Summaries of the Year's Most Important Studies Affecting the Practice of Internal Medicine are Available at www.annals.org
Philadelphia, April 10, 2014 — Annals of Internal Medicine, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians (ACP), has published summaries of the most important medical studies of 2013 in the fields of women's health; hematology and oncology; endocrinology; hospital medicine; rheumatology; cardiology; geriatrics; gastroenterology and hepatology; and pulmonary, sleep, and critical care 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 Internal Medicine 2014, the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Physicians, taking place April 10 - 12 in Orlando, Fla.. Each 'Update' includes detailed summaries of several articles pertaining to a particular subspecialty of internal medicine. Highlights include:
- Women's Health: An article published in The Lancet found that continuing adjuvant tamoxifen treatment for 10 years reduced recurrence and increased survival in women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Much of the research selected for this section focused on the importance of individualizing counseling, screening, and treatment strategies on the basis of patient characteristics.
- Hematology and Oncology: An article in Annals of Internal Medicine found that limiting D-dimer testing to patients with a low or moderate pretest probability of having a first episode of deep venous thrombosis reduces the number of tests. An article published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that maintenance chemotherapy benefits patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer.
- Endocrinology: An article published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism showed that minimally-invasive therapy is safe, effective, and can be used for symptomatic benign thyroid nodules. In addition to thyroid, articles on diabetes practice and bone medicine were also included in the update.
- Hospital Medicine: Articles selected were practice-changing. Among them, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that fecal microbiota transplant is more effective than vancomycin for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. An article published in Annals of Internal Medicine showed that aspirin is noninferior to low molecular weight heparin for venous thromboembolism prevention after elective hip replacement
- Rheumatology: Many of the articles selected focused on high-value care. Comparisons of traditional methods of treating rheumatoid arthritis to novel (and more expensive) therapies, showed that traditional methods to be more effective. An article published in Annals of Rheumatic Diseases showed fish oil to be an effective adjunctive therapy for recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis.
- Cardiology: Many of the articles selected focus on high-value care. Advances were particularly significant in the fields of hypertension. New treatment guidelines increase the percentage of patients with hypertension control and aim to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and diabetes.
- Geriatrics: An article in Annals of Internal Medicine found that brief screening instruments can help detect dementia in the primary care setting. In addition to dementia, articles selected for this section address cognitive impairment, hospital readmissions, adverse drug events, and falls.
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology: An article in the New England Journal of Medicine found that a restrictive transfusion strategy reduced mortality in patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding. An article published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology suggested that individuals that consume a high fiber diet and have more frequent bowel movements are at greater risk for having diverticulosis.
- Pulmonary, Sleep, and Critical Care: An article published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that using a risk stratification model for computed tomography screening of lung cancer significantly improved the rate of false-positive results per cancer deaths prevented. An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that highly trained primary care physicians can effectively treat some cases of obstructive sleep apnea. Also in JAMA, investigators found that adding vasopressin and steroids significantly improved survival in patients who develop cardiac arrest while hospitalized.
Summaries of all of the 'Updates' articles can be accessed online at www.annals.org.