Tue, May 23 – 10 Medical Stories of The Day!
23 May, 2017 | 00:10h | UTC
1- Effect of Statin Treatment vs Usual Care on Primary Cardiovascular Prevention Among Older Adults: The ALLHAT-LLT Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA Internal Medicine (free) (RT @EricTopol see Tweet)
Editorial: Risks of Statin Therapy in Older Adults (free)
Commentaries: Older adults may not benefit from taking statins to prevent heart disease – Medical News Today (free) AND Pravastatin Doesn’t Improve Clinical Outcomes in Seniors – Physician’s First Watch (free)
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).
Commentaries: Pediatricians Advise No Fruit Juice Until Kids Are 1 – NPR Health News (free) AND Pediatricians Say No Fruit Juice in Child’s First Year – New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
3 – #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)
4 – #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.
7 – 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)
See also: Complete American Urological Association list with 15 Things Physicians and Patients Should Question – Choosing Wisely (free)
9 – Effects of the Informed Health Choices primary school intervention on the ability of children in Uganda to assess the reliability of claims about treatment effects: a cluster-randomised controlled trial – The Lancet (free registration required)
Commentaries: Belief in health bullshit is a global problem; a big study points to solutions – HealthNewsReview (free) AND This researcher may have discovered the antidote to health bullshit – VOX (free)
10 – Metformin, Lifestyle Intervention, and Cognition in the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study – Diabetes Care (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Long-term Metformin Use ‘Has No Cognitive Impact’ – Medscape (free registration required)
Contradicting previous studies suggesting a link between metformin use and cognitive impairment, possibly related to an impaired absorption of B12, this study has shown no such association.