COPD

Besides the 69th World Health Assembly in Geneva that saw the release of many reports and news, this was a week of  a plethora of other articles and evidence published worldwide. Fellow physicians selected the most important ones and shared them on the Among Doctors network:

• Management of Chronic Insomnia Disorder in Adults: A Clinical Practice Guideline
  The American College of Physicians recommends that all adult patients receive cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as the initial treatment for chronic insomnia disorder. (Grade: strong recommendation, moderate-quality evidence)
• Comparative effectiveness and safety of strategies for preventing NSAID-associated gastrointestinal toxicity: Systematic Review & Metanalysis
  The combination of selective COX-2 inhibitors plus PPIs provides the best gastrointestinal protection, followed by selective COX-2 inhibitors, and thirdly by nonselective NSAIDs plus PPIs.
• Efficacy, Tolerability, and Dose-Dependent Effects of Opioid Analgesics for Low Back Pain: Systematic Review & Meta-analysis
  For people with chronic low back pain who tolerate the medicine, opioid analgesics provide modest short-term pain relief but the effect is not likely to be clinically important within guideline recommended doses.
• A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis of Dual Bronchodilation With LAMA/LABA for the Treatment of Stable COPD
  Dual bronchodilation is better than a LAMA or a LABA alone, regardless of the drugs used.
• Blood-Pressure Lowering in Intermediate-Risk Persons without Cardiovascular Disease
  Therapy with candesartan at a dose of 16 mg per day plus hydrochlorothiazide at a dose of 12.5 mg per day was not associated with a lower rate of major cardiovascular events than placebo among persons at intermediate risk who did not have cardiovascular disease.
• World No Tobacco Day 2016
  For this year’s World No Tobacco Day, the WHO are calling on countries to get ready for plain (standardized) packaging of tobacco products.
• WHO releases report on Attacks on Health Care
  Over the two-year period from January 2014 to December 2015, there were 594 reported attacks on health care that resulted in 959 deaths and 1561 injuries in 19 countries with emergencies.
• Prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus
  An updated guide to inform the general public, and to be used by health care workers and policy makers to provide guidance on appropriate sexual practices in the context of Zika virus.