Family Medicine
Lateral flow devices maintain detection sensitivity across Alpha, Delta, and Omicron waves
3 Apr, 2023 | 13:53h | UTCSummary: The study assessed the performance of antigen lateral flow devices (LFDs) during the alpha, delta, and omicron waves of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the UK. Researchers aimed to understand LFD performance concerning changes in variant infections, vaccination, viral load, and LFD use, as well as the devices’ ability to detect infectious individuals. Paired LFD and RT-PCR test results were collected from both asymptomatic and symptomatic participants between November 2020 and March 2022.
When compared to RT-PCR testing, the overall LFD sensitivity was 63.2%, and specificity was 99.71%. The sensitivity was higher in symptomatic participants (68.7%) than in asymptomatic participants (52.8%). The study found that increased viral load was independently associated with a higher likelihood of being LFD positive. There was no evidence of a significant difference in LFD sensitivity between the alpha and delta variants, but sensitivity increased during the omicron wave. Vaccination status did not show an independent association with LFD sensitivity.
The study concluded that LFDs can detect most SARS-CoV-2 infections across different viral variants and during vaccine roll-out, contributing to reduced transmission risk. However, LFD performance is lower in asymptomatic individuals, which should be taken into account when designing testing programs.
Invited Commentary: The performance of rapid antigen tests against SARS-CoV-2 variants – The Lancet Infectious Diseases
Related:
Interpreting a lateral flow SARS-CoV-2 antigen test – The BMJ
Review | Dysfunctional labor and delivery: adverse effects on offspring
3 Apr, 2023 | 13:36h | UTCDysfunctional labor and delivery: adverse effects on offspring – American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (free for a limited period)
Perspective | Teen girls are faring worse than boys on nearly all mental health measures—here’s why
3 Apr, 2023 | 13:33h | UTCTeen Girls Are Faring Worse Than Boys on Nearly All Mental Health Measures—Here’s Why – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Commentary on Twitter
The latest @CDCgov Youth Risk Behavior Survey, administered in 2021, shows that mental health has worsened for all adolescents, but especially for girls. Nearly a third of teen girls said they seriously considered suicide. https://t.co/gVHoLYtI5b #MedicalNews
— JAMA (@JAMA_current) March 28, 2023
Assessment of childhood short stature: a GP guide
3 Apr, 2023 | 13:28h | UTCAssessment of childhood short stature: a GP guide – British Journal of General Practice (free for a limited period)
Cohort Study | Associations between fetal or infancy pet exposure and food allergies
3 Apr, 2023 | 13:26h | UTC
Postoperative delirium’s linked to long-term cognitive decline in elderly patients
3 Apr, 2023 | 13:20h | UTCPostoperative Delirium’s linked to Long-term Cognitive Decline in Elderly Patients – JAMA Internal Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
News Release: Developing postoperative delirium associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline, says study – EurekAlert
Commentary: Postoperative Delirium Associated With Accelerated Cognitive Decline, Study Finds – Psychiatric News Alert
Commentary on Twitter
Delirium associated with accelerated cognitive decline that continued for 72 months following the index delirium episode; it's uncertain if delirium causes cognitive decline or if pts with preclinical brain disease are more likely to develop delirium. https://t.co/ADz7yxEZiP
— JAMA Internal Medicine (@JAMAInternalMed) March 20, 2023
Perspective | Should case management be considered a component of obstetrical interventions for pregnancies at risk of preterm birth?
3 Apr, 2023 | 13:18h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter
Should case management be considered a component of obstetrical interventions for pregnancies at risk of preterm birth? https://t.co/PpE23OIr5E pic.twitter.com/Ta7kdcFXmc
— AJOG (@AJOG_thegray) March 30, 2023
Assessing heart failure risk: waist-to-height ratio outperforms BMI in HFrEF patients
31 Mar, 2023 | 13:49h | UTCCommentary: Study Debunks Obesity Paradox in HF, Encourages BMI Alternatives – TCTMD
RCT | Early postpartum IUD placement noninferior vs. placement at 6-8 weeks for complete expulsion, but not for partial expulsion
31 Mar, 2023 | 13:48h | UTCEarly vs Interval Postpartum Intrauterine Device Placement: A Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
News Release: Study: Risk of IUD Expulsion in Early Postpartum Placement – UC San Diego Health
Commentary: IUD Placement at Two to Four Weeks Postpartum Noninferior – HealthDay
Related:
Commentary on Twitter
Early IUD placement at 2 to 4 weeks postpartum compared with 6 to 8 weeks postpartum was noninferior for complete expulsion, but not partial expulsion. https://t.co/VMfWce3JJd pic.twitter.com/vdLrhCXa5Q
— JAMA (@JAMA_current) March 23, 2023
M-A | Effects of statin therapy on glycemic control and insulin resistance
31 Mar, 2023 | 13:45h | UTCRelated:
Cohort study: Statin therapy initiation linked to increased risk of diabetes progression.
