Guidelines & Reports
Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Primary Care
26 Apr, 2017 | 16:09h | UTCUpdated Guideline: Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Primary Care – Toward Optimized Practice (TOP) Guidelines (free)
Practical guideline for primary care providers.
Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza
25 Apr, 2017 | 15:51h | UTCGuideline: Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza – United States, 2017 – CDC – MMWR (free)
Source: New CDC guidelines on flu pandemic measures reflect 2009 lessons – CIDRAP (free)
These new guidelines focus on nonpharmaceutical measures to fight and prevent influenza pandemics.
Hormone Therapy in Primary Ovarian Insufficiency
25 Apr, 2017 | 15:47h | UTCCommittee Opinion: Hormone Therapy in Primary Ovarian Insufficiency – American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (free)
Source: Group Offers Guidance on Treating Primary Ovarian Insufficiency with Hormone Therapy – Physician’s First Watch (free)
Standardized Criteria for Palliative Care Consultation
24 Apr, 2017 | 15:25h | UTCProspective, before-after cohort study: Standardized Criteria for Palliative Care Consultation on a Solid Tumor Oncology Service Reduces Downstream Health Care Use – Journal of Oncology Practice (free)
Editorial: Making the Right Thing Easier to Do: Standardized Integration of Oncology and Palliative Care – Journal of Oncology Practice (free)
Related Guideline: Integration of Palliative Care Into Standard Oncology Care: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline Update (free)
Commentaries on the study: Standardized Palliative Care Consults Cut Cancer Readmissions – Also, less chemotherapy after discharge – MedPage Today (free registration required) AND Standardized Cancer Palliative Care Consults Linked to Stronger Home-Based Support – AJMC (free)
Patients with at least one of the following 4 criteria: 1) advanced solid tumor; 2) prior hospitalization within 30 days; 3) hospitalization > 7 days; or 4) active symptoms – received automatic palliative care consultation. The rates of 30-day readmissions dropped from 35% to 18% and chemotherapy after discharge dropped from 44% to 18%.
Physicians Split Time Evenly Between Seeing Patients And Desktop Medicine
21 Apr, 2017 | 15:18h | UTCElectronic Health Record Logs Indicate That Physicians Split Time Evenly Between Seeing Patients And Desktop Medicine – Health Affairs (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Source: By the Numbers: Docs’ Logged-On Time Increases – MedPage Today (free registration required)
Related: Putting Patients First by Reducing Administrative Tasks in Health Care: A Position Paper of the American College of Physicians (free)
“Electronic health records systems now account for about half of the average doctor’s day”
Climate Change and Health Reports
21 Apr, 2017 | 14:37h | UTCWhy the Menace of Mosquitoes Will Only Get Worse – The New York Times Magazine (RT @CIDRAP and @marynmck see Tweet) (10 articles per month are free)
Related: Disease Burden Growing as Vector Insects Adapt to Climate Change – IPS (free) (source Global Health NOW Newsletter) AND UN Doc: Climate Change is New Challenge in Fighting Disease Outbreaks – MedPage Today (free registration required)
“Climate change is altering the environment in ways that increase the potential for viruses like Zika”.
The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change – The Lancet (free)
Editorial: Climate and health: joining up the pieces, scaling up the action (free)
Medical Alert! Climate Change Is Harming Our Health – Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health (link to summary – free PDF available)
Sources: Medical Societies Come Together on Harms of Climate Change – Medscape (free registration required) AND Climate Change Already Affecting Human Health – Physician’s First Watch (free)
Approaches for Evaluation of Asymptomatic Microscopic Hematuria
20 Apr, 2017 | 14:27h | UTCInvited commentary: Asymptomatic Microscopic Hematuria – Rethinking the Diagnostic Algorithm (free)
Routine urinalysis for screening is not presently recommended by any major health organization, but asymptomatic microscopic hematuria is a common incidental finding. This study suggests that the combination of renal ultrasound and cystoscopy is the most cost-effective approach for the evaluation of these patients.
