Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for May 3, 2005
... the treatment of lower back pain. A meta-analysis finds that exercise therapy has a small beneficial effec...an six weeks (Review, p. 765). A systematic review finds that the two features of the most successful exercise therapy for chronic low back pain are close su...Medical-errors gap widens between best and worst hospitals: Healthgrades study
...hGrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study finds that 1.18 million patient safety incidents occurre...he three years beginning with 2000. The study also finds that hospital-acquired infections grew by 20% and accounted for 30% of the costs of patient safety i...MRI study shows hormone leptin alters brains, may ease cravings of people with obesity gene
...ndings: A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study finds that the protein hormone leptin promotes development of gray matter in the part of the brain that regulates cravings and the ability to monitor personal behavior. After receiving leptin replacement therapy, research subjects with a recessive mutation...Drug combinations improve survival for patients with heart disease
...chance of survival than those taking single drugs, finds a study in this week's BMJ. This is the first large scale, long term trial to report the effect of different combinations of drugs to prevent deaths in patients with heart disease, The study involved over 13,000 patients who were diagnosed with isch...Decline in major heart disease offset by rise in diagnosed angina among British men
...et by an increase in the rate of diagnosed angina, finds a study in this week's BMJ. These results emphasise the ongoing need for health service resources for angina, say the researchers. The study involved 7,735 men, aged 40-59 in 1978-80, who were randomly selected from one general practice in 24 differe...Misunderstanding real cost a barrier to mammography
...get regular mammography check-ups, but a new study finds they often misunderstand or simply aren't aware of benefits in their insurance plans that might help offset any financial burden. The study authors concluded that mammography screening campaigns may want to include information about insurance and he...Many HIV patients are not diagnosed early enough
...agnosed until they are at a late stage of disease, finds a study published online by the BMJ today. These findings reflect national trends reported by the Health Protection Agency. Researchers surveyed over 100 centres providing adult HIV care in the United Kingdom and Ireland for patients presenting with...MMR vaccine does not increase risk of Crohn's disease
...s disease (chronic inflammation of the intestine), finds a study in this week's BMJ. It has been hypothesised that the MMR vaccine increases the risk of Crohn's disease, although the evidence for this is sparse. The study provides strong evidence against this theory and adds to the evidence that MMR vaccin...Radiologists play key role in child abuse cases: Electronic exhibit outlines signs of abuse
...use. A red flag should go up when a radiologist finds fractures in different stages of healing, posterior rib fractures, fractures at the very end of the long bones (which can occur when a child has been shaken) and long bone fractures in children who are not walking, said Dr. Walker. In addition, MR im...Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for May 17, 2005
...usal women with established coronary heart disease finds that women with slightly elevated blood sugar levels (impaired fasting glucose levels of 5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L) do not have increased risk for CHD (Article, p. 813). 4. Study of Five Strategies to Treat HBV Identifies Two Strategies Cost-Effective, D...Eight aspects of early life put UK children at risk of obesity
...sion per week are at an increased risk of obesity, finds a study published online by the BMJ this week. This is just one of eight aspects of early life found to be linked to obesity in UK children, and these results support the theory that the early life environment can determine later risk of obesity. The...Federal NIH office clears Ohio State research program
..."Based on its assessment of this explanation, OLAW finds the ILACUC review and the described performance of the spinal cord injury study to be consistent with the provisions of the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals," wrote Axel Wolff, OLAW's acting director of the Di...Breastfeeding as good for children's blood pressure as exercise and salt restriction
...pressure as exercise and dietary salt restriction, finds a study in Archives of Disease in Childhood. And the longer the period of breastfeeding, the lower the blood pressure reading, the research shows. The research team assessed the impact of breastfeeding on elements of the metabolic syndrome in over 20...The better educated a woman is, the better she sleeps at night
...the more likely she is to sleep through the night, finds a large study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Conversely, the better educated a man is, the less likely he is to get a good night's sleep, the research shows. The findings are based on a nationally representative Taiwanese survey...Risks outweigh benefits of shark cartilage as anti-cancer treatment
...r-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, finds there was no difference in overall survival or quality of life between patients who received shark cartilage and those who received a placebo. Some experiments have shown that some forms of shark cartilage possess a modest ability to slow the growth...Medical privacy vs. health care quality?
...collected would be less meaningful. The study also finds that patients who returned written consents were far more likely to be older, married and white than those who refused to consent or didn't answer. Even as participation dropped, the cost of working in a HIPAA-compliant way rose. Computing time, staf...Psychosocial aspects of genetic testing for hereditary cancers meeting at Jefferson June 9-10
...idual gene-testing kit, Dr. Kash says. If a person finds out he or she is at high risk for melanoma, for example, he or she can find ways to prevent it. A woman at high risk for breast cancer can make lifestyle changes. Insurance companies, she says, are becoming better educated also. Most pay for genetic...May/June 2005 Annals of Family Medicine tip sheet
...eening high-risk women for gonorrhea infection but finds insufficient evidence to recommend for or against screening for high-risk men. The Task Force finds that harms outweigh the benefit of screening low-risk men and women but finds strong evidence to sup...Diabetes knowledge has little effect on improving outcomes
...dy by Duke Clinical Research Institute researchers finds little relationship between what a diabetic patient knows about the disease and control of its associated cardiovascular risk factors or how well the patient ultimately fares. The researchers said their analysis indicates that for diabetics, improved...The link between passive and active smoking and breast cancer
...on concludes, "this analysis of breast cancer risk finds that studies with comprehensive passive exposure assessment suggest that both passive and active smoking are risk factors for premenopausal breast cancer."...