Reviews Newsletter

5 – HER2 Testing and Clinical Decision Making in Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma: Guideline From the College of American Pathologists, American Society for Clinical Pathology, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (free)

Source: EvidenceAlerts (free registration required)

6 – Adverse Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatments Vary – MedPage Today (free registration required)

Study 1 – Link to abstract ($ required for full-text): Association Between Radiation Therapy, Surgery, or Observation for Localized Prostate Cancer and Patient-Reported Outcomes After 3 Years – JAMA

Study 2 – Link to abstract ($ required for full-text): Association Between Choice of Radical Prostatectomy, External Beam Radiotherapy, Brachytherapy, or Active Surveillance and Patient-Reported Quality of Life Among Men With Localized Prostate Cancer – JAMA

7 – Revised Framingham Stroke Risk Profile to Reflect Temporal Trends – Circulation (free)

“A revised Framingham Stroke Risk Profile more accurate at predicting contemporary stroke risk”.

“Instant classic paper on stroke risk prediction?! Will patients be interested in this?” (RT @MaryCushmanMD)

8 – Association between clinically recorded alcohol consumption and initial presentation of 12 cardiovascular diseases: population based cohort study using linked health records – The BMJ (free)

Editorial: Alcohol and cardiovascular disease (free)

9 – Maternal multiple micronutrient supplementation and other biomedical and socioenvironmental influences on children’s cognition at age 9–12 years in Indonesia: follow-up of the SUMMIT randomised trial – The Lancet Global Health (free)

10 – #WorldTBDay (24 March 2017) – New Commentaries (see previous commentaries and resources)

New estimate suggests a quarter of the world’s population has latent tuberculosis – The Conversation (free) AND Report warns of rise in drug-resistant tuberculosis – CIDRAP (free) AND Latest transmission patterns for drug resistant TB pose a new challenge – The Conversation (free)

Alcohol and cardiovascular disease

27 Mar, 2017 | 00:46h | UTC

Association between clinically recorded alcohol consumption and initial presentation of 12 cardiovascular diseases: population based cohort study using linked health records – The BMJ (free)

Editorial: Alcohol and cardiovascular disease (free)

Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2017

23 Mar, 2017 | 17:06h | UTC

Selected articles from the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2017 – Critical Care (free)

10 open access review articles selected from the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2017.

Genetic assessment of age-associated Alzheimer disease risk

23 Mar, 2017 | 17:01h | UTC

Genetic assessment of age-associated Alzheimer disease risk: Development and validation of a polygenic hazard score – PLOS Medicine (free) (RT @EricTopol see Tweet)

*Very interesting, but do we want to know?*

Fri, Mar 24 – Top 10 Medical News Stories

24 Mar, 2017 | 00:01h | UTC

#WorldTBDay, 24 March 2017 – Highlights from Today’s Campaigns and Resources

1 – #WorldTBDay – World Health Organization Campaign (free)

See also: WHO’s work on TB (free)

2 – #WorldTBDay – Ethics guidance for the implementation of the End TB strategy 2017 – World Health Organization (free)

News Release: WHO issues ethics guidance to protect rights of TB patients (free)

3 – #WorldTBDay – The End TB Strategy – World Health Organization (free)

4 – #WorldTBDay – Global tuberculosis report 2016 – World Health Organization (free)

News release: WHO report warns global actions and investments to end tuberculosis epidemic are falling far short (free)

5 #WorldTBDay – WHO treatment guidelines for drug-resistant tuberculosis (2016 update) – World Health Organization (free)

See also: WHO resources on drug-resistant tuberculosis (free)

6 – #WorldTBDay – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Campaign (free)

“Rise of multi-drug resistant strains of tuberculosis could derail global efforts to eradicate the disease, according to a new report”

8 – #WorldTBDay – Open Access Special collection from Elsevier Journals (free)

9 – #WorldTBDay – Clinical management of adults and children with multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis – Clinical Microbiology and Infection (free)

10 – #WorldTBDay – Preventing the spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and protecting contacts of infectious cases – Clinical Microbiology and Infection (free)

Adoption of tobacco control policies and reduction in smoking prevalence

23 Mar, 2017 | 17:03h | UTC

Implementation of key demand-reduction measures of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and change in smoking prevalence in 126 countries: an association study – The Lancet Public Health (free)

