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Observational analysis of over 300.000 patients suggests a J-shaped, or U-shaped relationships between BP and outcomes (both lower and higher BP levels detrimental). Among patients submitted to thrombolytic therapy, there were fewer complications with lower blood pressure.

Predicting Heart Events After Liver Transplant

13 Jul, 2017 | 20:45h | UTC

Predicting Heart Events After Liver Transplant – Northwestern University, via NewsWise (free)

Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality

12 Jul, 2017 | 16:02h | UTC

Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality – Nature (link to abstract and free graphics – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: NIH-funded team uses smartphone data in global study of physical activity – NIH News Release (free) AND Do you live in the world’s laziest country? – BBC News (free)

“Big data in action! Scientists analyzed smartphone data from 700k+ ppl&100 countries to study physical activity” (RT @NIHDirector see Tweet)

Advances in the causes and management of community acquired pneumonia in adults

12 Jul, 2017 | 15:51h | UTC

State of The Art Review: Advances in the causes and management of community acquired pneumonia in adults – The BMJ (free)

Thu, July 13 – 10 Stories of The Day!

13 Jul, 2017 | 00:04h | UTC

1 – Report: Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene – World Health Organization (free)

News release: 2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water at home, more than twice as many lack safe sanitation (free)

“New WHO/UNICEF report: 2.1 billion ppl lack safe drinking water at home, more than 2x as many lack safe sanitation” (RT @WHO see Tweet with Infographics)

2 – Association of Positive Airway Pressure With Cardiovascular Events and Death in Adults With Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: More Doubt Cast on CPAP for Reducing CVD Risk in Sleep Apnea Patients – MedPage Today (free registration required) AND Positive airway pressure doesn’t reduce heart risk with sleep apnea – Reuters (free)

“PAP for obstructive sleep apnea improves quality of life but not CV events or BP with up to 5 years of follow up” (RT @AnilMakam see Tweet)

3 – State of The Art Review: Advances in the causes and management of community acquired pneumonia in adults – The BMJ (free)

4 – Blood pressure and in-hospital outcomes in patients presenting with ischaemic stroke – European Heart Journal (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Blood Pressure and Outcomes After Ischemic Stroke – American College of Cardiology, Latest in Cardiology (free)

Observational analysis of over 300.000 patients suggests a J-shaped, or U-shaped relationships between BP and outcomes (both lower and higher BP levels are probably detrimental). Among patients submitted to thrombolytic therapy, there were fewer complications with lower blood pressure.

5 – Effect of Antidepressant Switching vs Augmentation on Remission Among Patients With Major Depressive Disorder Unresponsive to Antidepressant Treatment: The VAST-D Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Study Compares Switching Meds vs an Additional Med for Patients Unresponsive to an Antidepressant – The Jama Network (free) AND For Treatment-Resistant Depression, Add an Antipsychotic or Switch Antidepressants? – Physician’s First Watch (free)

Augmentation with aripiprazole led to a modestly increased likelihood of remission, but with more adverse effects. “Given the small effect size and adverse effects associated with aripiprazole, further analysis including cost-effectiveness is needed to understand the net utility of this approach”.

6 – Association Between Alendronate Use and Hip Fracture Risk in Older Patients Using Oral Prednisolone – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Alendronate Cuts Hip-Fracture Rates in High-Risk Elderly – Medscape (free registration required) AND Alendronate helps cut hip fracture risk with prednisolone – OnMedica (free) AND Alendronate Might Help Protect Against Hip Fracture in Patients Taking Prednisolone – Physician’s First Watch (free)

Retrospective cohort suggests alendronate might reduce fracture risk in the short term in elderly patients taking prednisolone.

7 – Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality – Nature (link to abstract and free graphics – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: NIH-funded team uses smartphone data in global study of physical activity – NIH News Release (free) AND Do you live in the world’s laziest country? – BBC News (free)

“Big data in action! Scientists analyzed smartphone data from 700k+ ppl&100 countries to study physical activity” (RT @NIHDirector see Tweet)

8 – Summary with 10 key points to remember: Diagnosis and Management of Resistant Hypertension – American College of Cardiology, Latest in Cardiology (free)

Original article: Diagnosis and management of resistant hypertension – Heart (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

9 – Meta-analysis: Safety and Efficacy of Dual Versus Triple Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention – American Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Source: EvidenceAlerts (free resource to find articles of interest)

“In patients receiving anticoagulant therapy, a strategy of single antiplatelet therapy confers a benefit of less major bleeding with no difference in all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, major adverse cardiac events, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, or thromboembolic event rate compared with dual antiplatelet therapy”.

10 – Beverage Intake During Pregnancy and Childhood Adiposity – Pediatrics (free)

Commentaries: Consumption of sugar sweetened beverages during pregnancy linked to childhood obesity – 2 Minute Medicine (free) AND Drinking sugary beverages in pregnancy linked to kids’ later weight gain – Science News (free)

Antidepressant Switching vs Augmentation in Resistent Depression?

