Archives
Podcast: Headaches Advanced Class
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:49h | UTC#122 Headaches Advanced Class: Migraines, medication overuse, and more! – Curbsiders Internal Medicine Podcast (free audio and summary)
Cohort Study: A Healthy Lifestyle Cuts Stroke Risk, Irrespective of Genetic Risk
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:41h | UTCCommentary: A healthy lifestyle cuts stroke risk, irrespective of genetic risk – University of Cambridge (free)
Guideline: Management of Patients with Patent Foramen Ovale
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:43h | UTC
WHO Guideline: Health Policy and System Support to Optimize Community Health Worker Programmes
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:28h | UTCNews Release: WHO launches new guideline on health policy and system support to optimize community health worker programmes (free)
Related: Health policy and system support to optimise community health worker programmes: an abridged WHO guideline – The Lancet Global Health (free)
NICE Guideline: Multiple Myeloma
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:33h | UTCMyeloma: diagnosis and management – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (free)
Systematic Review: Early Enteral Nutrition in Lower Gastrointestinal Surgery
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:26h | UTCEarly enteral nutrition within 24 hours of lower gastrointestinal surgery versus later commencement for length of hospital stay and postoperative complications – Cochrane Library (free)
This review suggests that early enteral feeding is associated with a shorter length of hospital stay. For all other outcomes (postoperative complications, mortality, adverse events, and QoL) the findings are inconclusive.
Randomized Trial: Intravenous Iron in Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:30h | UTCIntravenous Iron in Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
“Proactive administration of high-dose iv iron did not adversely affect mortality or CV events, but enabled reduced erythropoiesis-stimulating agent dosing and transfusion rates.” (via @NatRevNeph see Tweet)
Perspective: Overdiagnosis of Penicillin Allergy Leads to Costly, Inappropriate Treatment
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:23h | UTCOverdiagnosis of Penicillin Allergy Leads to Costly, Inappropriate Treatment – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Related: NICE: Double Check Patients with ‘Penicillin Allergy’ to Avoid Increased MRSA Risk (free) AND Antibiotic Use After Removal of Penicillin Allergy Label (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Allergy Testing in Children With Low-Risk Penicillin Allergy Symptoms (link to abstract and commentaries)
Position Paper: Palliative Care in Chronic Lung Diseases
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:22h | UTC
The Fight Against Non-Communicable Disease in Emerging Economies
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:18h | UTCThe fight against non-communicable disease in emerging economies – Nature (free)
“Health-care providers in low- and middle-income countries are shifting their focus away from infections, and towards the bigger problems of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”
Review: Medication Management of Patients with Cirrhosis
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:17h | UTCOptimizing medication management for patients with cirrhosis: Evidence‐based strategies and their outcomes – Liver International (free) (via @Abraham_RMI)
Physician Burnout Costs up to $17B a Year, Task Force Says
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:20h | UTCPhysician burnout costs up to $17B a year, task force says – HealthcareDive (free)
Related Position Paper: The Business Case for Humanity in Healthcare – National Taskforce for Humanity in Healthcare (free PDF)
Related: Systematic Review: Prevalence of Burnout Among Physicians (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Implementing Optimal Team-Based Care to Reduce Clinician Burnout (free review and commentaries) AND Association Between Physician Burnout and Patient Safety, Professionalism, and Patient Satisfaction (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Physician Burnout Can Lead to Major Medical Errors (link to abstract and commentaries) AND The Burnout Crisis in American Medicine (free perspectives on the subject)
Randomized Trial: Long-Term Albumin Administration in Decompensated Cirrhosis
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:15h | UTCAlbumin administrations can prolong survival for some people with liver disease – NIHR Signal (free)
Original Article: Long-term albumin administration in decompensated cirrhosis (ANSWER): an open-label randomised trial – The Lancet (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Fri, November 2 – 10 Stories of The Day!