Mortality Trends After Surgical Safety Checklist
20 Apr, 2017 | 14:31h | UTCMortality Trends After a Voluntary Checklist-based Surgical Safety Collaborative – Annals of Surgery (link to abstract – free PDF available)
Sources: Global Health NOW Newsletter (free) AND South Carolina Hospitals Saw Surgery Deaths Drop After Implementing WHO Checklist – AJMC News (free) AND A simple checklist prevents deaths after surgery, a large new study suggests – The Washington Post (a few articles per month are free)
See also: WHO Surgical Safety Checklist – World Health Organization (free) AND A Surgical Safety Checklist to Reduce Morbidity and Mortality in a Global Population – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases: low value interventions
20 Apr, 2017 | 14:30h | UTCAustralasian Society for Infectious Diseases: low value interventions – The Medical Journal of Australia (free) (RT @ChooseWiselyAU and @ASIDANZ see Tweet)
See also: Choosing Wisely initiative was launched 5 years ago in our April 5 issue.
The society has just released a selection of 5 low value interventions (details in the text):
– Prescribing antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria.
– Taking a swab of a leg ulcer without signs of clinical infection and treating the patient with antibiotics against the identified bacteria.
– Treating upper respiratory tract infections with antibiotics.
– Investigation for fecal pathogens in the absence of diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.
– Ordering multiple serological investigations for patients with fatigue without a clinical indication or relevant epidemiology.
Irritable bowel syndrome in adults: diagnosis and management
20 Apr, 2017 | 14:26h | UTCUpdated Guideline: Irritable bowel syndrome in adults: diagnosis and management – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE – UK) (free)
Beverage consumption taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages
20 Apr, 2017 | 14:22h | UTCSources: First US sugar tax sees soft drink sales fall by almost 10%, study shows – The Guardian (free) (RT @kamleshkhunti see Tweet) AND Sugary Drink Sales Fizzled After Soda Tax – MedPage Today (free registration required)
Related articles and commentaries on the possible benefits of sugar taxes: W.H.O. Urges Tax on Sugary Drinks to Fight Obesity – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) Fiscal policies for diet and the prevention of noncommunicable diseases – World Health Organization(free) AND Mexico’s sugar tax leads to fall in consumption for second year running – The Guardian (free) AND Why the government should tax unhealthy foods and subsidise nutritious ones – The Conversation (free)
Alcohol-use disorders: diagnosis and management of physical complications
20 Apr, 2017 | 14:25h | UTCUpdated Guideline: Alcohol-use disorders: diagnosis and management of physical complications – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE – UK) (free)
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer – NCCN Guideline
18 Apr, 2017 | 14:07h | UTCNon-Small Cell Lung Cancer – NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (free)
ACC/AHA vs. USPSTF statin guidelines
19 Apr, 2017 | 14:11h | UTCComparison of Recommended Eligibility for Primary Prevention Statin Therapy Based on the US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations vs the ACC/AHA Guidelines – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
See also: ACC/AHA vs. USPSTF statin guidelines – Cardiology News (free)
Although recommended by most guidelines for individuals at high risk, there is still some controversy over prescribing statins for primary prevention and over what patients benefit the most – see related commentary: Cholesterol-lowering statin therapy for healthy people is not as simple as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ – The Pharmaceutical Journal (free)
Adherence to the 2016 USPSTF recommendations for statin therapy, compared with the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines, could lead to a lower number of individuals (an estimated difference of 9.3 million individuals in the U.S. population) recommended for primary prevention statin therapy.
The Breastfeeding-Friendly Pediatric Office Practice
18 Apr, 2017 | 14:03h | UTCThe Breastfeeding-Friendly Pediatric Office Practice – American Academy of Pediatrics (free)
Source: AAP: Pediatricians Should Support Breastfeeding Moms – MedPage Today (free registration required)
Recent recommendation from another organization: Breastfeeding: Primary Care Interventions – U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (free)
Summary of USPSTF recommendations: Primary Care Interventions to Support Breastfeeding: Recommendation Statement – American Family Physician (free)
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force have issued recommendations for promoting and supporting breastfeeding.
Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of drug-induced liver injury
17 Apr, 2017 | 13:54h | UTC
Screening for Endocrine Hypertension
14 Apr, 2017 | 16:27h | UTCScreening for Endocrine Hypertension: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement (free)
Source: Screen for Endocrine Hypertension, Endocrine Society Says – Medscape (free registration required)
“The statement provides guidance on screening for 15 hormonal disorders that present with hypertension and that can be potentially cured with surgery or treated with medication” (from Medscape commentary above).
Recorded childhood cancers rise by 13% worldwide
14 Apr, 2017 | 16:11h | UTCRecorded childhood cancers rise by 13% worldwide, study finds – The Guardian (free)
Original articles: International incidence of childhood cancer, 2001–10: a population-based registry study – The Lancet Oncology (free) ANDWorldwide comparison of survival from childhood leukaemia for 1995–2009, by subtype, age, and sex (CONCORD-2): a population-based study of individual data for 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries – The Lancet Haematology (free) Related commentary: Issues raised by the incidence and survival of childhood cancers (free)
European Association of Urology releases its 1st thromboprophylaxis guideline
14 Apr, 2017 | 16:10h | UTCEuropean Association of Urology releases its 1st thromboprophylaxis guideline (free)
“Extended thromboprophylaxis is warranted in some procedures (eg, open and robotic cystectomy) but not others (eg, robotic prostatectomy without pelvic lymph node dissection in low-risk patients)”
“Extended prophylaxis is warranted for some procedures (eg, kidney transplantation procedures in high-risk patients) but not others (transurethral resection of the prostate and reconstructive female pelvic surgery in low-risk patients)”
ASCO has just published 3 guidelines on the management of pancreatic cancer
14 Apr, 2017 | 16:13h | UTCASCO has just published 3 guidelines on the management of pancreatic cancer:
1 – Potentially Curable Pancreatic Cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline Update (free) AND 2 – Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline Summary (free) AND 3 – Locally Advanced Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline Summary (free)
Screening to Prevent Invasive Cervical Cancer Guideline
13 Apr, 2017 | 16:03h | UTCScreening to Prevent Invasive Cervical Cancer: ASCO Resource-Stratified Clinical Practice Guideline (free)
“The ASCO guidelines outline the minimum standards for HPV-based screening for each resource strata; additional and more frequent screening may be added as the resources become available”.
Ten years in public health 2007-2017 – World Health Organization
14 Apr, 2017 | 16:25h | UTCTen years in public health 2007-2017 – World Health Organization (free)
WHO has launched a report that chronicles the evolution of global public health over the last decade. The first chapter examines WHO’s key role in promoting universal health coverage (free). The full series will be published over the next 6 weeks.
Childhood cancers: 2 new studies on international incidence and survival
13 Apr, 2017 | 16:05h | UTCChildhood cancers: 2 new studies on international incidence and survival (RT @TheLancet see Tweet)
Childhood cancer: International incidence of childhood cancer, 2001–10: a population-based registry study – The Lancet Oncology (free)
Childhood leukemia: Worldwide comparison of survival from childhood leukaemia for 1995–2009, by subtype, age, and sex (CONCORD-2): a population-based study of individual data for 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries – The Lancet Haematology (free)
Related commentary: Issues raised by the incidence and survival of childhood cancers (free)
Global burden of disease attributable to ambient air pollution
12 Apr, 2017 | 15:57h | UTCRelated commentary: Tallying the bills of mortality from air pollution (free)
4.2 million deaths globally were attributable to fine particles and another 254 000 to surface ozone in 2015. The article also has details on country-specific deaths and disability-adjusted life-years from 1990 through 2015.
Potentially Curable Pancreatic Cancer Guideline
13 Apr, 2017 | 16:02h | UTCDue to a recent study showing a 2,5 month increase in median overall survival, the doublet regimen of gemcitabine and capecitabine seems to be preferred in the absence of concerns for toxicity or tolerance.