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“The findings of this case-control study, with the modest effect sizes and substantial potential for bias, will not change how I counsel patients regarding benefits and risks of HT.” (from Journal Watch)

“Evidence is reassuring for women needing a few years’ treatment for menopausal symptoms” (from Editorial)

Fri, March 8 – 10 Stories of The Day!

8 Mar, 2019 | 06:22h | UTC

1 – Patient Safety Outcomes under Flexible and Standard Resident Duty-Hour Rules – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Related Study: Sleep and Alertness in a Duty-Hour Flexibility Trial in Internal Medicine – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Longer shifts do not create chronic sleep loss in first-year doctors or reduce safety for patients, study finds – University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (free) AND Flexible Medical Resident Duty Hours Did Not Pose Risks To Patients – MedicalResearch.com (free)

2 – Opinion: The war on ‘prediabetes’ could be a boon for pharma—but is it good medicine? – Science (free)

3 – Outpatient versus inpatient treatment for acute pulmonary embolism – Cochrane Library (free)

Summary: Outpatient versus inpatient treatment for acute pulmonary embolism – Cochrane Library (free)

4 – Once daily long‐acting beta2‐agonists and long‐acting muscarinic antagonists in a combined inhaler versus placebo for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – Cochrane Library (free)

Summary: Once daily long-acting beta2-agonists and long-acting muscarinic antagonists in a combined inhaler versus placebo for COPD – Cochrane Library (free)

5 – Swedish Society of Rheumatology 2018 guidelines for investigation, treatment, and follow-up of giant cell arteritis – Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology (free)

6 – Medical-ethical guidelines: Management of dying and death – Swiss Medical Weekly (free)

Among other topics, this comprehensive guideline discusses assisted suicide in patients not facing imminent death. Under the Swiss Criminal Code, assisting suicide is not an offence.

7 – ORBITA Absorbed: Principal Investigator Reflects on How Results Have Changed Her Practice – TCTMD (free)

Related: Research: Percutaneous coronary intervention in stable angina (ORBITA) (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Research: Physiology-Stratified Analysis of ORBITA (free study and commentaries)

8 – Coronary Heart Disease and Dietary Carbohydrate, Glycemic Index, and Glycemic Load: Dose-Response Meta-analyses of Prospective Cohort Studies – Mayo Clinic Proceedings (free)

9 – Control of blood pressure and risk of mortality in a cohort of older adults: the Berlin Initiative Study – European Heart Journal (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Blood Pressure Control and Mortality Risk in Older Adults – American College of Cardiology (free)

10 – Prospective associations between television in the preschool bedroom and later bio-psycho-social risks – Pediatric Research (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: A television in the bedroom? – University of Montreal (free)

See also: Children, Adolescents and Screens: What We Know and What We Need To Learn (Pediatrics Supplement with free articles)

Sleep, Alertness and Patient Safety Outcomes under Flexible vs. Standard Resident Duty-Hour Rules

8 Mar, 2019 | 06:18h | UTC

Patient Safety Outcomes under Flexible and Standard Resident Duty-Hour Rules – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Related Study: Sleep and Alertness in a Duty-Hour Flexibility Trial in Internal Medicine – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Longer shifts do not create chronic sleep loss in first-year doctors or reduce safety for patients, study finds – University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (free) AND Flexible Medical Resident Duty Hours Did Not Pose Risks To Patients – MedicalResearch.com (free)

Systematic Review: Outpatient vs. Inpatient Treatment for Acute Pulmonary Embolism

8 Mar, 2019 | 04:52h | UTC

Outpatient versus inpatient treatment for acute pulmonary embolism – Cochrane Library (free)

Summary: Outpatient versus inpatient treatment for acute pulmonary embolism – Cochrane Library (free)

Opinion: The War on ‘Prediabetes’ Could be a Boon for Pharma—But is it Good Medicine?

