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The article discusses that after screening for breast or colorectal cancer, what is the time lag needed before cancer deaths are seen. According to a research paper by Sei J Lee and colleagues, cancer screening does help in preventing cancer deaths in the future, the time to benefit from is unclear. The paper adds that the screening prevents one cancer death per 1000 patients screened at 10 years, and it should be carried out on patients who have a life expectancy of more than 10 years.

The article presents a summary of a research paper on the association between cardiovascular events and sodium-containing effervescent, dispersible and soluble drugs that was published on bmj.com. The study, which involved residents in Great Britain, showed that sodium-containing formulations of commonly prescribed drugs are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events in patients. It adds that the increased risk was primarily driven by an increased risk of hypertension and stroke.

The article discusses a study on whether the overall exposure to takeaway food outlets at home, at work, and along commuting routes promote takeaway food consumption and overweight. The study found that exposure to takeaway food outlets was positively associated with takeaway food consumption and body mass index (BMI). The study included 5,442 working adults from Cambridgeshire, England who are participating in the ongoing Fenland Study on obesity and diabetes.

The article discusses a study on the effectiveness of telemonitoring in managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study was a randomised controlled trial conducted in Great Britain that sought to determine whether the duration of hospitalization among COPD patients will be reduced if telemonitoring is integrated into existing clinical services. Under the trial, a total of 16 patients in the telemonitoring group died while in the control group the total number of deaths was 21.

The article discusses the results of a study that examined the prevalence of abnormal prion protein (PrP) associated with variant-Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in Great Britain. The study showed an overall prevalence of 493 per million population with no significant difference in the prevalence with those born in 1941-1960 and those born between 1961 and 1985. It suggested that abnormal PrP is more prevalent that the 177 clinical cases of vCJD.

The article presents a study to evaluate the trend in HIV-1 transmitted resistance to antiretroviral therapy (ART). The study points out that there was a decline in resistance until 2002, currently however, there is a sustained resistance to drugs, nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors in particular, which seems to have arisen from patients who have been infected by the resistant virus and are ART naive.

The article presents a Mendelian randomization study, utilizing the UK Biobank, which aimed to explore causal effects of differences in stature and body mass index (BMI) on several measures of socioeconomic status. Topics discussed include the random assignment of genotypes at conception and evidence which showed that shorter stature and higher BMI resulted in lower measures of socioeconomic status. The need to triangulate evidence produced using different research methods is mentioned.

