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Clinical Times: January 2007

Blood test may help distinguish between mononucleosis and tonsillitis

Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery 2007;133:61-64 | 26 January 2007 | Infections & Immunology

Measuring a patient’s ratio of white blood cell types may help to distinguish between infectious mononucleosis and bacterial tonsillitis, according to a new study. In the study, doctors at St George’s Hospital in London retrospectively analysed laboratory tests from 120... Read more

Chemotherapy can delay post-operative pancreatic cancer recurrence

JAMA 2007;297:267-277 | 26 January 2007 | Cancer

Use of the drug gemcitabine for chemotherapy significantly delays the recurrence of cancer for patients following pancreatic cancer surgery, according to a new study from Germany and Austria. In the study, doctors at 88 oncology centres in Germany and Austria... Read more

Patients dissatisfied after closed reduction of nasal fractures

Archives of Facial and Plastic Surgery 2007;9:40-43 | 26 January 2007 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

In a small series of patients who underwent closed reduction to repair a broken nose, nearly one-third reported dissatisfaction with the outcome and about one-third said they would consider further surgery to correct their nasal deformities, according to a new... Read more

Clear guidelines on oral chemotherapy needed

BMJ | 26 January 2007 | Cancer

Current practices around the use of oral chemotherapy need to be improved, according to US doctors. In the study, researchers from Boston set out to analyse the guidelines and practices used by 42 comprehensive cancer centres for the provision of... Read more

Once-off melanoma screening of elderly cost-effective

Archives of Dermatology 2007;143:21-28 | 26 January 2007 | Cancer, Skin

Once-off melanoma screening of adults aged 50 years or older appears to be as cost-effective as other recommended cancer screening programmes, according to a new study. In the study, researchers constructed a mathematical model to simulate the melanoma events that... Read more

Learning with partner improves skin cancer self-examination

Archives of Dermatology 2007;143:37-41 | 26 January 2007 | Cancer, Skin

Individuals who received instruction on skin self-examination with their partners may be more likely to engage in this cancer prevention behaviour, according to a new report. In the study, doctors performed a trial of a skin self-examination instruction programme with... Read more

Poor ward care is harming patients

BMJ 2007;334:97 | 26 January 2007 |

Poor ward care is harming patients, a leading UK anaesthetist has warned. The comments follow the recent publication of UK figures that showed that three of the four commonest causes of delayed discharge are associated with inadequate care on the... Read more

Surgically implanted hearing aids suitable for younger children

Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery 2007;133:51-55 | 26 January 2007 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

Outcomes from surgically implanted hearing aids that are anchored to bone appear comparable for children younger than five years and those older than five years of age, according to a new report from Canada. In the study, doctors reviewed surgical... Read more

Treatment is rapidly evolving

Dr Pat Manning | 26 January 2007 | Respiratory

With an estimated 400,000 sufferers, Ireland has the fourth highest number of people with asthma in the world- 11.5 per cent.Managementof the condition follows the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) evidence-based international guidelines. Many patients have significant asthma related morbidity... Read more

South Asians experience MI risk factors at earlier ages

JAMA 2007;297:286-294 | 26 January 2007 | Cardiovascular

People who are native to south Asia experience acute myocardial infarctions (AMI) at a younger age because of greater levels of heart attack risk factors such as smoking and diabetes at a younger age, according to a new study. The... Read more

Effective monitoring is key to the safety of medicines

19 January 2007 |

The Irish Medicines Board monitors the safety for human use of the authorised medicinal products available on the Irish market. Part of this monitoring is carried out through reviewing and evaluating suspected adverse reactions, and the IMB encourages all healthcare... Read more

A must-have book for dermatologists

Dr Charles Dupont | 19 January 2007 | Skin

Textbook of Cosmetic Dermatology (Third Edition)- Robert Baran and Howard I. Maibach, 832pp (Lippincott) This book is addressed to dermatologists, both clinical and cosmetic, and details the scientific testing of cosmetics. At the end of each chapter there is also... Read more

Child abuse or neglect may be linked to major depression in adults

Archives of General Psychiatry 2007;64:49-56 | 19 January 2007 | Mental Health & CNS

People who were abused and neglected during childhood have a higher risk of major depression when they become young adults, according to a new report. In the study, doctors examined whether abused and neglected children were at elevated risk of... Read more

New and better ways should be developed in managing hyperglycaemia

Prof Gerald H Tomkin | 19 January 2007 | Diabetes

The past 20 years has seen some of the most amazing and exciting discoveries in many aspects of science and medicine. The understanding of basic physiology and pathology at a molecular level has resulted in the development of treatments that... Read more

Level of cardiac biomarker could help to predict MI

JAMA 2007;297:169-176 | 19 January 2007 | Cardiovascular

A blood test for patients with coronary heart disease could help predict their risk for subsequent cardiovascular events or death, according to a new study. According to background information supplied by the researchers, brain-type natriuretic peptide (BNP; consisting of 2... Read more

PTSD patients show reduced pain sensitivity

Archives of General Psychiatry 2007;64:76-85 | 19 January 2007 | Mental Health & CNS

Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) show reduced pain sensitivity, a pattern that may be related to altered pain processing in the brain, according to a new report. In the study, Dutch doctors examined neural correlates of pain processing in... Read more

