Wed, January 30 – 10 Stories of The Day!

1 – β-Blocker Therapy and Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – A Danish Nationwide Study of 1·3 Million Individuals – EClinicalMedicine (free)

Commentary: Beta-Blocker Use Linked to Lower Risk for COPD Hospitalization – NEJM Journal Watch (free)

Related review and meta-analysis: Beta-blockers in patients with chronic obstructive disease and coexistent cardiac illnesses – COPD Research and Practice (free) AND Beta-blocker use and COPD mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis – BMC Pulmonary Medicine (free)

Related observational studies: β-Blockers in COPD: A Cohort Study From the TONADO Research Program – CHEST (free) AND Effect of β blockers in treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective cohort study – The BMJ (free)

2 – Implementation of a Health Plan Program for Switching From Analogue to Human Insulin and Glycemic Control Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Type 2 Diabetes – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Medicare Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Safely Switched From Analog to Human Insulin, JAMA Study Finds – AJMC (free)

Related: Meta-Analysis: Comparative Benefits and Harms of Basal Insulin Analogues for Type 2 Diabetes (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Retrospective Observational Study: Basal Insulin Analogs vs NPH Insulin for Type 2 Diabetes (link to abstract and commentaries)

“Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) enrolled in a CareMore Health Medicare Part D plan switched from analog to human insulin without significant loss of glycemic control while saving millions for themselves and for the health plan.” (from AJMC)

3 – Prevalence of Cannabis Use Among Medical Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis – Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment (free)

“1 in 3 medical students has used cannabis, whereas 8.8% were current users”

4 – Ann Robinson’s research reviews, 29 January 2019 – The BMJ Opinion (free)

Ann Robinson reviews the latest research from the top medical journals.

5 – Point-of-Care Ultrasound in General Practice: A Systematic Review – Annals of Family Medicine (free)

6 – Perspective: Promises, promises, and precision medicine – JCI The Journal of Clinical Investigation (free)

Related: Representing a “revolution”: how the popular press has portrayed personalized medicine – Genetics in Medicine (free)

“Hype vs. reality. Vast disconnect between actual achievements of “precision medicine” and how portrayed in popular culture” (via @CaulfieldTim see Tweet)

“Nearly two decades after the first predictions of dramatic success, we find no impact of the human genome project on the population’s life expectancy or any other public health measure.” (via @MuinJKhoury see Tweet)

7 – British Association for Sexual Health and HIV national guideline for the management of infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae (2019) (free PDF)

Commentary: UK Gonorrhea Guideline Guards Against Antibiotic Resistance – MD Magazine (free)

Related Guideline: WHO Guidelines for the Treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae – World Health Organization (free)

8 – FSRH Clinical Guidance: Combined Hormonal Contraception – January 2019 – Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (free PDF)

Commentaries: No benefit to contraception pill intervals — according to guidance – OnMedica (free) AND Is it OK to take the pill every day without a break? – BBC News (free)

9 – Call to Action: Urgent Challenges in Cardiovascular Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association – Circulation (free PDF)

News Release: Lagging drug innovation, variations in quality of care and rising health care costs remain major barriers in fight against cardiovascular disease (free)

Commentaries: AHA issues ‘urgent’ call to action: 5 things to know – Cardiovascular Business (free) AND AHA Warns of Stagnating CVD Gains, Barriers to Access, and Dismal Drug Pipeline – TCTMD (free)

10 – Association Between Screen Time and Children’s Performance on a Developmental Screening Test – JAMA Pediatrics (free for a limited period)

Commentaries: Expert reaction to study on use of screen time and child development – Science Media Centre (free) AND Too much toddler screen time tied to worse social, motor skills by kindergarten – Reuters (free) AND More screen time for toddlers is tied to poorer development a few years later, study says – CNN (free) AND Screen time ‘may harm toddlers’ – BBC (free) AND Screen time predicts delays in child development, says new research – The Conversation (free)

Related Guidelines: Media devices in pre-school children: the recommendations of the Italian pediatric society – Italian Journal of Pediatrics (free) AND Media and Young Minds – Recommendations from The American Academy of Pediatrics (free)

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