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Patients > 65 years with moderate hyperlipidemia and hypertension had no benefit from pravastatin for primary prevention. “A nonsignificant direction toward increased all-cause mortality with pravastatin was observed among adults 75 years and older” (HR 1.34; 95% CI, 0.98-1.84; P = .07).

Lack of Evidence for Benefit From Long-term Use of Opioid Analgesics for Patients With Neuropathy

24 May, 2017 | 14:35h | UTC

Association of Long-term Opioid Therapy With Functional Status, Adverse Outcomes, and Mortality Among Patients With Polyneuropathy – JAMA Neurology (free)

Editorial: Lack of Evidence for Benefit From Long-term Use of Opioid Analgesics for Patients With Neuropathy (free)

Commentaries: Long-Term Opioid Treatment Seems Only to Add Complications to Polyneuropathy – Physician’s First Watch (free) AND Long-Term Opioids May Not Help in Polyneuropathy – MedPage Today (free registration required)

“Patients had worse functional outcomes than controls; some became dependent” (from MedPage Today)

Cancer screening in the United States, 2017

23 May, 2017 | 14:27h | UTC

Cancer screening in the United States, 2017: A review of current American Cancer Society guidelines and current issues in cancer screening – CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (free)

Home Noninvasive Ventilation to Reduce Readmissions for COPD

23 May, 2017 | 14:30h | UTC

#ATS2017 – Effect of Home Noninvasive Ventilation With Oxygen Therapy vs Oxygen Therapy Alone on Hospital Readmission or Death After an Acute COPD Exacerbation: A Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA (free)

Editorial: Home Noninvasive Ventilation to Reduce Readmissions for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (free)

Commentary: Addition of Home Noninvasive Ventilation Tied to Fewer Readmissions After COPD Exacerbation – Physician’s First Watch (free)

American Urological Assn. Adds 5 More Unnecessary Practices to Choosing Wisely

23 May, 2017 | 14:24h | UTC

American Urological Assn. Adds 5 More Unnecessary Practices to Choosing Wisely – Physician’s First Watch (free)

Directly Observed Therapy for Multidrug-Resistant TB Decreases Mortality

23 May, 2017 | 14:29h | UTC

#ATS2017 – Directly Observed Therapy for Multidrug-Resistant TB Decreases Mortality – ATS 2017 Conference (free summary)

Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) was associated with a 77 percent decrease in mortality in observational study.

Reoperation and Medicare Expenditures After Laparoscopic Gastric Band Surgery

23 May, 2017 | 14:25h | UTC

Reoperation and Medicare Expenditures After Laparoscopic Gastric Band Surgery – JAMA Surgery (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Following gastric band surgery, device-related reoperation common, costly – Science Daily (free) AND Safety, Effectiveness of Gastric Banding Called Into Question – Medscape (free registration required) AND 1 In 5 Gastric Band Surgeries Require Corrective Operations – American Council on Science and Health (free)

Science Has Begun Taking Gluten Seriously

19 May, 2017 | 18:06h | UTC

Science Has Begun Taking Gluten Seriously – The Atlantic (free)

Original article: Long term gluten consumption in adults without celiac disease and risk of coronary heart disease: prospective cohort study – The BMJ (free)

“New research from Harvard and Columbia says gluten does not cause heart disease. Why is that even a question?”

Reducing Recurrent Stroke With PFO Closure

19 May, 2017 | 18:00h | UTC

Finally, Success Reducing Recurrent Stroke With PFO Closure – Medscape (free registration required)

Two randomized trials presented at the 3rd European Stroke Organization Conference (ESOC) 2017 showed that in carefully selected stroke patients in whom Patent Foramen Oval (PFO) was suspected to be a cause of their strokes, a reduction in recurrent stroke was observed with PFO closure.

Guidelines on eosinophilic esophagitis

23 May, 2017 | 14:26h | UTC

Guidelines on eosinophilic esophagitis: evidence-based statements and recommendations for diagnosis and management in children and adults – United European Gastroenterology Journals (free)

Time to Treatment and Mortality during Mandated Emergency Care for Sepsis

19 May, 2017 | 18:08h | UTC

Time to Treatment and Mortality during Mandated Emergency Care for Sepsis – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

Commentary: Doctors have resisted guidelines to treat sepsis. New study suggests those guidelines save lives – STAT News (free)

“For every hour you delay antibiotics in sepsis, mortality goes up” (RT @CMichaelGibson see Tweet)

“Trauma: Golden Hour

Cardiology: Time is muscle

Neurology: Time is brain

Sepsis: Early antibiotics to survive”