Medication adherence guide to better survival

JAMA 2007;297:177-18 | 19 January 2007 | Cardiovascular

Research suggests that the taking medications such as statins and beta-blockers as prescribed after a heart attack is associated with living longer. Doctors in Canada examined the relationship between drug adherence and death following acute myocardial infarction. To help evaluate... Read more

The interplay between genetics and lifestyle can multiply risks for macular degeneration

Archives of Ophthalmology 2007;125:55-62 | 19 January 2007 | Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat

The interplay between genetic predisposition and exposure to modifiable risk factors can multiply the risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a new study. Researchers have previously found that a mutation in the gene for complement factor H (CFH)... Read more

Folate levels could reduce Alzheimer’s

Archives of Neurology 2007;64:86-92 | 19 January 2007 | Nutrition

Individuals who take in higher levels of the nutrient folate through both diet and supplements may have a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new report. In the study, doctors examined, interviewed and assessed the diets of... Read more

Stress disorder may raise heart disease risk in men

Archives of General Psychiatry 2007;64:109-116 | 19 January 2007 | Cardiovascular

A higher level of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may increase the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in older men, according to a new American study. Doctors conducted a prospective study to test the hypothesis that high levels... Read more

Prenatal multivitamins may aid birth weight

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 2007;161:58-64 | 19 January 2007 | Nutrition, Women's Health

Undernourished women who take a vitamin and mineral supplement while pregnant may be less likely than women taking only iron and folic acid supplements to have babies weighing less than 2,500gm, according to a new report. In the study, Indian... Read more

High IQ in children increases likelihood of vegetarianism in adults

BMJ | 12 January 2007 |

Higher scores for IQ in childhood are associated with an increased likelihood of being a vegetarian as an adult, according to a new study. The researchers examined the relationship between IQ in childhood and vegetarianism in adulthood. IQ was assessed... Read more

Antidepressants increase risk of suicide attempts, but decrease risk of dying

Archives of General Psychiatry 2006;63:1358-1367 | 12 January 2007 | Mental Health & CNS

Suicidal individuals taking antidepressant medications appear to have an increased risk of additional suicide attempts, but a reduced risk of dying from suicide or any other cause, according to a large Finnish study. Doctors analysed data for suicide attempts between... Read more

First-time mothers face higher risk for postpartum mental disorders

JAMA 2006;296:2582-2589 | 12 January 2007 | Mental Health & CNS, Women's Health

New mothers are at an increased risk for mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder in the three months following the birth of their first child, according to a new study from Denmark. In the study, doctors analysed... Read more

Women need not wait to conceive after breast cancer

BMJ | 12 January 2007 | Cancer, Genito-urinary, Women's Health

Young women who are diagnosed with breast cancer need not wait the recommended two years after treatment before attempting to conceive, researchers have found. Women of child-bearing age who are diagnosed with breast cancer are currently advised to wait at... Read more

Vaccination combined with screening could prevent up to 95 per cent of cervical cancers

Colin Kerr | 12 January 2007 | Cancer, Women's Health

Vaccination in combination with a screening programme could prevent up to 95 per cent of cervical cancers and eventually could virtually eradicate the disease, which kills a quarter of a million people worldwide every year. That is the view of... Read more

Parents find that recording neonatal consultations helps

BMJ | 05 January 2007 |

Parents with infants needing neonatal care find recordings of consultations with their consultants helpful, according to a new Australian study. The researchers set out to assess the usefulness of audio recording the conversations between mothers and their neonatal consultants. Some... Read more

Half of men who pay for sex say they already have a partner

Sexually Transmitted Infections 2006;82:364-367 | 05 January 2007 | Genito-urinary, Men's Health

Almost half of men who pay for sex already have a partner, according to researchers in the UK. The researchers used survey data from a standard health screening questionnaire completed by more than 2,500 men at one sexual health clinic.... Read more

Osteoarthritis may be a sign of faster ‘biological ageing’

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases | 05 January 2007 | Musculoskeletal

Osteoarthritis may be a sign of faster “biological ageing”, according to new research. The research was based on a study of almost 1,100 people, aged between 30 and 79 years. Most of them were female twins. X-rays of both hands... Read more

Young infants should not be left unattended to sleep in car seats

BMJ 2006;333:1205-1206 | 05 January 2007 |

Young infants should not be left unattended to sleep in standard car safety seats, researchers in New Zealand have warned. That warning follows a study in which researchers examined infants referred to the Auckland Cot Monitoring Service between July 1999... Read more

Free drug samples do influence prescribing, doctors admit

Journal of Medical Ethics 2006; 32: 559-563 | 05 January 2007 |

One in three doctors agree that free drug samples influence prescribing, according to a new survey. The respondents said that they thought that other doctors were more likely to be influenced by incentives than they were. The survey was based... Read more

Hajj pilgrims should get flu jab to avoid pandemic

BMJ 2006;333:1182-1183 | 05 January 2007 | Infections & Immunology, Respiratory

Flu vaccination should be mandatory for all Hajj pilgrims to minimise the risk of a global pandemic, doctors have advised. At the end of next month Saudi Arabia will again host the Hajj– the largest annual gathering in the world–... Read more