General Interest
Perspective: Impact of the Discordance Between Blood Pressure Guidelines
5 Nov, 2018 | 12:12h | UTCCommentary: Disagreements in Blood Pressure Guidelines Lead to Physician, Patient Confusion – Clinical Advisor (free) AND Competing hypertension guidelines: what’s a clinician to do? – Univadis (free registration required)
Case Report: Fatal Measles Case Highlights Importance of Herd Immunity in Protecting the Vulnerable
5 Nov, 2018 | 12:09h | UTCCase Report: Fatal Measles Virus Infection After Rituximab-Containing Chemotherapy in a Previously Vaccinated Patient – Open Forum Infectious Diseases (free)
Commentary: Fatal measles case highlights importance of herd immunity in protecting the vulnerable – Infectious Diseases Society of America (free)
Perspective: Accreditation, Quality, and Making Hospital Care Better
5 Nov, 2018 | 12:07h | UTCAccreditation, Quality, and Making Hospital Care Better – JAMA Forum (free)
Related: Questioning One of Healthcare’s Sacred Cows – Op-Med (free)
See Original Study: Hospital Accreditation not Associated with Better Outcomes in Observational Study (free study and commentaries)
Randomized Trial: Minimally Invasive versus Abdominal Radical Hysterectomy for Cervical Cancer
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:50h | UTCRelated 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)
Report: Cell Phone Radio Frequency Radiation and Risk of Cancer
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:48h | UTCCell 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)
Cohort Study: BMI of 21-25kg/m2 Linked to Lowest Risk of Dying
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:38h | UTCCommentaries: 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)
Systematic Review: Effectiveness of Plant-Based Diets in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:37h | UTCCommentaries: 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)
Study: Targeted Neurotechnology Restores Walking in Humans with Spinal Cord Injury
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:35h | UTCTargeted 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)
Perspective: Unpublished Medical Research ‘a threat to public health’
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:23h | UTCUnpublished medical research ‘a threat to public health’ – BBC (free)
Meta-Analysis: Cannabinoids for the Treatment of Chronic Noncancer Pain Conditions
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:29h | UTC“It seems unlikely that cannabinoids are highly effective medicines for chronic noncancer pain conditions.”
Randomized Trial: Oral Curcumin in Elective Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:19h | UTCEditorial: 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)
WHO Report: Air Pollution and Child Health
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:57h | UTCAir 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)
Perspective: What a Massive Database of Retracted Papers Reveals About Science Publishing’s ‘Death Penalty’
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:46h | UTCRelated: A huge database of scientific retractions is live. That’s great for science. – VOX (free)
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)
Study: Association of Weather with Incidence of Myocardial Infarction
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:38h | UTCCommentaries: Your risk of a heart attack could increase as it gets colder, study says – CNN (free) AND Cold, cloudy weather ‘could increase your risk of having heart attack’ – The Guardian (free)
Perspective: Superfoods Are a Marketing Ploy
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:26h | UTCSuperfoods Are a Marketing Ploy – The Atlantic (free) (via @edyong209 and @onisillos)
Perspective: The Problem with Probiotics
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:08h | UTCThe Problem With Probiotics – The New York Times (free)
Related: Probiotic Safety—No Guarantees (free perspective)
“There are potential harms as well as benefits, and a lot of wishful thinking and imprecision in the marketing of products containing them.”
Organic Foods for Cancer Prevention??
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:04h | UTCAssociation of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer Risk: Findings From the NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort Study – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period)
Commentaries: Organic Foods for Cancer Prevention—Worth the Investment? – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period) AND Organic food and cancer – Science Media Centre (free) AND Organic foods tied to slightly lower cancer risk – Reuters (free)
Hospital Accreditation not Associated with Better Outcomes in Observational Study
26 Oct, 2018 | 01:42h | UTCCommentaries: Joint Commission accreditation doesn’t lead to better outcomes, study shows – Modern Healthcare (free) AND Doubt cast on value of hospital accreditation in Harvard study – Healthcare Dive (free)
Review: How Early Media Exposure May Affect Cognitive Function
26 Oct, 2018 | 01:38h | UTCRelated Article: Screen media use and ADHD-related behaviors: Four decades of research – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (free)
Cohort Study: Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Long-term Mortality
26 Oct, 2018 | 01:35h | UTCCommentaries: Expansive New Study Says Not Exercising Is Worse for Your Health Than Smoking – TIME (free) AND Researchers show better cardiorespiratory fitness leads to longer life – MedicalXpress (free)
Cohort Study: Pre-Eclampsia and Risk of Dementia Later in Life
19 Oct, 2018 | 00:15h | UTCPre-eclampsia and risk of dementia later in life: nationwide cohort study – The BMJ (free)
Editorial: Pre-eclampsia and the brain (free)
Commentaries: Pre-eclampsia linked to raised risk of vascular dementia – OnMedica (free) AND Pre-eclampsia linked to an increased risk of dementia later in life – The BMJ (free)
Study: Long-term Outcomes of Silicone Breast Implants
19 Oct, 2018 | 00:10h | UTCCommentary: Long-term safety of silicone breast implants still unclear – Reuters (free)
Report: Time Spent by Children Online Linked to Requests for Junk Food
19 Oct, 2018 | 00:09h | UTCSee It, Want It, Buy It, Eat It – Cancer Research UK (free PDF)
Commentaries: Time spent by children online linked to requests for junk food – University of Liverpool (free) AND Does TV and internet advertising feed children’s junk food habits? – NHS Choices (free)
Perspective: Australia is responding to the complex challenge of overdiagnosis
17 Oct, 2018 | 19:19h | UTCAustralia is responding to the complex challenge of overdiagnosis – The Medical Journal of Australia (free for 7 days)
Commentaries: Overdiagnosis: a deep cultural problem – MJA InSight (free) AND Overdiagnosis is harming patients and action is required, says chief medical officer – The Sidney Morning Herald (free)
Related: Overdiagnosis: causes and consequences in primary health care – Canadian Family Physician (free) AND Overdiagnosis across medical disciplines: a scoping review – The BMJ Open (free) AND Too much medical care: bad for you, bad for health care systems – STAT News (free) AND Overdiagnosis: what it is and what it isn’t – BMJ Evidence Based Medicine (free) AND Screening: How overdiagnosis and other harms can undermine the benefits – Health News Review (free) AND Position Paper on Overdiagnosis and Action to be Taken – Wonca (free PDF)