This library blog is an electronic current awareness bulletin for doctors in training to help them stay current with up-to-date health-related research news, useful resources and more!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
This blog is one year old - thank you for visiting
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Caesarean birth may double morbidity and mortality risk
However, researchers found caesarean delivery prevented foetal deaths in breech born babies.
Source: "Maternal and neonatal individual risks and benefits associated with caesarean delivery: multicentre prospective study" BMJ Online First, doi:10.1136/bmj.39363.706956.55 (published 30 October 2007)
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Breaking the waters does not shorten labour
Amniotomy, artificial rupture of the fetal membranes to induce labor, is one of the most commonly performed procedures to speed contractions, thereby shortening the length of labor. However, the reviewers said that there is little evidence that a shorter labor has benefits for either mother or child and concluded the evidence does not support the routine breaking the waters for women in spontaneous labour.
Source: "Amniotomy for shortening spontaneous labour" - Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 4.
Monday, October 29, 2007
To err is human ...
"How can patients, families and clinicians move beyond these feelings and approach closure and forgiveness?" the authors wrote.
Read the free full text article : "Guilty, Afraid, and Alone — Struggling with Medical Error", NEJM 357(17):1682-1683.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Are doctors just playing hunches?
The author wrote,"The trend in medicine is increasingly to be guided by the data …..All patients would probably benefit if their doctors were abreast of the latest data, but none would benefit from being reduced to one of those statistical points".
Are doctors playing medical hunches?
More women choosing double mastectomies
The lead author said such aggressive strategy may be unnecessary because the risk of cancer spread to other body sites is higher than the risk of getting cancer in the second breast. He emphasized that women may benefit from treating the known breast cancer first and thinking about other options later after their treatment is completed.
Source: "Increasing Use of Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy for Breast Cancer Patients: A Trend Toward More Aggressive Surgical Treatment". Journal of Clinical Oncology , 22 Oct 2007 (ahead of print)
Acupuncture - best therapy for back pain
It was a randomized and blinded trial conducted across 340 practices in Germany involving 1162 adults who had suffered from lower back pain for an average of 8 years. Patients were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: verum acupuncture, sham acupuncture or conventional therapy. After 6 months, nearly half of the patients receiving acupuncture treatment showed significant improvements in back pain compared to about one-quarter receiving conventional treatment.
The finding has led to acupuncture being adopted in Germany as a covered benefit for chronic lower back pain treatment under statutory health insurance plans.
Source: "German Acupuncture Trials (GERAC) for Chronic Low Back Pain - Randomized, Multicenter, Blinded, Parallel-Group Trial With 3 Groups , Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:1892-1898 (Sept 27)
Read previous post on "Alternative medicine in the US medical curriculm" and the cut back on using complementary therapies in the UK.
Current evidence does not support aspirin therapy in IVF
According to a systematic review of 9 studies in different parts of the world involving more than 1400 women undergoing IVF or ICSI ( intracytoplasmic sperm injection) to treat infertility, currently available evidence does not support the use of aspirin in IVF or ICSI treatment. Further research into this treatment is needed.
Source: "Low-dose aspirin for in vitro fertilisation". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 4
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
A bowl of whole-grain breakfast cereal every day can cut the risk of heart failure
The researchers concluded that their data "demonstrate that a higher intake of whole grain breakfast cereals is associated with a lower risk of heart failure." The protective effect of whole-grain cereal against heart failure may be due to the beneficial effects of whole grains on heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, heart attack risk, diabetes and obesity.
Source: "Breakfast Cereals and Risk of Heart Failure in the Physicians' Health Study I" Archives of Internal Medicine, Oct 2007; 167: 2080 - 2085 (Subscription required)
Friday, October 19, 2007
Aspirin - men's drug?
The researchers believe that gender may be one of the main influences on aspirin's protective powers. One UK expert said the finding is "potentially misleading" and that "taking aspirin in the months and years after a heart attack delivered equal benefits to men and women".
Source: "The influence of gender on the effects of aspirin in preventing myocardial infarction"
BMC Medicine 2007, 5:29 ( This is an open access journal article with full text )
GPs' antibiotic prescription not justified
A BMJ study found that antibiotics reduce the risk of serious complications which is rare after upper respiratory tract infections, but over 4000 courses would have to be needed to prevent one complication. However, only 39 elderly patients would have to be treated with antibiotics for a chest infection to prevent a case of pneumonia.
The study concluded that there is a "clear scope for reductions in antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections" and " more research was needed to help doctors differentiate between chest infection and pneumonia"
Read the abstract "Protective effect of antibiotics against serious complications of common respiratory tract infections: retrospective cohort study with the UK General Practice Research Database" BMJ 2007, October
UK NHS fail on hygiene standards
According to the Healthcare Commission report, 1 in 4 hospital trusts in England are failing to protect patients from deadly superbugs and to meet basic hygiene standards including cleaning hands and instruments.
