Summaries of the Year's Most Important Studies Affecting the Practice of Internal Medicine are Available at
Philadelphia, April 30, 2015 - Annals of Internal Medicine, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians (ACP), has published summaries of the most important medical studies of 2014 in the fields of general internal medicine, cardiology, hematology, endocrinology, gastroenterology and hepatology, rheumatology, and perioperative, pulmonary, and geriatric medicine. All articles were published within the last year in some of the world's most prestigious medical journals. Authors in each topic area chose articles based on novelty and quality of the research, as well as potential impact on clinical practice.
Publication of the updates coincides with , the annual scientific meeting of the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½, taking place April 30-May 2 in Boston, Mass. Each "Update" includes detailed summaries of several articles pertaining to a particular subspecialty of internal medicine. Highlights include:
- General Internal Medicine: An article published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that a blood pressure (BP) measurement taken at a single office visit indicating hypertension may need to be confirmed with a BP measurement in an ambulatory setting. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews published a study that found that patients with acute bronchitis treated with antibiotics experienced little clinical benefit and increased adverse effects.
- Cardiology: An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people without known cardiovascular disease and with a low risk for cardiovascular death were not likely to benefit from taking low-dose aspirin. The study also found that aspirin significantly reduced the risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction, but significantly increased the risk for hemorrhage requiring a transfusion or hospitalization.
- Hematology: An article in the New England Journal of Medicine found that critically-ill septic-shock patients who received hemoglobin transfusions at thresholds of 70 g/L or less did not have differing 90-day mortality rates compared with patients who received hemoglobin transfusions of 90 g/L or less. An article published in the Lancet found that patients with deep venous thrombosis who wore elastic compression stockings did not have reduced postthrombotic syndrome compared with patients who wore placebo stockings.
- Endocrinology: Annals of Internal Medicine published a study that found that older patients with high cardiovascular risk who followed a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil had reduced onset of new cases of diabetes. An article in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews found that postmenopausal women and older men who took vitamin D plus calcium supplements had fewer bone fractures.
- Gastroenterology and hepatology: An article in Gastroenterology found that patients with chronic pancreatitis require aggressive efforts to reduce morbidity and mortality due to cancer and other causes. A study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology found that the risk for colorectal cancer in patients with long-term inflammatory bowel disease decreased. The risk for other cancer types in patients with long-term inflammatory bowel disease has remained stable.
- Rheumatology: The New England Journal of Medicine published an article about the little benefit that epidural glucocorticoid injections has for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. The article states that patients should be informed of the minor benefits of glucocorticoids and lidocaine, and that complications are possible.
- Perioperative Medicine: Anesthesiology published an article that found that treating the perioperative diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is associated with lower cardiovascular complications after surgery.
- Pulmonary Medicine: An article in the New England Journal of Medicine found that a cost-effective method of screening for lung cancer is low-dose computer tomography. The British Medical Journal published a study that found that while oseltamivir, an oral neuraminidase inhibitor, is effective for treating influenza in adults, there are adverse side effects that need to be considered before prescribing.
- Geriatric Medicine: Annals of Internal Medicine published a study that found that atypical antipsychotics cause acute kidney injury in older adults, along with other adverse effects. Patients who take atypical antipsychotic should be monitored for blood pressure, renal function, and signs of urine retention.
Summaries of all of the "Updates" articles can be accessed online at .
About Annals of Internal
Medicine
is one of the most widely cited peer-reviewed
medical journals in the world. The journal has been published for
88 years and accepts only about 7 percent of the original research
studies submitted for publication. Annals of Internal
Medicine has a 2013 of 16.104, ranking it fifth out of 150 journals in the
category "Medicine, General & Internal." The journal is
published by the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ (ACP). Follow
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