More evidence on inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions in outpatient settings

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An annual antibiotic prescription rate of 506 per 1,000 population was estimated in the United States in 2010-2011 in a study published on JAMA. According to the authors, only 353 antibiotic prescriptions were likely appropriate, supporting the need for establishing a goal for outpatient antibiotic stewardship. Sinusitis, suppurative otitis media and pharyngitis were the diagnosis associated with the most antibiotic prescriptions. Only approximately half of the acute respiratory conditions were estimated to be appropriate for these conditions.

Read the article and comment the story on Among Doctors

Image credit: Bmramon at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9825471

 

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Picks of the Week: Stomach cancer, fluconazole, and a few systematic reviews!

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Sharing news within Among Doctors network is a way of appraising and curating evidence, contributing to the dissemination of knowledge with your trusted network. Let’s have a look at what news have been shared lately:

  • Diet, nutrition, physical activity and stomach cancer
    The World Cancer Research Fund released a new report on stomach cancer linking for the first time drinking alcohol, eating processed meat and being overweight to an increased risk of developing stomach cancers.
  • FDA evaluating study examining use of oral fluconazole in pregnancy
    FDA is evaluating the results of a Danish study that conclude there is a possible increased risk of miscarriage with the use of oral fluconazole for yeast infections.
  • Cochrane Systematic Review: A comparison of different antibiotic regimens for the treatment of infective endocarditis
    Limited and very low quality evidence suggested that there were no conclusive differences between antibiotic regimens in terms of cure rates or other relevant clinical outcomes.
  • Association between anticholinergic medication and cognition, brain metabolism, and brain atrophy in cognitively normal older adults
    Anticholinergic medication use was linked with risk for future progression to mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Cochrane Systematic Review: Mobile phone-based interventions for smoking cessation
    The current evidence supports a beneficial impact of mobile phone-based smoking cessation interventions on six-month cessation outcomes.
  • Exposure to advertisements and electronic cigarette use among US middle and high school students
    The odds of electronic cigarette use increased with greater exposure to electronic cigarette advertising, with Internet advertisements having the strongest effect.

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The role of infection in the Alzheimer’s disease causation

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Thirty-three researchers and clinicians point out the potential link of infection to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a recently published editorial. They refer to the “many studies, mainly on humans, implicating specific microbes in the elderly brain, notably herpes simplex virus type 1, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and several types of spirochaete, in the etiology of AD.” Despite the wide breadth of supportive evidence, the authors say that topic is often dismissed as controversial, and urge further research on the link of infectious agents to AD including trials of antimicrobial therapy.

Read the editorial or comment the story on Among Doctors

 

 

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diabetes

Picks of the Week: Updates on diabetes mellitus

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This week many news updates were shared by fellow colleagues on the Among Doctors network. As many of you have already experienced, with this feature we can all become editors by appraising and sharing new evidence and other piece of news with the rest of your network. Give it try by sharing something interesting from your home page on Among Doctors, and let us know your thoughts!

Let’s see the latest top news:

  • Cancer incidence in persons with type 1 diabetes: a five-country study of 9,000 cancers in type 1 diabetic individuals
    On average, type 1 diabetes confers an excess incidence of several cancers: persons with type 1 diabetes had a higher incidence of cancer of the liver, pancreas, kidney, endometrium and ovary and a lower incidence of prostate cancer than those in the general population. However, similar to the findings for type 2 diabetes, the HRs of cancer were highest at time of diabetes diagnosis and declined over time.
  • Diagnosis and Management of Diabetes: Synopsis of the 2016 American Diabetes Association Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes
    The synopsis focuses on 8 key areas that are important to primary care providers. The recommendations highlight individualized care to manage the disease, prevent or delay complications, and improve outcomes.
  • Effect of Behavioral Interventions on Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing Among Primary Care Practices
    Among primary care practices, the use of accountable justification and peer comparison as behavioral interventions resulted in lower rates of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections.
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Picks of the Week: Zika virus updates

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This week many of the shared updates focused on the presently ongoing, large outbreak of the Zika virus. Let’s have a look at the top news that were shared on the Among Doctors network:

  • Zika virus: all the updates
    All the latest evidence on DynaMed Plus, a map of the outbreak and the European Medicines Agency to provide support to global response on the emerging epidemic of the Zika virus.
  • WHO joins the world in marking the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation
    More than 125 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of Female Genital Mutilation in the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where the harmful practice is most concentrated.
  • Recommendations for screening for depression in adults
    Although major depressive disorder is one of the world’s great public health problems, the morbidity and increased mortality associated with this common illness can be attenuated by the large number of effective treatments that are now widely available. It is therefore important to ensure that efficient methods for population screening are in place and directly linked to health care systems so depressed patients receive appropriate treatment.
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