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General Medicine
Journal Watch condenses summaries of key research across specialties from more than 250 medical journals into concise yet comprehensive articles, incorporating clinical commentary from prominent physician-editors in the field.
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Featured Article
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Gout and Diuretics in Hypertensive PatientsFree
- January 26, 2012
- Allan S. Brett, MD
Diuretic use raised risk for gout by several percentage points.
- Reviewing:
- McAdams DeMarco MA et al. Arthritis Rheum 2012 Jan; 64:121
Recent General Medicine Articles
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
No Decline in Pulmonary Function with Marijuana Use
- January 26, 2012
- Thomas L. Schwenk, MD
But the effects of heavy use still are unclear.
- Reviewing:
- Pletcher MJ et al. JAMA 2012 Jan 11; 307:173
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
New and Established Troponin Assays Are Highly Sensitive and Specific for AMIFree
- January 20, 2012
- John A. Marx, MD, FAAEM
- Emergency Medicine
Use of either type of assay can safely exclude or confirm AMI within 3 hours of emergency department admission.
- Reviewing:
- Keller T et al. JAMA 2011 Dec 28; 306:2684
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
When Should Bone-Density Tests Be Repeated?Free
- January 24, 2012
- Allan S. Brett, MD
A 15-year interval is reasonable in older women if baseline BMD is normal or only mildly osteopenic.
- Reviewing:
- Gourlay ML et al. N Engl J Med 2012 Jan 19; 366:225
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Does Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis Lower 30-Day Mortality in Medical Inpatients?Free
- January 19, 2012
- Allan S. Brett, MD
In a randomized trial, enoxaparin failed to do so.
- Reviewing:
- Kakkar AK et al. N Engl J Med 2011 Dec 29; 365:2463
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Association of Lipid Subfractions and Cardiovascular Events in Women
- January 19, 2012
- Jamaluddin Moloo, MD, MPH
An analysis confirms the inverse relation between HDL cholesterol levels and adverse coronary events in women.
- Reviewing:
- Mora S et al. Ann Intern Med 2011 Dec 6; 155:742
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Bariatric Surgery Lowers Cardiovascular Risk
- January 19, 2012
- Thomas L. Schwenk, MD
But indications and absolute benefit are still unclear.
- Reviewing:
- Sjöström L et al. JAMA 2012 Jan 4; 307:56
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Behavioral Techniques to Address Overactive Bladder in Men
- January 19, 2012
- Allan S. Brett, MD
These techniques worked just as well as anticholinergic drugs.
- Reviewing:
- Burgio KL et al. J Am Geriatr Soc 2011 Dec; 59:2209
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Postoperative RBC Transfusions: More Is Not Better
- January 19, 2012
- Aaron J. Calderon, MD, FACP
A liberal red blood cell transfusion strategy did not improve outcomes after hip fracture surgery.
- Reviewing:
- Carson JL et al. N Engl J Med 2011 Dec 29; 365:2453
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
CT Angiography for Acute Lower Intestinal Bleeding
- January 19, 2012
- Allan S. Brett, MD
Accuracy of computed tomography was impressive in a prospective study.
- Reviewing:
- Martí M et al. Radiology 2012 Jan; 262:109
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Concomitant Septic and Crystal Arthritis
- January 19, 2012
- Allan S. Brett, MD
In a hospital setting, a small proportion of patients with gout or pseudogout had coexisting septic arthritis.
- Reviewing:
- Papanicolas LE et al. J Rheumatol 2012 Jan; 39:157
Editor's Picks from across Journal Watch
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Is Acetaminophen a Culprit in Asthma?Free
- December 21, 2011
- By Cornelius W. Van Niel, MD
- Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Positive associations exist between acetaminophen use and asthma in children.
- Reviewing:
- Pediatrics 2011 Dec; 128:1181
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Androgen-Deprivation Therapy and Cardiovascular Mortality
- December 7, 2011
- By Robert Dreicer, MD, MS, FACP
- Oncology and Hematology
A meta-analysis indicates that ADT does not affect CV mortality and is associated with reduced disease-specific and all-cause mortality in patients with nonmetastatic prostate cancer.
- Reviewing:
- JAMA 2011 Dec 7; 306:2359
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Is Nasogastric Lavage Beneficial for Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding?Free
- December 2, 2011
- By David J. Bjorkman, MD, MSPH (HSA), SM (Epid.)
- Gastroenterology
The procedure increased the likelihood of early endoscopy but not better patient outcomes, such as lower mortality. The question merits prospective analysis.
- Reviewing:
- Gastrointest Endosc 2011 Nov; 74:971
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
Does Anti–Tumor Necrosis Factor α Therapy Increase the Risk for Serious Infection?
- November 10, 2011
- By Jeffrey P. Callen, MD
- Dermatology
In this large cohort study, unlike in most of the previous studies, researchers found no increased risk for serious infections with TNF antagonists.
- Reviewing:
- JAMA 2011 Nov 6
Journal Watch General Medicine summarizes important medical journal articles about a wide variety of medical subjects including arthritis,asthma, diabetes, genetics, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, palliative care, pneumonia, and thrombocytopenia.
