Screening women for domestic violence 'cannot be justified' on current evidence
...ce. Researchers at Queen Mary's School of Medicine reviewed 20 studies to assess the evidence for the acceptability and effectiveness of screening women for domestic violence in healthcare settings. They found that screening by health professionals increases the identification of domestic violence, and many w...Female physicians more emotionally focused and 'patient-centered' when communicating with patients
... between doctor and patient. Six out of 12 studies reviewed showed significantly higher levels of active partn...ctors, while two showed the reverse. Other studies reviewed showed female physicians engaged in significantly more positive talk, psychosocial question asking a...Female physicians more emotionally focused and 'patient-centered' when communicating with patients
... between doctor and patient. Six out of 12 studies reviewed showed significantly higher levels of active partn...ctors, while two showed the reverse. Other studies reviewed showed female physicians engaged in significantly more positive talk, psychosocial question asking a...Evidence for warts treatments is weak
...chers in this week's BMJ. Sam Gibbs and colleagues reviewed 50 trials of local treatment for cutaneous warts. Much of the evidence was of poor quality. Simple topical treatments containing salicylic acid seemed to be effective and safe, but no clear evidence was found that any of the other treatments have a p...Stretching does not prevent muscle soreness
...study in this week's BMJ. Researchers in Australia reviewed five studies, involving 77 subjects, on the effect of stretching on muscle soreness. In all studies, participants were healthy young adults. Three studies evaluated stretching after exercising, and two evaluated stretching before exercising. The stud...Study disputes link between increased birthweight and reduced blood pressure later in life (p 659)
... pressure. Rachel Huxley comments: "The evidence reviewed here suggests that claims of a strong inverse association between birthweight and subsequent blood pressure may chiefly reflect the failure to take sufficient account of the impact of random error, the selective emphasis of particular results, the in...Study suggests a possible link between high-starch diet and pancreatic cancer
... female nurses across the country. The researchers reviewed the dietary records of nearly 89,000 nurses to measure their intake of sucrose (the type of sugar in candy), fructose (the sugar in fruit juices and honey) and carbohydrates. The researchers also calculated the amount of glucose-stimulating foods (kn...Medical students don't receive enough training in helping patients quit smoking
...to treat nicotine dependence." The research team reviewed a number of studies in analyzing various education...tudents how to help patients quit. One study they reviewed said that only three medical schools, one of them Wake Forest, "had a required course devoted specif...Leaving hospital against medical advice
...hy patients do this, Dr. Aslam Anis and colleagues reviewed all "index" (first admission) records for HIV/AIDS patients admitted to St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver between Apr. 1, 1997, and Mar. 1, 1999. Of the 981 patients, 125 (13%) left hospital AMA. The authors found that departure on the day that welfar...Off-the-job drinking predicts subsequent on-the-job injury for up to five years
...compensation injuries." Ragland and his colleagues reviewed three sources of data. The first was a cross-sectional study of 1,871 transit operators employed by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) from 1983 to 1985 that examined alcohol consumption, demographic variables, and medical histories. "It sh...Researcher hopes to bridge gap in stroke prevention
... this gap between evidence and practice and why we reviewed all the evidence in support of stroke prevention."...al internal medicine at the University of Alberta, reviewed over 350 clinical studies on primary and secondary stroke prevention published between 1998 and 2001...New arthritis drugs less likely to cause side effects
...(NSAIDs). In the first study researchers in Oxford reviewed all trials of the safety and effectiveness of celecoxib, a COX 2 inhibitor used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. It was found to be as effective as other NSAIDs and less likely to cause problems such as ulcers. In the se...Hormone replacement therapy reviewing the evidence
...ancer Research UK's Epidemiology Unit, Oxford, UK, reviewed the existing data on the effects of HRT on seven life-threatening conditions--largely based on data from four randomised trials, one involving an oestrogen-only treatment, the others using a combined oestrogen/progestagen combination--to provide an u...Lowering cancer risk in postmenopausal women
...a variety of chronic diseases. The Guidelines are reviewed and updated every 5 years to reflect current nutritional research. In an article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Harnack et al. evaluated data from the Iowa Women's Health Study regarding nutrition-related behaviors in a lar...New data suggests chemotherapy patients benefit from heart failure treatment
...tients. In one retrospective study, investigators reviewed the medical records of fifteen cancer inpatients w... retrospective study, Dr. Durand and investigators reviewed the medical records from 16 cancer outpatients with mild to severe heart failure, diagnosed at initi...Psychological distress may predict hypertension
... Pittsburgh and the University of British Columbia reviewed the results of 15 studies published between 1972 a... development is warranted. The 15 research studies reviewed for the analysis included between 78 and 4,650 subjects, most of whom were white and male. However, ...Review of preliminary observations concludes the Mayo Clinic Natl Conf on Medicine and the Media
...inic National Conference on Medicine and the Media reviewed preliminary observations for bringing more accurate, timely and responsible medical news to the public. The conference was attended by medical and health journalists, scientific journal editors, physicians, industry representatives, government offic...Experts highlight cardiovascular and drug interaction risks in elderly patients
...7th International Conference on Geriatric Oncology reviewed data on the special treatment needs of elderly cancer patients. The data is relevant given the increased organ impairment (e.g. increased cardiovascular disease), and the increasing trend for multiple drug consumption ("poly-pharmacy") in the elderl...'Slice' scanner latest advance in early detection of heart disease
...were given beta blockers. Two independent experts reviewed the scans and compared them to angiography. Classification of patients as having no, single, or multivessel disease was accurate in 78 percent of patients and no patients with significant obstructions were incorrectly excluded."Although no direct co...Initial Avon/NCI breast cancer research grants awarded in 'Progress for Patients' awards program
...be announced next year. Each grant application was reviewed by a minimum of four reviewers, consisting of seve...." Funding decisions, based on the rankings of the reviewed projects, were approved by NCI Director Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D. "I'm extremely pleased that ...