12 Jul, 2017 | 15:24h | UTC

Effect of Antidepressant Switching vs Augmentation on Remission Among Patients With Major Depressive Disorder Unresponsive to Antidepressant Treatment: The VAST-D Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

12 Jul, 2017 | 15:33h | UTC

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus – Seminars in Arthritis & Rheumatism (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Prompt Evaluation of Lung Bleeds Needed in Lupus – MedPage Today (free registration required)

“Low hemoglobin, low C4 and hypoxia are features of poor outcome” (from MedPage Today)

Wed, July 12 – 10 Stories of The Day!

12 Jul, 2017 | 00:12h | UTC

1 – Association of Coffee Consumption With Total and Cause-Specific Mortality Among Nonwhite Populations – Annals of Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Related study: Coffee Drinking and Mortality in 10 European Countries: A Multinational Cohort Study – Annals of Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: No, These Two Studies Don’t Prove That Coffee Leads To Longer Life – Forbes (free) AND Coffee cuts risk of dying from stroke and heart disease, study suggests – The Guardian (free) AND Drinking coffee reduces risk of death from all causes, study finds – Imperial College of London (free)

2 – Behavioral Counseling to Promote a Healthful Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults Without Cardiovascular Risk Factors: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement – JAMA (free)

Editorial 1: Healthful Physical Activity and Diet Promotion—For the Many or the Few? (free)

Editorial 2: Cardiovascular Risk Factor Control for All (free)

Editorial 3: Healthful Diet and Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adults Without Known Risk Factors: Is Behavioral Counselling Necessary? (free)

The JAMA Network – For The Media: USPSTF Recommendation Regarding Behavioral Counseling for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention (free)

3 – Palliative Care in Heart Failure: The PAL-HF Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Palliative Care Intervention Improves Quality of Life in Advanced Heart Failure Patients – American College of Cardiology, Latest in Cardiology (free) AND Palliative Care Improves Heart Failure Quality-of-Life – MedPage Today (free registration required)

4 – The weird power of the placebo effect, explained – VOX (free)

5 – France is making 11 vaccines mandatory to fight against preventable disease – World Economic Forum (free)

See more on mandatory vaccination in other countries in our May 29 issue, see #6

6 – Association of delay of urgent or emergency surgery with mortality and use of health care resources: a propensity score–matched observational cohort study – Canadian Medical Association Journal (free)

Commentary: Patients whose emergency surgery is delayed are at higher risk of death – Canadian Medical Association Journal, via EurekAlert (free)

Source: STAT News Newsletter

“Delayed operating room access for emergency surgery was associated with increased risk of in hospital mortality, longer length of stay and higher costs”.

7 – Doxycycline may be a safer first option for treating a blistering skin condition – NIHR Signal (free)

Original Article: Doxycycline versus prednisolone as an initial treatment strategy for bullous pemphigoid: a pragmatic, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial – The Lancet (free) AND Editorial: Doxycycline: a first-line treatment for bullous pemphigoid? (free)

8 – Effectiveness of a group B outer membrane vesicle meningococcal vaccine against gonorrhoea in New Zealand: a retrospective case-control study – The Lancet (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: More reason to use Meningococcal B vaccine – it could also cut the Clap – The Conversation (author’s commentary – free) AND Meningococcal Vaccine May Provide Immunity Against Gonorrhea – Medscape (free registration required) AND Meningitis vaccine may also cut risk of ‘untreatable’ gonorrhoea, study says – The Guardian (free)

See related articles on the rising of “Untreatable” gonorrhea in our July 10^th issue (see #1)

9 – Suturing a divided world: How providing access to surgery drives global prosperity – The Conversation (free)

Related: Essential Surgery – Disease Control Priorities (DCP3) (free landmark book on the topic) AND The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery (free resources)

Source: Global Health NOW Newsletter

10 – Electrocardiograms in Low-Risk Patients Undergoing An Annual Health Examination – JAMA Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: More than 20% of low-risk patients receive an ECG as part of annual health exam – Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) (RT @ICESOntario and @ChooseWiselyCA see Tweet) (free) AND ECGs Common in Low-Risk Patients After Annual Health Exam, Leading to More Cardiac Care – American College of Cardiology, Latest in Cardiology (free) Routine ECG With Annual Physical Questioned – MedPage Today (free registration required)

New Report: Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene – World Health Organization

12 Jul, 2017 | 18:17h | UTC

Report: Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene – World Health Organization (free)

News release: 2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water at home, more than twice as many lack safe sanitation (free)

“New WHO/UNICEF report: 2.1 billion ppl lack safe drinking water at home, more than 2x as many lack safe sanitation” (RT @WHO see Tweet with Infographics)