Many diabetes patients don't receive recommended first-line drug
June 1st 2012More than a third of patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus did not receive the recommended first-line drug, a finding that could have substantial implications for healthcare spending, according to a study published in the American Journal of Medicine.
Post-PCI bleeding reduced with changes in strategy
June 1st 2012Changes in procedural antithrombotic strategy are associated with a significant temporal reduction in major bleeding over time in patients undergoing elective post-percutaneous intervention, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Atypical antipsychotics may help refractory depression
May 25th 2012The use of atypical antipsychotics in patients with major depressive disorder who have not responded to antidepressant therapy substantially increased clinical response rates at 6 weeks; however the drugs are also much more costly, according to the results of an analysis published in the May issue of The Annals of Pharmacotherapy.
Warfarin, aspirin similar in treating heart failure
May 18th 2012Warfarin fared no better than aspirin at reducing the combined risk of brain hemorrhage, stroke, or death for heart-failure patients in normal rhythm, according to the results of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Study on schizophrenia deaths makes surprising find
May 18th 2012A unique study designed to gauge the impact of polypharmacy on schizophrenia mortality produced some surprising results: The use of antidepressants or 2 or more antipsychotics was not associated with increased deaths, but the use of benzodiazepine was.
Variation in schizophrenia treatment
May 18th 2012Patients with schizophrenia who switched from haloperidol decanoate or fluphenazine decanoate to risperidone microspheres discontinued their treatment more frequently, according to a new study published in the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Vitamin D threshold varies with season, study shows
May 18th 2012Researchers from the University of Washington have identified a threshold concentration of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25-(OH)D] that is associated with increased risk for major medical events and they say that season-specific targets may be more appropriate than static targets when evaluating health risk.
Study: Most cases of CDI aren't being spread by patients in same ward
February 24th 2012A recent study challenges the conventional assumption about how Clostridium difficile infection spreads in hospitals, finding that almost three-quarters of the new cases aren?t transmitted by patients in the same ward.
Antibiotic amoxicillin no help in treating acute rhinosinusitis
February 24th 2012No significant difference was found in treating patients experiencing clinically diagnosed uncomplicated acute rhinosinusitis with antibiotic amoxicillin compared with patients who received placebo, according to a study in the February 15 issue of JAMA.
No benefit of B vitamins or omega-3 on cancer outcomes, study finds
February 24th 2012There are no beneficial effects of supplementation with relatively low doses of B vitamins and/or omega-3 fatty acids on cancer outcomes in individuals with prior cardiovascular disease, according to a study published online February 13 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Zinc plus antibiotics saves lives of children with pneumonia, study finds
February 24th 2012Zinc used in conjunction with antibiotics significantly reduced mortality in children ages 6 months to 59 months with severe pneumonia when compared with antibiotics alone, according to the findings of a recent study done in Uganda.
FDA finds no increased cardiovascular risk in patients using tiotropium
February 1st 2010After completing a review of available tiotropium bromide inhalation powder (Spiriva HandiHaler, Pfizer) data, FDA released an updated communication, stating that in the regulatory body's opinion, available data does not support an association between the use of tiotropium, a commonly prescribed daily treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and an increased risk of stroke, heart attack, or cardiovascular death.
Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs prove most cost-effective in very early RA
February 1st 2010Therapeutic strategies involving early conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or early biologics are preferred in treating very early rheumatoid arthritis, but the additional costs of early biologics may not be justified for all patients, according to a recent study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Low-dose drug combination shows better outcomes for myeloma patients
February 1st 2010Lenalidomide plus high-dose dexamethasone compared with lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone did not result in superior time to progression, progression-free survival, or overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed myeloma, according to a recent trial.