Thu, March 1 – 10 Stories of The Day!

1 – Efficacy of self-monitored blood pressure, with or without telemonitoring, for titration of antihypertensive medication (TASMINH4): an unmasked randomised controlled trial – The Lancet (free)

Commentaries: Hypertension: time for doctors to switch the driver’s seat? (free) AND Should home-based blood pressure monitoring be commonplace in NHS? – University of Oxford News & Events (free)

“Self-monitoring, with or without telemonitoring, when used by general practitioners to titrate antihypertensive medication in individuals with poorly controlled blood pressure, leads to significantly lower blood pressure than titration guided by clinic readings”.

2 – Clinical course of untreated cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 under active surveillance: systematic review and meta-analysis – The BMJ (free)

Editorial: Treatment or surveillance for CIN2? (free)

Commentaries: Treatment or surveillance for CIN2: when less is more – The BMJ Opinion (free) AND Some irregular cervical lesions could be monitored rather that treated immediately – OnMedica (free) AND Regular monitoring rather than immediate treatment justified for some cervical lesions – EurekAlert (free)

3 – The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Hemorrhoids – Diseases of the Colon & Rectum (free)

Related guideline: ACG Clinical Guideline: Management of Benign Anorectal Disorders – The American Journal of Gastroenterology (free)

4 – Association of Varicose Veins With Incident Venous Thromboembolism and Peripheral Artery Disease – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Patients with varicose veins at greater risk for thrombosis, other vascular diseases – Cardiovascular Business (free) AND Varicose Veins Linked to Greater Risk for VTE, PAD – NEJM Physician’s First Watch (free) AND Varicose Veins May Increase Likelihood of Blood Clots – Physician’s Weekly (free)

5 – Sex Differences in the Association Between Measures of General and Central Adiposity and the Risk of Myocardial Infarction: Results From the UK Biobank – Journal of the American Heart Association (free for a limited period)

Commentaries: Wait and hip measurement better indicator of heart attack risk than obesity – OnMedica (free) AND Larger waist, hips may raise women’s heart attack risk – MedicalNewsToday (free)

6 – Impact of frailty on outcomes after discharge in older surgical patients: a prospective cohort study – Canadian Medical Association Journal (free)

Commentary: Frailty associated with readmission risk and postdischarge mortality in older surgical patients – ACP Hospitalist (free)

Related Systematic Review: Identifying older adults at risk of harm following elective surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis – BMC Medicine (free) AND Commentary: Age itself is not a risk factor for complications after surgery among older patients – OnMedica (free)

7 – Korean Guidelines for the Pharmacological Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder: Initial Treatment Strategies – Psychiatric Investigation (free)

Related guideline: Social anxiety disorder: recognition, assessment and treatment – NICE (free) AND Summary: Recognition, assessment and treatment of social anxiety disorder: summary of NICE guidance – The BMJ (free)

8 – Patterns and Predictors of Short-Term Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Use: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study – Journal of Hospital Medicine (free PDF)

Commentary: Short-term use of IV devices is common — and risky — study shows – University of Michigan, via ScienceDaily (free)

“Intravenous devices known as PICCs should be reserved for long-term use, but a new study shows 1 in 4 are used for 5 days or less” (from ScienceDaily)

9 – Real-World Effectiveness of Pharmacologic Treatments for the Prevention of Rehospitalization in a Finnish Nationwide Cohort of Patients With Bipolar Disorder – JAMA Psychiatry (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Editorial: Enthusiasm and Skepticism About Using National Registers to Analyze Psychotropic Drug Outcomes (free for a limited period)

Commentaries: Lithium treatment for bipolar disorder linked to lowest risk of rehospitalization – Karolinska Institutet, via EurekAlert (free) AND Lithium Top Choice for Preventing Bipolar Rehospitalization – MedPage Today (free registration required)

Related study: Effectiveness of maintenance therapy of lithium vs other mood stabilizers in monotherapy and in combinations: a systematic review of evidence from observational studies – Bipolar Disorders (free)

These observational studies suggest Lithium may be a better choice for treating these patients, but long-term randomized controlled trials are needed to clarify this issue (see editorial).

10 – Beta-blocker Therapy and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Moderate COPD and Heightened Cardiovascular Risk: An Observational Sub-study of SUMMIT – Annals of the American Thoracic Society (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentary: Beta-blockers may not change COPD lung function – Univadis (free registration required)

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)