“The authors deserve ample credit for reinforcing, with solid empirical evidence, the core message in the FCTC: tobacco control policy matters”

#WorldWaterDay (22 March 2017)

23 Mar, 2017 | 17:08h | UTC

#WorldWaterDay (22 March 2017): Guidelines for drinking-water quality 2017 – World Health Organization (free)

Mechanical ventilation in obese ICU patients

23 Mar, 2017 | 17:05h | UTC

Review: Mechanical ventilation in obese ICU patients: from intubation to extubation – Critical Care (free)

Thu, Mar 23 – Top 10 Medical News Stories

23 Mar, 2017 | 00:01h | UTC

1 – Efficacy of a Low-Cost, Heat-Stable Oral Rotavirus Vaccine in Niger – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

Editorial: Rotavirus Vaccines – A New Hope (free)

Quick Take Video Summary: Efficacy of Heat-Stable Oral Rotavirus Vaccine (free)

2 – Trial of Pregabalin for Acute and Chronic Sciatica – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ required for full-text)

Pregabalin did not reduce pain and was associated with higher incidence of adverse events.

3 – #WorldWaterDay (22 March 2017): Guidelines for drinking-water quality 2017 – World Health Organization (free)

4 – Selected articles from the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2017 – Critical Care (free)

10 open access review articles selected from the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2017.

5 – Mechanical ventilation in obese ICU patients: from intubation to extubation – Critical Care (free)

6 – Implementation of key demand-reduction measures of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and change in smoking prevalence in 126 countries: an association study – The Lancet Public Health (free)

“The authors deserve ample credit for reinforcing, with solid empirical evidence, the core message in the FCTC: tobacco control policy matters”

7 – Genetic assessment of age-associated Alzheimer disease risk: Development and validation of a polygenic hazard score – PLOS Medicine (free) (RT @EricTopol see Tweet)

*Very interesting, but do we want to know?*

8 – PLOS Medicine special issue edited by Carol Brayne & Bruce Miller: Dementia Across the Lifespan and Around the Globe (free) (RT @tshakey)

9 – Prosthetic joint infection development of an evidence-based diagnostic algorithm – European Journal of Medical Research (free)

Comprehensive review with practical algorithm.

10 – Dairy consumption, systolic blood pressure, and risk of hypertension: Mendelian randomization study – The BMJ (free)

Contradicting evidence from previous observational studies, dairy consumption was not associated with lower blood pressure.

Pregabalin for Acute and Chronic Sciatica

23 Mar, 2017 | 17:15h | UTC

Trial of Pregabalin for Acute and Chronic Sciatica – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ required for full-text)

Pregabalin did not reduce pain and was associated with higher incidence of adverse events.

Mon, Mar 20 – Top 10 Medical News Stories

20 Mar, 2017 | 00:01h | UTC

#ACC17 – Highlights from the American College of Cardiology’s 66th Annual Scientific Session

1 – #ACC17 – PCI, Drugs Equally Beneficial for Treating Fully Blocked Arteries: Study shows percutaneous coronary intervention is not needed in all cases – Latest in Cardiology, American College of Cardiology (free)

See also: First Clinical Trial of CTO Procedures Fails to Deliver – Medscape (free registration required)

– Among patients with at least one coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) added to optimal medical therapy did not improve outcomes.

– “DECISION-CTO is a strong RCT testing medical therapy to CTO procedures. No diff in outcomes and, crucially, no diff in angina. Wow” (RT @drjohnm – see tweet).

2 – #ACC17 – Evolocumab and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

Editorial: PCSK9 Inhibition to Reduce Cardiovascular Events (free)

“PCSK9 costs 14K per year or 28K for 2 years, would need to treat 66 patients to prevent one event at cost of $1,848,000/ 2 yrs, $924,000/yr” (RT @CMichaelGibson – see tweet)

“Evolocumab did not reduce cardiovascular or death from any cause. There was not even a trend for improvement” (see Medscape commentary above)

3 – #ACC17 – Fractional Flow Reserve-Guided Multivessel Angioplasty in Myocardial Infarction – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

Editorial: Complete Revascularization in ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction? (free)

“The advantage in Compare-Acute was mostly due to fewer repeat revascularizations; larger trials are needed to assess hard outcomes.” (TCTMD commentary above).