Meta-Analysis: Medications that Reduce or Increase the Risk of New Onset Diabetes
Observational Study Points to an Increased Risk of Diabetes Among Patients Using Statins
Cohort Study: Statin Use Associated with a 38% Higher Risk of Incident Type 2 Diabetes
Study shows clinical instability and severity are predictors for psychiatric hospitalization
31 Mar, 2023 | 13:42h | UTCCommentaries:
New study reveals clinical instability predicts psychiatric hospitalization – MedicalXpress
Instability, Clinical Severity Predict Hospitalization Risk for Psychiatric Illness – HCP Live
SR | Etiologies of vertigo in the elderly
31 Mar, 2023 | 13:38h | UTCVertigo in the Elderly: A Systematic Literature Review – Journal of Clinical Medicine
Cohort Study | Diffusing capacity strongly predicts all-cause mortality in individuals with COPD
31 Mar, 2023 | 13:31h | UTCDiffusing Capacity and Mortality in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – Annals of the American Thoracic Society (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Diffusing capacity ‘strongly predicted’ mortality in COPD patients – Healio (free registration required)
Commentary on Twitter
Diffusing Capacity and Mortality in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
? https://t.co/F5Hqkx65hn pic.twitter.com/up0psKKE3i
— Annals of the ATS (@AnnalsATS) January 10, 2023
SR | Nonopioid pharmacological management of acute low back pain
31 Mar, 2023 | 13:27h | UTC
M-A | Exploring the efficacy of psychotherapies for depression
31 Mar, 2023 | 13:19h | UTC
Updated WHO Guidelines | COVID-19 boosters no longer routinely recommended for low-risk groups
30 Mar, 2023 | 14:33h | UTCSummary: The WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) has revised its COVID-19 vaccination roadmap in light of the Omicron variant and widespread population immunity. The revised roadmap prioritizes protecting those at the highest risk of severe disease and death while maintaining resilient health systems. It introduces cost-effectiveness considerations for vaccinating lower-risk individuals, such as healthy children and adolescents, and presents revised booster dose recommendations.
Priority groups are categorized as high, medium, and low, based on factors like risk of severe disease and death. People in the high-priority group, consisting of older adults, individuals with significant comorbidities or immunocompromising conditions, pregnant persons, and frontline health workers, are advised to receive additional boosters 6 or 12 months after the last dose. The medium priority group, which includes healthy adults without comorbidities and children with comorbidities, is recommended to receive primary series and first booster doses. However, SAGE no longer routinely recommends additional boosters for this group due to limited public health gains.
For the low-priority group, encompassing healthy children and adolescents, vaccination decisions should take into account factors such as disease prevalence and cost-effectiveness. It is important to note that the public health benefits of vaccinating healthy children and adolescents are considerably lower compared to established essential vaccines for children, like rotavirus, measles, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.
News Release: SAGE updates COVID-19 vaccination guidance – World Health Organization
Commentaries:
No More COVID-19 Boosters for Healthy People, WHO Experts Recommend – Health Policy Watch
WHO vaccine advisers update COVID vaccine recommendations – CIDRAP
Study suggests no heightened death risk in young people with mRNA vaccines, but ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine linked to female cardiac deaths
30 Mar, 2023 | 14:28h | UTC
Commentary from the author on Twitter (thread – click for more)
Our latest @NatureComms research: Risk of death following COVID-19 vaccination or positive SARS-CoV-2 test in young people in England. Led by @Vnafilyan @kamleshkhunti @IsobelLWard et al. https://t.co/oxNdgEAflQ (1/3)
— Prof Amitava Banerjee? (@amibanerjee1) March 28, 2023
Opinion | ChatGPT will change Medicine
30 Mar, 2023 | 14:22h | UTCChat GPT will change Medicine – Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughts
Related:
The use of ChatGPT and other large language models in surgical science – BJS Open
ChatGPT vs. NCI: analyzing the quality of cancer information on myths and misconceptions
Artificial Intelligence in Medicine & ChatGPT: De-Tether the Physician – Journal of Medical Systems (if the link is paywalled, try this one)
Can artificial intelligence help for scientific writing? – Critical Care
Artificial intelligence in academic writing: a paradigm-shifting technological advance
Perspective | ChatGPT-assisted diagnosis: is the future suddenly here?
Perspective | Generating scholarly content with ChatGPT: ethical challenges for medical publishing
ChatGPT: Will It Transform the World of Health Care? – UCSF Department of Medicine
ChatGPT and the future of medical writing (ChatGPT itself wrote this paper)
ChatGPT: five priorities for research – Nature
The path forward for ChatGPT in academia – Lumo’s Newsletter
ChatGPT is fun, but not an author – Science
Tools such as ChatGPT threaten transparent science; here are our ground rules for their use – Nature
ChatGPT listed as author on research papers: many scientists disapprove – Nature
Abstracts written by ChatGPT fool scientists
Review | Evaluation and management of hypernatremia in adults
30 Mar, 2023 | 14:20h | UTC
2ry analysis of a RCT | Vitamin D supplementation does not affect cognitive function in older adults
30 Mar, 2023 | 14:14h | UTCVitamin D supplementation and cognition—Results from analyses of the D-Health trial – Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Related:
Randomized Trial: Vitamin D Supplements and Prevention of Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease
Meta-Analysis: Vitamin D Not Effective for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
Vitamin D, calcium, other vitamins, and supplements do not prevent cardiovascular diseases
Research: Circulating vitamin D concentration and risk of seven cancers
Research: Vitamin D and risk of total and site specific cancers
SR | Consequences of Shigella infection in young children
30 Mar, 2023 | 13:52h | UTC
Review | Insomnia diagnosis and treatment across the lifespan
30 Mar, 2023 | 13:36h | UTCInsomnia diagnosis and treatment across the lifespan – Journal of Family Practice
Ketamine misuse: an update for primary care
30 Mar, 2023 | 13:34h | UTCKetamine misuse: an update for primary care – British Journal of General Practice
Review | How to integrate shared decision-making into your practice
30 Mar, 2023 | 13:35h | UTCHow to integrate shared decision-making into your practice – Journal of Family Practice
Ear wax management in primary care: what the busy GP needs to know
30 Mar, 2023 | 13:33h | UTC