2 Nov, 2018 | 01:12h | UTC
1 – Guidelines for the safe practice of total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) – Anaesthesia (free)
2 – Pediatric Readiness in the Emergency Department – Pediatrics (free)
News Release: Groups update joint guidance on pediatric emergency care (free)
Commentary: Popular drug combination for treatment resistant depression is not more effective than a single antidepressant in primary care – University of Bristol (free)
4 – Report: Cell Phone Radio Frequency Radiation – National Toxicology Program (free)
Commentaries: High exposure to radio frequency radiation associated with cancer in male rats – NIH News Releases (free) AND Expert reaction to study on mobile phones and rats – Science Media Centre (free) AND Study of Cellphone Risks Finds ‘Some Evidence’ of Link to Cancer, at Least in Male Rats – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
5 – Perspective: Current and Future Landscape of Nutritional Epidemiologic Research – JAMA (free for a limited period)
6 – Perspective: The Emperor’s New Clothes: a Critical Appraisal of Evidence-based Medicine – International Journal of Medical Sciences (free)
8 – Myocarditis in Adults: ED Presentations, Evaluation, and Management – emDocs (free)
Related: Effects of Sodium and Potassium Intake on Chronic Disease Outcomes and Risks (free report and summary) AND Urinary Sodium Excretion, Blood Pressure, Cardiovascular Disease, and Mortality (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Salt intake and Cardiovascular Disease (free report and commentary)
Wed, October 31 – 10 Stories of The Day!
31 Oct, 2018 | 01:28h | UTC
1 – Association of Short Interpregnancy Interval With Pregnancy Outcomes According to Maternal Age – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period)
Commentaries: Balancing the Risks and Desires for Pregnancy in Older Mothers: Increasing Morbidity, Declining Fertility – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period) AND Women ‘should leave at least a year between pregnancies’ – NHS Choices (free) AND Waiting a year between pregnancies lowers health risks, study says – CNN (free) AND Study: Do Even Older Moms Have To Wait 18 Months Between Pregnancies? – CommonHealth (free)
“It seems unlikely that cannabinoids are highly effective medicines for chronic noncancer pain conditions.”
3 – Prevalence of Financial Conflicts of Interest Among Authors of Clinical Guidelines Related to High-Revenue Medications – JAMA Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: More Than Half of Physician Guideline Authors for Expensive Medications Have Undeclared Conflicts of Interest – MedicalResearch.com (free) AND Many Clinical Guideline Authors Have Undeclared Payments – Medical Health News (free)
4 – Unpublished medical research ‘a threat to public health’ – BBC (free)
5 – Perspective: Surgical Value — Beyond Bundled Payments – NEJM Catalyst (free)
7 – Deep Learning for MR Angiography: Automated Detection of Cerebral Aneurysms – Radiology (free) (@EricTopol)
Editorial: Take turmeric with a grain of salt (free)
Commentary: Oral curcumin shows no benefit in reducing inflammation following vascular surgery – Canadian Medical Association Journal (free)
9 – Book: The Safe Food Imperative: Accelerating Progress in Low- and Middle-Income Countries – The World Bank (free PDF)
Commentary: DOACs in AF: Observational and Randomized Studies Don’t Always Agree – Medscape (free registration required)
Thu, November 1 – 10 Stories of The Day!
1 Nov, 2018 | 00:01h | UTC
1 – Antimicrobial prescribing guidelines – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (free resources)
Just Published Guidelines: Urinary tract infection (lower): antimicrobial prescribing (free) AND Urinary tract infection (recurrent): antimicrobial prescribing (free) AND Pyelonephritis (acute): antimicrobial prescribing (free) AND Prostatitis (acute): antimicrobial prescribing (free)
See also: Summary of antimicrobial prescribing guidance – managing common infections – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (free PDF)
Related Study: Survival after Minimally Invasive Radical Hysterectomy for Early-Stage Cervical Cancer – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
Editorial: Surgery in Cervical Cancer – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
Commentaries: Studies Warn Against Minimally Invasive Surgery for Cervical Cancer – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND More deaths seen for less invasive cervical cancer surgery – STAT (free) AND For Cervical Cancer Patients, Less Invasive Surgery Is Worse For Survival – NPR (free)
Commentaries: The association between BMI and mortality: implications for obesity prevention – The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology (free) AND BMI of 21-25kg/m2 linked to lowest risk of dying from cancer and heart disease – London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (free) AND Being too fat or too thin ‘can cost four years of life’ – BBC (free)
Commentaries: Expert reaction to study looking at plant based or vegan diets and type 2 diabetes – Science Media Centre (free) AND Vegan diet linked to better diabetes control and wellbeing – OnMedica (free)
5 – Prophylactic antibiotic therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – Cochrane Library (free)
Summary: Preventative antibiotic therapy for people with COPD – Cochrane Library (free)
“Use of continuous and intermittent prophylactic antibiotics results in a clinically significant benefit in reducing exacerbations in COPD patients.”
