November 21st, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Opinion, Research
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I learned a lot from putting together an abstract for a national heart meeting.
- More than just learning how to e-submit, e-upload and e-print a large poster;
- More than what t-tests and chi-squares measure;
- More than learning that females respond differently to AF ablation;
- And surely more than which coffee shop offers the best work place.
Putting this thing together showed me stuff: the process of discovery, it’s role in helping us be better doctors and the difficulties inherent in doing this kind of valuable research in our current system.
So of course…bloggers blog.
First: Many have asked why we bothered doing research? What’s the motivation? Money? Fame? A greater purpose?
It was none of these. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
November 20th, 2011 by RyanDuBosar in Research
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Adults who received care from a medical home in 11 Westernized countries were less likely to report medical errors and were happier with their care, according to a new Commonwealth Fund international survey.
The 2011 survey included more than 18,000 ill adults in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It included people who reported they were in fair or poor health, had surgery or had been hospitalized in the past two years, or had received care for a serious or chronic illness, injury or disability in the past year. The vast majority had seen multiple physicians.
A medical home was defined as patients reporting a regular source of care that knows their medical history, is accessible and helps coordinate care received from other providers. Results were published in Health Affairs.
Sicker adults in the U.S. were the most likely to Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
November 19th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Research
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Low back pain is one of the most common conditions to affect humans. More than 80% of Americans experience low back pain at some time in their lives and “chronic” pain is on the rise as people live longer and get heavier. Numerous studies have shown that doctors and patients underutilized exercise as a treatment for chronic back and neck pain even though it has been shown to be effective. A new study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that showed yoga to be an effective treatment for chronic low back pain.
The study authors took two groups of patients and compared yoga to usual care for chronic or recurrent low back pain. All patients received a back pain education booklet, but the study group also received Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
November 18th, 2011 by Paul Auerbach, M.D. in Research
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Ski season is upon us. Many experts (including myself) are of the opinion that helmets should be worn by all downhill skiers and snowboarders to help prevent head injuries. One of the “con” arguments proposed by some persons who object to wearing helmets is that they interfere with skiing in such a way as to perhaps make it more dangerous. In their opinion, this might occur by obscuring peripheral vision or diminishing the perception of sound. A very important article entitled “Do Ski Helmets Affect Reaction Time to Peripheral Stimuli?” (Wilderness & Environmental Medicine:22,148-150,2011) has recently been published by Gerhard Ruedl and colleagues from the Department of Sports Science at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.
The investigators sought to determine whether or not ski helmet use affects reaction time to peripheral stimuli. They used the Compensatory-Tracking-Test (CTT) in a laboratory situation to study 10 men and 10 women during four conditions in a randomized order: Read more »
This post, Study Looks At The Effectiveness Of Ski Helmets In Preventing Head Injuries, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..
November 16th, 2011 by RyanDuBosar in Research
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A common flavoring of chewing gum was associated with a 25% reduction in acute otitis media (AOM) in a small meta-analysis of children in Finnish day care centers, researchers reported.
Chewing gum has long been touted by gum manufacturers for preventing tooth decay and by frequent flyers for keeping one’s ears from popping during take-offs and landings. It’s been looked at for heartburn from overeating, relief of stress and anxiety and in dieting (although sugar-free gum has no more effect, it’s been recently noted).
Now, one of gum’s common flavorings, xylitol (birch sugar) is being looked at for its antibitoic properties in an age of antibiotic overuse and potential drug resistence. Xylitol has been used for decades as a natural non-sugar sweetener in gum, toothpaste and medicines.
AOM is the most common bacterial infection among young children in the United States. By the age of one, approximately Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
