Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Infections, Transplantation / 01.03.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Susan N. Hocevar MD Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA 30333; MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Hocevar: This public health investigation uncovered microsporidiosis transmitted to 3 organ recipients who received organs from a common donor. This illness cluster was the first recognized occurrence of donor-derived microsporidiosis. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Heart Disease, UCSF / 25.02.2014

Dhruv S. Kazi, MD, MSc, MS Assistant Adjunct Professor Division of Cardiology San Francisco General Hospital Department of Medicine, and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics University of California San FranciscoMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dhruv S. Kazi, MD, MSc, MS Assistant Adjunct Professor Division of Cardiology San Francisco General Hospital Department of Medicine, and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics University of California San Francisco MedicalResearch.com: What is the background of your study? Dr. Kazi: When we first asked the research question -what is the role of genotyping among patients receiving a stent for ACS, we quickly realized that there were no RCTs that had directly compared ticagrelor with prasugrel. But in our opinion, that was precisely the reason to build a model and systematically synthesize the available literature. There are nearly half a million PCIs for ACS in the US each year, and each time, the physician and patients have to examine the trade-offs between the various alternatives. What our model does is that it explicates the trade-offs - makes them transparent, and quantifies them.  So patients and physicians can make an informed decision on what is the optimal therapy for them. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, General Medicine, Heart Disease / 18.02.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Caroline A. Kim, MD, MS; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA 02215. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Kim: We conducted a systematic review of 62 studies that examined functional status and quality of life in patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (AVR) for their symptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis.  In 11,205 patients who underwent TAVR, a clinically meaningful improvement was seen in physical functional measures and disease-specific quality of life measures, whereas improvement in psychological measures or more general health measures were modest and inconsistent.  Given the dismal prognosis of severe aortic stenosis treated conservatively, it was clear that transcatheter AVR improved functional status and quality of life.  However, there was insufficient evidence that compares these patient-centered outcomes between transcatheter AVR and surgical AVR. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews / 30.01.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andrew Anglemyer, PhD, MPH; Clinical Pharmacy and Global Health Sciences University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, CAAndrew Anglemyer, PhD, MPH; Clinical Pharmacy and Global Health Sciences University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, CA MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study?  Dr. Anglemyer: Over all, you are more than 3 times more likely to commit suicide if you have access to a firearm than if you do not.  And,  among men only, they are nearly 4 times more likely to commit suicide if they have access to a firearm than if they do not. Additionally, over all, you are 2 times more likely to be a victim of homicide if you have access to a firearm than if you do not. We also found that females have a higher likelihood of being a victim of homicide, than males when considering firearm access.  And we know from empirical data that the majority of female victims knew their assailant—which, to us, suggests that they were victims of domestic violence. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Health Care Systems, University of Pittsburgh / 22.01.2014

Janel Hanmer, MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Montefiore Hospital Pittsburgh, PA 15213MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Janel Hanmer, MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Montefiore Hospital Pittsburgh, PA 15213 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Hanmer: We used the National Inpatient Sample - a sample of about 20% of US community hospitals with all discharges from those hospitals - to examine if insurance status is associated with transfer from one hospital to another. We were looking at patients who were already admitted to the hospital, not the patients who presented to the Emergency Department. We selected the five most common general medicine admissions for adults aged 18 to 64. We found that uninsured patients were less likely to be transferred than privately insured patients in four of the five conditions (about 20-40% less likely). We also found that women were less likely than men to be transferred in five of the conditions (about 35 to 40% less likely). (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Electronic Records / 10.01.2014

Robert S. Rudin, Ph.D. Associate Policy Researcher RAND Corporation 20 Park Plaza, Suite 920 Boston, MA 02116MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Robert S. Rudin, Ph.D. Associate Policy Researcher RAND Corporation Boston, MA 02116 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Rudin: We found that most published health IT implementation studies report positive effects on quality, safety, and efficiency. Most evaluations focus on clinical decision support and computerized provider order entry. However, not all studies report equally positive results, and differences in context and implementation are one likely reason for these varying results, yet details of context and implementation are rarely reported in these studies. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Diabetes, Mediterranean Diet / 10.01.2014

Jordi Salas-Salvadó, MD, PhD Human Nutrition Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Healthy Sciences Universitat Rovira i Virgili, C/ Sant Llorenç, 21, 43201 Reus, SpainMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jordi Salas-Salvadó, MD, PhD Human Nutrition Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Healthy Sciences Universitat Rovira i Virgili, C/ Sant Llorenç, 21, 43201 Reus, Spain MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Randomized trials have shown that lifestyle interventions promoting weight loss can reduce the incidence of type-2diabetes, however, whether dietary changes without calorie restriction or increased physical activity also protect from diabetes development has not been evaluated in the past. In our study, we found that a long-term adherence to a high-quality dietary pattern akin to the traditional MedDiet and rich in extra-virgin olive oil was able to reduce the incidence of new cases of diabetes in older individuals at high cardiovascular risk. We have demonstrated for the first time that a beneficial effect on diabetes prevention could be obtained witha healthy dietary pattern (without calorie restriction, increased physical activity or weight loss). These benefits have been observed in participants between 55 to 80 years-old at high cardiovascular risk; therefore,the message is that it is never too late to switch to a healthy diet like the Mediterranean. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, CT Scanning, Lung Cancer / 31.12.2013

dr_harry_j_dekonigMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Harry J de Koning, MD PhD Professor of Public Health & Screening Evaluation Rotterdam, The Netherlands. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. de Koning: Annual CT screening for lung cancer has a favorable benefit-to-harm ratio for individuals ages 55 through 80 years with 30 or more pack-years’ exposure to smoking. It would lead to 50% (model ranges, 45% to 54) of cases of cancer being detected at an early stage (stage I/II), 575 screenings examinations per lung cancer death averted, a 14% (range, 8.2% to 23.5%) reduction in lung cancer mortality, 497 lung cancer deaths averted, and 5250 life-years gained per the 100 000-member (1950-) cohort. Harms would include 67 550 false-positive test results, 910 biopsies or surgeries for benign lesions, and 190 overdiagnosed cases of cancer (3.7% of all cases of lung cancer [model ranges, 1.4% to 8.3%]), again for a 100 000-member (1950-) cohort. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, General Medicine, Mediterranean Diet, Nutrition / 06.11.2013

Cécilia Samieri, PhD Institut pour la Santé Publique et le Développement, Case 11, Université Bordeaux Segalen, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, FranceMedicalResearch.com Interview with Cécilia Samieri, PhD Institut pour la Santé Publique et le Développement, Case 11, Université Bordeaux Segalen, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Samieri: That women with healthier dietary patterns at midlife were 40% more likely to survive age 70 or over free of major chronic diseases and with no impairment in physical function, cognition or mental health. (more…)