6 – Revised Australian national guidelines for colorectal cancer screening: family history – Medical Journal of Australia (free for 7 days)
7 – Targeted neurotechnology restores walking in humans with spinal cord injury – Nature (free)
Editorial: Paralysed people walk again after spinal-cord stimulation (free)
Commentaries: Spinal implant helps three paralysed men walk again – BBC (free) AND Once Paralyzed, Three Men Take Steps Again With Spinal Implant – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
8 – Review: Management of Cancer-Therapy-Induced LV Dysfunction: Can the Guidelines Help? – American College of Cardiology (free) (via @md_arianemacedo)
Related: Cardio-Onco-Hematology in Clinical Practice (series of reviews and guidelines on the subject)
9 – Payment Designed for People: Introducing the Primary Care Outcomes Model – NEJM Catalyst (free)
Related Study: Early Antibiotic Exposure and Weight Outcomes in Young Children – Pediatrics (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Expert reaction to antibiotic and antacid use in early childhood and risk of obesity – Science Media Centre (free) AND Antibiotic Exposure in Early Life Tied to Slightly Higher Obesity Risk – NEJM Journal Watch (free) AND Antibiotics, H2RAs and PPIs linked to child obesity – OnMedica (free) AND Two studies tie early antibiotic exposure to increased obesity risk – CIDRAP (free)
Mon, October 29 – 10 Stories of The Day!
29 Oct, 2018 | 00:01h | UTC
1 – Guideline: Myeloma: diagnosis and management – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (free)
“Proactive administration of high-dose iv iron did not adversely affect mortality or CV events, but enabled reduced erythropoiesis-stimulating agent dosing and transfusion rates.” (via @NatRevNeph see Tweet)
News Release: WHO launches new guideline on health policy and system support to optimize community health worker programmes (free)
Related: Health policy and system support to optimise community health worker programmes: an abridged WHO guideline – The Lancet Global Health (free)
4 – Early enteral nutrition within 24 hours of lower gastrointestinal surgery versus later commencement for length of hospital stay and postoperative complications – Cochrane Library (free)
This review suggests that early enteral feeding is associated with a shorter length of hospital stay. For all other outcomes (postoperative complications, mortality, adverse events, and QoL) the findings are inconclusive.
5 – Perspective: Overdiagnosis of Penicillin Allergy Leads to Costly, Inappropriate Treatment – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Related: NICE: Double Check Patients with ‘Penicillin Allergy’ to Avoid Increased MRSA Risk (free) AND Antibiotic Use After Removal of Penicillin Allergy Label (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Allergy Testing in Children With Low-Risk Penicillin Allergy Symptoms (link to abstract and commentaries)
7 – Physician burnout costs up to $17B a year, task force says – HealthcareDive (free)
Related Position Paper: The Business Case for Humanity in Healthcare – National Taskforce for Humanity in Healthcare (free PDF)
Related: Systematic Review: Prevalence of Burnout Among Physicians (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Implementing Optimal Team-Based Care to Reduce Clinician Burnout (free review and commentaries) AND Association Between Physician Burnout and Patient Safety, Professionalism, and Patient Satisfaction (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Physician Burnout Can Lead to Major Medical Errors (link to abstract and commentaries) AND The Burnout Crisis in American Medicine (free perspectives on the subject)
8 – The fight against non-communicable disease in emerging economies – Nature (free)
“Health-care providers in low- and middle-income countries are shifting their focus away from infections, and towards the bigger problems of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”
9 – Review: Optimizing medication management for patients with cirrhosis: Evidence‐based strategies and their outcomes – Liver International (free) (via @Abraham_RMI)
10 – Albumin administrations can prolong survival for some people with liver disease – NIHR Signal (free)
Original Article: Long-term albumin administration in decompensated cirrhosis (ANSWER): an open-label randomised trial – The Lancet (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Tue, October 30 – 10 Stories of The Day!