4 – #ACC17 – Surgical or Transcatheter Aortic-Valve Replacement in Intermediate-Risk Patients – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

“Mortality and stroke at 2 years were similar with surgery and transcatheter aortic-valve replacement, but different adverse events were associated with each procedure” (from commentary above)

5 – #ACC17 – Depression Doubles Risk of Death After Heart Attack, Angina – Latest in Cardiology, American College of Cardiology (free)

“Effect persists for years, underscoring the need for mental health screening and treatment”.

6 – #ACC17 – AFib Patients Taking Digoxin Have Increased Risk of Death – Latest in Cardiology, American College of Cardiology (free)

7 – #ACC17 – Coronary atherosclerosis in indigenous South American Tsimane: a cross-sectional cohort study – The Lancet (link to abstract – $ required for full-text)

See also: ‘Healthiest hearts in the world’ found – BBC News (free) AND Indigenous Bolivians Have Some of the Healthiest Hearts – New York Times (free access to 10 articles per month)

8 – #ACC17 – Rivaroxaban or Aspirin for Extended Treatment of Venous Thromboembolism – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

Editorial: Reduced-Intensity Rivaroxaban for the Prevention of Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism (free)

“The number needed to treat to prevent one VTE was 30 with the 10 mg dose of rivaroxaban and 33 with the 20 mg dose of rivaroxaban” (see Latest in Cardiology commentary above).

9 – #ACC17 – Researchers Sound Alarm Over Zika’s Potentially Harmful Heart Effects – Latest in Cardiology, American College of Cardiology (free)

10 – #ACC17 – Web-Based Lifestyle Counseling Leads to 10-point Reduction in Systolic Blood Pressure – Latest in Cardiology, American College of Cardiology (free)

Dairy consumption and risk of hypertension

23 Mar, 2017 | 16:56h | UTC

Dairy consumption, systolic blood pressure, and risk of hypertension: Mendelian randomization study – The BMJ (free)

Contradicting evidence from previous observational studies, dairy consumption was not associated with lower blood pressure.

Dementia Across the Lifespan and Around the Globe

23 Mar, 2017 | 16:59h | UTC

PLOS Medicine special issue edited by Carol Brayne & Bruce Miller: Dementia Across the Lifespan and Around the Globe (free) (RT @tshakey)

Prosthetic joint infection management

23 Mar, 2017 | 16:57h | UTC

Prosthetic joint infection: development of an evidence-based diagnostic algorithm – European Journal of Medical Research (free)

Comprehensive review with practical algorithm.

Thu, Mar 16 – Top 10 Medical News Stories

16 Mar, 2017 | 00:01h | UTC

1 – 2017 AHA/ACC Focused Update of the 2014 AHA/ACC Guideline for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease (free PDF)

2 – Focused Update of the Valvular Heart Disease Guideline Released – Latest in Cardiology, American College of Cardiology (free) (RT @ACCinTouch)

3 – ECRI Institute Names Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for 2017 (free news release / free registration required to download the report)

Source: ECRI’s 2017 Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns – Medscape (free registration required)

“New report examines root causes for serious patient safety events”.

4 – What Hospitals Waste – ProPublica (free)

Source: What Hospitals Waste – Medscape (free registration required)

“The nation’s health care tab is sky-high. We’re tracking down the reasons. First stop: A look at all the perfectly good stuff hospitals throw away”

5 – Why clinical trial outcomes fail to translate into benefits for patients – Trials (free) (RT @BioMedCentral)

6 – Should hospitals — and doctors — apologize for medical mistakes? – The Washington Post (free)

7 – Depression Doubles Risk of Death After Heart Attack, Angina – Latest in Cardiology, American College of Cardiology (free) (RT @ACCmediacenter) #ACC17

“Effect persists for years, underscoring the need for mental health screening and treatment”

8 – Association between concurrent use of prescription opioids and benzodiazepines and overdose: retrospective analysis – The BMJ (free)

Patients with concurrent use of opioids and benzodiazepines had a substantially higher risk of an emergency room visit or inpatient admission for opioid overdose.

9 – Particulate air pollution and mortality in 38 of China’s largest cities: time series analysis – The BMJ (free)

“Adopting and enforcing tighter air quality standards in China could save 3 million premature deaths each year”

10 – Risk of heart failure after community acquired pneumonia: prospective controlled study with 10 years of follow-up – The BMJ (free)

Patients diagnosed with community acquired pneumonia had increased risk of heart failure in the following years.

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