8 Mar, 2019 | 06:16h | UTC

The war on ‘prediabetes’ could be a boon for pharma—but is it good medicine? – Science (free)

Related Commentary on Twitter

The case that pre-#diabetes is a questionable diagnosis, no less its treatment https://t.co/aowaKzMa3b
by @cpiller @sciencemagazine pic.twitter.com/ZlzE3dbE0a

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) March 7, 2019

Swedish Guidelines for Investigation, Treatment, and Follow-up of Giant Cell Arteritis

8 Mar, 2019 | 03:13h | UTC

Swedish Society of Rheumatology 2018 guidelines for investigation, treatment, and follow-up of giant cell arteritis – Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology (free)

Systematic Review: Once Daily Long-acting Beta2-agonists + Long-acting Muscarinic Antagonists in a Combined Inhaler vs. Placebo for COPD

8 Mar, 2019 | 03:20h | UTC

Once daily long‐acting beta2‐agonists and long‐acting muscarinic antagonists in a combined inhaler versus placebo for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – Cochrane Library (free)

Summary: Once daily long-acting beta2-agonists and long-acting muscarinic antagonists in a combined inhaler versus placebo for COPD – Cochrane Library (free)

Medical-Ethical Guidelines: Management of Dying and Death

8 Mar, 2019 | 02:59h | UTC

Medical-ethical guidelines: Management of dying and death – Swiss Medical Weekly (free)

Among other topics, this comprehensive guideline discusses assisted suicide in patients not facing imminent death. Under the Swiss Criminal Code, assisting suicide is not an offense.

Cohort Study: Control of Blood Pressure and Risk of Mortality in a Cohort of Older Adults

8 Mar, 2019 | 02:46h | UTC

Control of blood pressure and risk of mortality in a cohort of older adults: the Berlin Initiative Study – European Heart Journal (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Blood Pressure Control and Mortality Risk in Older Adults – American College of Cardiology (free)

Related Commentary on Twitter

#BloodPressure in older adults – How low is too low and how high is too high? https://t.co/iEfF568O7J ⁦@AnastasiaSMihai⁩ @ESC_Journals⁩ ⁦@escardio⁩ https://t.co/4tZdVfuiG0

— Dominik Linz (@Dominik_Linz) March 6, 2019

ORBITA Absorbed: Principal Investigator Reflects on How Results Have Changed Her Practice

8 Mar, 2019 | 02:49h | UTC

ORBITA Absorbed: Principal Investigator Reflects on How Results Have Changed Her Practice – TCTMD (free)

Related: Research: Percutaneous coronary intervention in stable angina (ORBITA) (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Research: Physiology-Stratified Analysis of ORBITA (free study and commentaries)

Meta-Analysis: Coronary Heart Disease and Dietary Carbohydrate, Glycemic Index, and Glycemic Load

8 Mar, 2019 | 02:47h | UTC

Coronary Heart Disease and Dietary Carbohydrate, Glycemic Index, and Glycemic Load: Dose-Response Meta-analyses of Prospective Cohort Studies – Mayo Clinic Proceedings (free)

Expert Consensus: Parenteral Provision of Micronutrients to Adult Patients

7 Mar, 2019 | 13:15h | UTC

Parenteral Provision of Micronutrients to Adult Patients: An Expert Consensus Paper – Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (free)

Cohort Study: A Television in the Bedroom may Harm Preschoolers’ Development

8 Mar, 2019 | 02:44h | UTC

Prospective associations between television in the preschool bedroom and later bio-psycho-social risks – Pediatric Research (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: A television in the bedroom? – University of Montreal (free)

See also: Children, Adolescents and Screens: What We Know and What We Need To Learn (Pediatrics Supplement with free articles)

Opinion: “Let’s Help People Live Successfully to the End of Their Lives”

7 Mar, 2019 | 13:03h | UTC

Let’s help people live successfully to the end of their lives – The BMJ (free)

“we do need to challenge the prevailing dogma of “prevention at all costs”—and create a broader vision of how to help people live successfully to the very end of their lives”

Opinion: The A.I. Diet

7 Mar, 2019 | 13:14h | UTC

The A.I. Diet – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)

“Forget government-issued food pyramids. Let an algorithm tell you how to eat.”