30 Oct, 2018 | 01:15h | UTC
1 – Report: Air pollution and child health: prescribing clean air – World Health Organization (free)
Commentaries: WHO says air pollution kills 600,000 children every year – Reuters (free) AND 90% of world’s children are breathing toxic air, WHO study finds – The Guardian (free)
Related: How air pollution is destroying our health – World Health Organization (free) AND Air pollution is the ‘new tobacco’, warns WHO head – The Guardian (free)
Commentaries: Effectiveness and Safety of Bariatric Procedures for Weight Loss – Annals of Internal Medicine (free) AND Gastric bypass surgery associated with greater weight loss in adults – Kaiser Permanente (free)
3 – Modernized Classification of Cardiac Antiarrhythmic Drugs – Circulation (free)
4 – Drug-Induced Interstitial Lung Disease: A Systematic Review – Journal of Clinical Medicine (free)
Commentary: Drugs’ side effects in lungs ‘more widespread than thought’ – The University of Manchester (free)
5 – Alex Nowbar’s research reviews, 29 October 2018 – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Alex Nowbar reviews the latest research from the top medical journals.
6 – Podcast: #122 Headaches Advanced Class: Migraines, medication overuse, and more! – Curbsiders Internal Medicine Podcast (free audio and summary)
Related: A huge database of scientific retractions is live. That’s great for science. – VOX (free)
8 – Benefits and Harms of Antihypertensive Treatment in Low-Risk Patients With Mild Hypertension – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period)
Commentaries: Treatment for moderately high blood pressure may be best saved for those at high risk – University of Cambridge (free) AND Study Questions Whether Treating Mild Hypertension Benefits Patients – NEJM Journal Watch (free)
Commentary: A healthy lifestyle cuts stroke risk, irrespective of genetic risk – University of Cambridge (free)
Guideline: Oxygen Therapy for Acutely Ill Medical Patients
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:59h | UTCOxygen therapy for acutely ill medical patients: a clinical practice guideline – The BMJ (free)
News Release: New guidance recommends minimal oxygen use for most people in hospital – The BMJ (free)
Guideline: Antiplatelet Therapy in Patients Undergoing Elective Invasive Procedures
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:58h | UTC
Review: The Global Burden of Multiple Chronic Conditions
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:57h | UTCThe global burden of multiple chronic conditions: A narrative review – Preventive Medicine Reports (free)
Related: Multimorbidity: A Priority for Global Health Research (free report and commentaries) AND Meta-Analysis: Effectiveness of Interventions for Managing Multiple High-Burden Chronic Diseases in Older Adults (free study and commentaries) Designing a High-Performing Health Care System for Patients with Complex Needs (several perspectives on the subject)
The Skeptic: What Precision Medicine Revolution?
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:55h | UTCThe skeptic: What precision medicine revolution? – MIT Technology Review (free)
Related: What Precisely Is Precision Oncology—and Will It Work? – The ASCO Post (free)
Perspective: The Troubling Epidemic of Unnecessary C-sections Around the World, Explained
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:56h | UTCThe troubling epidemic of unnecessary C-sections around the world, explained – VOX (free)
Related WHO Recommendations: Non-Clinical Interventions to Reduce Unnecessary Cesarean Sections (free guideline and commentaries)
Related The Lancet Series: Optimising Cesarean Section Use (free articles)
Related Cochrane Review: Non‐Clinical Interventions for Reducing Unnecessary Caesarean Section (free review and summary)
“The C-section rate has doubled in less than a generation, from 12 percent of all births in 2000 to 21 percent in 2015.”
Review: Similarities and Differences Between Biliary Sludge and Microlithiasis
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:52h | UTC
Review: Pacemaker‐Mediated Arrhythmias
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:49h | UTCPacemaker‐mediated arrhythmias – Journal of Arrythmia (free)