See also the article "Doctors need a "sea change" in their attitude to C. difficile" BMJ 2007;335:790 (20 October).
MRSA more widespread than thought in US
Based on the documented 8,987 cases of of invasive MRSA, the researchers estimated that there were 94,360 cases of invasive MRSA in the US in 2005, resulting in more than 18,000 deaths.
The researchers concluded " invasive MRSA disease is a major public health problem and is primarily related to health care but no longer confined to acute care. Although in 2005 the majority of invasive disease was related to health care, this may change".
Read the free full text article "Invasive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in the United States" JAMA. 2007;298(15):1763-1771 (Oct 17)
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Household cleaning sprays raise asthma risk
Researchers found that cleaning sprays, such as air fresheners, furniture cleaners and glass-cleaners had a particularly strong effect.
Source : "The Use of Household Cleaning Sprays and Adult Asthma: An International Longitudinal Study" Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 2007; 176(8) : 735-741
Don't smoke around babies
It found that cot deaths linked to smoking have risen and the risk of death increased with each individual hour the baby was exposed to smoke. The author said "after delivery, the mother can reduce the risk by protecting her baby and not smoking near it".
The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths said "If no women smoked in pregnancy, about 60% of cot deaths could be avoided".
Friday, October 12, 2007
Extended benefits of statin therapy
The extended benefits may be due to the lowering LDL cholesterol by early statin therapy and stabilizing existing plague therefore slowing the progress of coronary heart disease.
Source : "Long-Term Follow-up of the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study". NEJM 2007; 357(15):1477-1486 (October 11)
Stressful jobs increase risks of heart disease recurrence
Previous studies have shown that job strain increases the risk of a first coronary heart disease (CHD) event. According to a new Canadian study of about 980 patients who returned to work after a heart attack, chronic job strain after a first MI was associated with an increased risk of recurrent CHD.
The author said preventive interventions should also take into account the person's work environment and "cardiologists and occupational health services be informed of this finding in order to reduce stressful work for those returning to work after a heart attack".
The ABC News said that workers should learn to manage stress at work to either change their thoughts or to change the situation.
Source: "Job Strain and Risk of Acute Recurrent Coronary Heart Disease Events" JAMA. 2007;298(14):1652-1660
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
fast treatment of small strokes can prevent major ones
The study "Effect of urgent treatment of transient ischemic attack and minor stroke on early recurrent stroke (EXPRESS study): a prospective population-based sequential comparison" was published in The Lancet (early online publication) October 9, 2007
Another study, "A transient ischemic attack clinic with round-the-clock-assess (SOS-TIA): feasibility and effects" published in The Lancet Neurology, also found that early treatment brought similar results in reducing the risk of a major stroke.
Medical grand rounds and free food
It reports on the results of a prospective study of the effects of providing complimentary food on attendance at medical grand rounds (MGR) and a web-based survey that assessed the attitudes of attendees on the provision of complimentary food at MGRs.
The data suggest that faculty, fellows, and residents are more likely to attend MGR if free food is provided and less likely to attend if free food is not provided.
MGR is a central teaching activity in most departments of medicine at academic medical centers, but attendance by faculty, fellows, and residents appears to be decreasing. The study concludes that providing free food may be an effective strategy for increasing attendance at MGR.
What are your views and experience on the effects of free food on physicians' attendance to MGRs or other educational activities?
Monday, October 08, 2007
Microsoft's personal health records
Microsoft said the personal information will be stored in a secure database and individuals have complete controls over what information goes in and who sees it. Microsoft HealthVault uses Windows Live ID and a "strong" password to authenticate patients' identity.
Some hospitals, The American Heart Association, Johnson & Johnson LifeScan that sells glucose monitors, are collaborating with Microsoft in this new venture.
Would you choose to use the Microsoft personal health record?
Friday, October 05, 2007
ACE inhibitor may diminish cardiac complications with Marfan Syndrome
However the benefits of perindopril in improving cardic risks with Marfan Syndrome need to be established in larger groups and longer term clinical trials because the study was limited by its small size and relatively short duration.
Source: "Effect of Perindopril on Large Artery Stiffness and Aortic Root Diameter in Patients With Marfan Syndrome :A Randomized Controlled Trial" JAMA. 2007;298(13) :1539-1547
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Caesarean increases uterine rupture risk
The study also found neonatal death rate of 51 per 1000, a 60-fold increase in risk. Other risk factors including inducing labour, high maternal age and birthweight significantly increase the risk of uterine rupture.
Read the BJOG release : "Risk Factors For Uterine Rupture And The Neonatal Consequences". BJOG 2007;114:1208-1214.
Early testing for familial cholesterol
If children are tested positive for high cholesterol, doctors would screen the parents and drug treatment could begin immediately for the adults.
Full text of the article "Child-parent screening for familial hypercholesterolaemia: screening strategy based on a meta-analysis". BMJ 2007;335(7620):599 is available with an Athens password at the HILO website.