Suicide is the 15th most common cause of death worldwide. Although relatively uncommon in the general population, suicide rates are much higher in people with mental health problems. Clinicians often have to assess and manage suicide risk. Risk assessment is challenging for several reasons, not least because conventional approaches to risk assessment rely on patient self reporting and suicidal patients may wish to conceal their plans. Accurate methods of predicting suicide therefore remain elusive and are actively being studied. Novel approaches to risk assessment have shown promise, including empirically derived tools and implicit association tests. Service provision for suicidal patients is often substandard, particularly at times of highest need, such as after discharge from hospital or the emergency department. Although several drug based and psychotherapy based treatments exist, the best approaches to reducing the risk of suicide are still unclear. Some of the most compelling evidence supports long established treatments such as lithium and cognitive behavioral therapy. Emerging options include ketamine and internet based psychotherapies. This review summarizes the current science in suicide risk assessment and provides an overview of the interventions shown to reduce the risk of suicide, with a focus on the clinical management of people with mental disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To validate recent guidance changes by establishing the performance of cut-off values for embryo crown-rump length and mean gestational sac diameter to diagnose miscarriage with high levels of certainty. Secondary aims were to examine the influence of gestational age on interpretation of mean gestational sac diameter and crown-rump length values, determine the optimal intervals between scans and findings on repeat scans that definitively diagnose pregnancy failure.)Design: Prospective multicentre observational trial.Setting: Seven hospital based early pregnancy assessment units in the United Kingdom.Participants: 2845 women with intrauterine pregnancies of unknown viability included if transvaginal ultrasonography showed an intrauterine pregnancy of uncertain viability. In three hospitals this was initially defined as an empty gestational sac <20 mm mean diameter with or without a visible yolk sac but no embryo, or an embryo with crown-rump length <6 mm with no heartbeat. Following amended guidance in December 2011 this definition changed to a gestational sac size <25 mm or embryo crown-rump length <7 mm. At one unit the definition was extended throughout to include a mean gestational sac diameter <30 mm or embryo crown-rump length <8 mm.Main Outcome Measures: Mean gestational sac diameter, crown-rump length, and presence or absence of embryo heart activity at initial and repeat transvaginal ultrasonography around 7-14 days later. The final outcome was pregnancy viability at 11-14 weeks' gestation.Results: The following indicated a miscarriage at initial scan: mean gestational sac diameter ≥25 mm with an empty sac (364/364 specificity: 100%, 95% confidence interval 99.0% to 100%), embryo with crown-rump length ≥7 mm without visible embryo heart activity (110/110 specificity: 100%, 96.7% to 100%), mean gestational sac diameter ≥18 mm for gestational sacs without an embryo presenting after 70 days' gestation (907/907 specificity: 100%, 99.6% to 100%), embryo with crown-rump length ≥3 mm without visible heart activity presenting after 70 days' gestation (87/87 specificity: 100%, 95.8% to 100%). The following were indicative of miscarriage at a repeat scan: initial scan and repeat scan after seven days or more showing an embryo without visible heart activity (103/103 specificity: 100%, 96.5% to 100%), pregnancies without an embryo and mean gestational sac diameter <12 mm where the mean diameter has not doubled after 14 days or more (478/478 specificity: 100%, 99.2% to 100%), pregnancies without an embryo and mean gestational sac diameter ≥12 mm showing no embryo heartbeat after seven days or more (150/150 specificity: 100%, 97.6% to 100%).Conclusions: Recently changed cut-off values of gestational sac and embryo size defining miscarriage are appropriate and not too conservative but do not take into account gestational age. Guidance on timing between scans and expected findings on repeat scans are still too liberal. Protocols for miscarriage diagnosis should be reviewed to account for this evidence to avoid misdiagnosis and the risk of terminating viable pregnancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research which compared effectiveness of ciclosporin and prednisolone in treating pyoderma gangrenosum. Topics explored include the speed of ulcer healing associated with these drugs, the daily drug dosage administered to research participants, and the adverse reactions recorded in both treatment groups such as acute kidney injury and infection.

The article presents a study that explored the strength of association between victimization by peers at age 13 years and depression at age 18 years. The study show the relation between victimization by peers and childhood internalizing symptoms and attributes the burden of depression at age 18 to victimization by peers in adolescence.

The article presents a study on the occupational therapy intervention for residents with stroke related conditions in care homes in Great Britain. Topics covered include the Barthel index of activities of daily living, an individualized course of occupational therapy targeting stroke related disabilities, and cognitive impairment.

The article focuses on a retrospective observational study which examined the association between exaggeration in health related science news and academic press releases. Topics discussed include widespread influence of health and science news stories on public health, reason exaggerations are often blamed on media agendas or ignorance of journalists, and the proportions of news with exaggerated advice, causal statements from correlational research, or human inference from non-human studies.

The article presents a study which investigates the changes on the failure of antibiotic treatment for four common infection groups in primary care in Great Britain from 1991-2012. The study used the routine anonymised primary care data from the British Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). The study identified 10, 967, 607 first line antibiotic monotherapies in 3, 809, 587 patients.

The article discusses the relationship between active commuting, body fat and body mass index based on the population in Great Britain. It highlights the objectives to assess the outcomes of the study based on the body mass index and the percentage body fat. It cites several factors for the lower risk of self reported overweight including diet, physical activity and socioeconomic.

The article discusses a study which examined whether operative or non-operative treatment leads to better outcomes in patients with typical displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures. Topics covered include the allocation of patients to open reduction and internal fixation with a plate and screws, the similarity of Kerr-Atkins scores for calcaneal fracture between the operative and non-operative groups and the complications experienced by patients in the operative group.