(interesting remark by @CMichaelGibson see Tweet)

Italy passes law obliging parents to vaccinate children

19 May, 2017 | 18:07h | UTC

Italy makes 12 vaccinations compulsory for children – BBC Health News (free) AND Italy passes law obliging parents to vaccinate children – Reuters Health (free)

“If children are not vaccinated by the age of six, the school starting age, their parents will be fined” (RT @anetrid see Tweet)

Without action on antibiotics, medicine will return to the dark ages

19 May, 2017 | 18:02h | UTC

Without action on antibiotics, medicine will return to the dark ages – The Guardian (free)

See more on “superbugs” in our February 28^th issue (see #1), April 6^th issue (see #9) and also in our Selection of news and education resources on Antibiotic Resistanc e

Healthcare Access and Quality Index in 195 countries and territories

19 May, 2017 | 18:03h | UTC

Healthcare Access and Quality Index based on mortality from causes amenable to personal health care in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2015: a novel analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 – The Lancet (free)

Commentaries: First-ever global study finds massive health care inequity – Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluatio (IHME) (free) AND Account for primary health care when indexing access and quality – The Lancet (free)

Healthier, fairer, safer: the global health journey 2007–2017

19 May, 2017 | 18:05h | UTC

Report: Healthier, fairer, safer: the global health journey 2007–2017 (free)

“New report on WHO’s role in Global Health by Sir Liam Donaldson” (RT @WHO see Tweet)

Aerobic or Resistance Exercise, or Both, in Dieting Obese Older Adults

19 May, 2017 | 17:52h | UTC

Aerobic or Resistance Exercise, or Both, in Dieting Obese Older Adults – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Quick Take Video Summary: Exercise and Dieting in Obese Older Adults (free)

Commentary: Aerobic Plus Resistance Exercise Best for Obese Older Adults – MedPage Today (free)

Position Paper – Prevention and Treatment of Substance Use Disorders

19 May, 2017 | 17:56h | UTC

Health and Public Policy to Facilitate Effective Prevention and Treatment of Substance Use Disorders Involving Illicit and Prescription Drugs: An American College of Physicians Position Paper – Annals of Internal Medicine (free)

News release: ACP issues recommendations to prevent and treat substance use disorders (free)

Commentary: Treat Addiction Like a Chronic Disease, ACP Recommends – AJMC (free)

Joint statement on public disclosure of results from clinical trials – World Health Organization

19 May, 2017 | 17:58h | UTC

Joint statement on public disclosure of results from clinical trials – World Health Organization (free)

News release: Major research funders and international NGOs to implement WHO standards on reporting clinical trial results (free)

Commentary: Industry leaders agree to implement UN agency’s standards on clinical trial reporting – United Nations News Centre (free)

“Funders of medical research & international NGOs to implement WHO standards on reporting clinical trial results”. “Today, on average 50% of Clinical Trials go unreported, according to several studies, often because the results are negative”. “Unreported trial results leave an incomplete & potentially misleading picture of the risks & benefits of vaccines, drugs and medical devices” (see Tweets)

Pressure ulcer prevention and treatment

19 May, 2017 | 17:53h | UTC

Pressure ulcer prevention and treatment. Is ‘best practice’ evidence-based? – Cochrane Blogs: Evidence for Everyday Nursing (free) (RT @CochraneUK see Tweet)

Evidence for the treatment of pressure ulcers reviewed.

Antenatal corticosteroids for accelerating fetal lung maturation for women at risk of preterm birth

18 May, 2017 | 17:47h | UTC

Systematic Review: Antenatal corticosteroids for accelerating fetal lung maturation for women at risk of preterm birth – Cochrane Library(link to summary)

Source: A dose of corticosteroids benefit most women anticipating a preterm delivery – NIHR Dissemination Centre Discover Portal (free)

Long-term oxygen therapy shows no benefit for moderate lung disease

18 May, 2017 | 17:51h | UTC

Long-term oxygen therapy shows no benefit for moderate lung disease – NIHR Signal: Dissemination Centre Discover Portal (free)

Original article: A Randomized Trial of Long-Term Oxygen for COPD with Moderate Desaturation – New England Journal of Medicine (free)

Patients with stable COPD and moderate resting desaturation (Spo₂, 89 to 93%) or moderate exercise-induced desaturation (during the 6-minute walk test, Spo₂ ≥80% for ≥5 minutes and <90% for ≥10 seconds) don’t seem to benefit from supplemental oxygen therapy.

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