Study: Impact of Procedure Time on Outcomes of Thrombectomy for Stroke

7 Mar, 2019 | 12:58h | UTC

Impact of Procedure Time on Outcomes of Thrombectomy for Stroke – Journal of the American College of Cardiology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: When Is It Time to Abandon Thrombectomy for Acute Stroke? New Clues – TCTMD (free) AND When should stroke thrombectomy be considered futile? – Cardiovascular Business (free) AND Impact of Procedure Time on Stroke Outcomes – American College of Cardiology (free)

FDA Approves Ketamine-like drug for Treatment-resistant Depression

7 Mar, 2019 | 12:44h | UTC

FDA approves new nasal spray medication for treatment-resistant depression; available only at a certified doctor’s office or clinic – U.S. Food & Drug Administration (free)

Commentaries: A ketamine-like drug is the first new antidepressant to get FDA approval in years: But it’s also controversial. – Vox (free) AND FDA Approves Intranasal Esketamine as Adjunctive Treatment for Depression – NEJM Journal Watch (free)

“But while some patient and doctor groups are hailing the approval, others aren’t so sure there’s enough evidence to justify it. That’s because the benefits of ketamine and esketamine aren’t yet well-understood. According to the FDA, the drug has only been studied in four clinical trials, three of them lasting just four weeks. And the results were pretty mixed.” (from Vox)

Related Commentary on Twitter

#FDA never learns from its past mistakes.
20 yrs ago, approved #Oxycontin, supposedly w restrictions.
We know how well those safety checks worked.
Now same blindness to risks of promoting #esketamine.
Doesnt it know people with #Depression will self medicate with street Special K https://t.co/FEj8S4QIFw

— Allen Frances (@AllenFrancesMD) March 6, 2019

Meta-Analysis: Patient Relevant Outcomes of Unicompartmental vs. Total Knee Replacement

7 Mar, 2019 | 12:50h | UTC

Patient relevant outcomes of unicompartmental versus total knee replacement: systematic review and meta-analysis – The BMJ (free)

Commentary: Pros and cons of knee replacement options reviewed – Medwire News (free)

Report: Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

7 Mar, 2019 | 11:45h | UTC

Artificial Intelligence in healthcare – Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (free PDF)

Commentaries: Report warns of AI healthcare limitations – HealthManagement.org (free) AND Academy of Medical Royal Colleges publishes report looking at the predicted impact of Artificial Intelligence – The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (free)

Thu, March 7 – 10 Stories of The Day!

7 Mar, 2019 | 03:23h | UTC

1 – NICE Guideline: Intrapartum care for women with existing medical conditions or obstetric complications and their babies – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (free)

2 – β-blockers after acute myocardial infarction in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A nationwide population-based observational study – PLOS One (free)

Related: Observational Study: β-Blocker Therapy Reduces the Risk for COPD Hospitalization (free study and reviews on the subject) AND β‐Blocker Use and Mortality in COPD Patients After Myocardial Infarction: A Swedish Nationwide Observational Study (free – similar study from Sweden)

Source: Hospital Medicine Virtual Journal Club

3 – Pre-hospital advanced airway management for adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: nationwide cohort study – the BMJ (free)

Commentary: ECG rhythm and airway management make all the difference during a heart attack – Osaka University (free)

4 – Associations of statin use with glycaemic traits and incident type 2 diabetes – British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (free PDF)

Commentaries: Statins associated with 38 per cent increased risk of type 2 diabetes – Diabetes.co.uk (free) AND Cholesterol-lowering drugs linked to higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes – News Medical (free)

5 – Diagnosis and Outpatient Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Review – JAMA (free for a limited period)

Podcast: COPD: All You Need to Know in 20 Minutes – JAMA (free)

6 – An ultrasound scan is not as useful as a CT scan in assessing trauma – NIHR Signal (free)

Original Article: Point‐of‐care ultrasonography for diagnosing thoracoabdominal injuries in patients with blunt trauma – Cochrane Library (free)

7 – Choosing Wisely Canada: Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question in Otolaryngology – Rhinology – Canadian Society of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery (free)

See complete lists of low-value practices: Choosing Wisely U.S. / Choosing Wisely UK / Choosing Wisely Australia AND Choosing Wisely Canada

8 – Inclusion body myositis: clinical features and pathogenesis – Nature Reviews Rheumatology (free)

9 – What do the people of the world die from? – BBC (free)

10 – The association between Zika virus infection and microcephaly in Brazil 2015–2017: An observational analysis of over 4 million births – PLOS Medicine (free)

Commentaries: Study confirms and quantifies Zika-microcephaly link in Brazil – PLOS (free) AND Study highlights early pregnancy Zika microcephaly risk – CIDRAP (free)

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