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Considering Three Major Developments in the Diabetes Retinopathy Industry

The DR market is expected to accrue a sum of $2,490 million by 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 14.4% from 2014-2022.

Rapid Testing for Strep Pharyngitis alone; Culture Not Needed

This was a systematic review and meta-analysis examining the accuracy of rapid antigen diagnostic tests (RADTs) for group A strep (GAS) pharyngitis in children and adults as well as differences between studies already performed.

In Medicine, The "Soft" Skills Are Essential

Too few physicians have the “soft” communications and interpersonal skills they need to succeed in clinical settings. That’s a big and potentially deadly problem.

Anti-inflammatory effects of pioglitazone and/or simvastatin in patients with distinct clinical risk for cardiovascular complications

Statins are the most commonly used pharmacologic intervention in patients with increased cardiovascular risk. In addition to their beneficial effect on the atherogenic lipid profile, they have been shown to exert several pleiotrophic effects, including the reduction of low-grade inflammation. Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are a new class of antidiabetic drugs that have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and to reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes. Our study is the first to show a complementary effect of TZD and statin treatment on several cardiovascular risk factors in subjects without diabetes. These findings may have important implications for further discussion on cardiovascular risk reduction, especially for patients with metabolic syndrome.

Late mortality with sirolimus-eluting stents in diseased saphenous vein grafts

In a secondary post-hoc analysis of the Reduction of Restenosis in Saphenous Vein Grafts with Cypher (RRISC) trial, we compared the long-term safety of sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) with bare-metal stents (BMS) in diseased saphenous vein grafts

First, Do No Harm: The Role of Medication Reconciliation in Reducing Preventable Errors

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations states that medication errors continue to be one of the most frequent causes of preventable harm in healthcare. As Tangalos sees it, electronic and IT solutions hold the greatest promise to eliminate these errors.

Is This Teenager a Good Candidate for an IUD?

Although they are underutilized, intrauterine devices are among the safest and most efficacious forms of birth control available for adolescents.

Intensive statin therapy in acute coronary syndrome

We conducted a meta-analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials involving 17 963 subjects to determine the effect of intensive statin therapy instituted within 14 days of hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome. Results showed that early, intensive statin therapy is safe and significantly decreases cardiovascular death and recurrent ischemia following acute coronary syndrome after 6 months of treatment.

Assessing risk through "inspired" care

This retrospective subanalysis of the Adenosine Sestamibi SPECT Post-Infarction Evaluation (INSPIRE) trial shows that early adenosine sestamibi stress testing is not only safe early after myocardial infarction (MI), but can also be very useful to identify patients at very low risk for events in the first year after discharge.

High-dose statins and the high-risk vascular surgery patient

In a recently published prior paper, Dr Feringa and his colleagues called attention to the prevalence of postoperative cardiac abnormalities in patients undergoing noncardiac vascular surgery.

Antithrombotic treatment of high-risk elderly patients hospitalized with atrial fibrillation

We assessed the pattern of use and the effectiveness of antithrombotic therapy in a cohort of high-risk elderly patients hospitalized for atrial fibrillation, with data derived from prescription, hospitalization, and mortality databases from 3 linked registries. Results showed that antithrombotic therapy was underused, even in patients with no comorbid conditions. In addition, patients exposed to antithrombotic therapy had a significantly lower mortality rate. The collection of epidemiological data by record linkage represents a flexible and readily available tool for monitoring and improving routine clinical care.

The Virtual Window: Clinical Trial Reports--March 2007

Successful research into new therapies for cancer requires a ready supply of patients willing to participate in clinical trials, and physicians and other health care professionals who will refer their patients to the appropriate studies. In each issue, we provide up-to-date information on current or recently announced phase I, II, and III clinical trials focused on biotech-related oncology pharmaceutical therapies.

Failing with women: How clinical trials fail our largest subgroup

The current guidelines for the management of heart failure in women are based upon data collected from studies predominantly enrolling men. However, because important differences exist in the sex-based pathogenesis of and prognosis for heart failure, the current risk-benefit analyses that guide the evidence-based management of heart failure in women demands prospective assessment.

Moving Forward on Part D: CMS Is Working to Smooth Out the New Wrinkles