The article discusses a study on the identification of herpes zoster from diagnosis codes in primary care records from the British Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Topics addressed include the effects of pre-existing clinical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and depression on herpes zoster risk and the need for alternative risk reduction strategies in high risk people. Also mentioned are covariates such as HIV, lymphoma and myeloma.

The article discusses a British birth cohort study conducted by Rachel Cooper and colleagues, which found an association between physical capability at the age of 53 and all cause mortality rates over 13 years of follow-up. The individual measures of physical capability are cited, including chair rise speed, grip strength and standing balance time. The participants were followed up from March 1999 until March 2012.

The article presents a study on the performance of Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board-registered foreign physicians in the Annual Review of Competence Progression. It compares the performance of these physicians with that of British physicians and discusses the participants and the method used in the study.

The article presents a study on the performance of foreign medical graduates, who passed the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) exam, at MRCP and MRCGP examinations compared to those of British medical graduates. It discusses the findings on PLAB as an indicator of MRCP and MRCGP performance, and the workforce implications of raising the pass marks and improving the PLAB standards.

The article discusses research which investigated performance of general practitioners under the British Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) pay for performance programme. It explores how the QOF scheme works, the collection of general practice data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, and clinical quality indicators of performance considered. Brief details about research design and duration, observed stability of mean levels of performance, and generalisability to all practices.

The article discusses research which examined the cost effectiveness of STrAtegies for RelaTives (START) manual based coping intervention for family carers of people with dementia. The differences between START intervention and usual treatment groups in treatment and cost impacts and effectiveness are presented. Findings include lower Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale total (HADS-T) in the intervention group.

The article presents the study which examined the effect of specialist geriatric medical management on the outcomes of at risk older individuals discharged from acute medical units. Based on the results, said management had no effect on patient level outcomes or subsequent use of secondary care or long term care. It claims that the study was financed by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Programme Grant for Applied Research.

Objective To estimate the prevalence and clinical severity of whooping cough (pertussis) in school age children presenting with persistent cough in primary care since the introduction and implementation of the preschool pertussis booster vaccination. Design Prospective cohort study (November 2010 to December 2012). Setting General practices in Thames Valley, UK. Participants 279 children aged 5 to 15 years who presented in primary care with a persistent cough of two to eight weeks’ duration. Exclusion criteria were cough likely to be caused by a serious underlying medical condition, known immunodeficiency or immunocompromise, participation in another clinical research study, and preschool pertussis booster vaccination received less than one year previously. Main outcome measures Evidence of recent pertussis infection based on an oral fluid anti-pertussis toxin IgG titre of at least 70 arbitrary units. Cough frequency was measured in six children with laboratory confirmed pertussis. Results 56 (20%, 95% confidence interval 16% to 25%) children had evidence of recent pertussis infection, including 39 (18%, 13% to 24%) of 215 children who had been fully vaccinated. The risk of pertussis was more than three times higher (21/53; 40%, 26% to 54%) in children who had received the preschool pertussis booster vaccination seven years or more previously than in those who had received it less than seven years previously (20/171; 12%, 7% to 17%). The risk of pertussis was similar between children who received five and three component preschool pertussis booster vaccines (risk ratio for five component vaccine 1.14, 0.64 to 2.03). Four of six children in whom cough frequency was measured coughed more than 400 times in 24 hours. Conclusions Pertussis can still be found in a fifth of school age children who present in primary care with persistent cough and can cause clinically significant cough in fully vaccinated children. These findings will help to inform consideration of the need for an adolescent pertussis booster vaccination in the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the authors focus on the multicentre randomised controlled trial (ROSSINI Trial) related to the impact of a wound edge protection device (WEPD) on surgical site infection in patients after laparotomy. According to the trial, WEPDs are not useful in reducing the rate of surgical site infection and patients diagnosed with an infection experienced longer hospital stay. They also mention that they carried out secondary analyses on the basis of contamination during operation.

The article focuses on a study to investigate the role of a specialist medical and mental health unit (MMHU) in improving outcomes, experience, and satisfaction for older people with dementia or delirium admitted to an acute hospital as compared to standard care. A randomised controlled trial was compared with a specialist medical and mental health unit providing best practice care with standard hospital wards. The study took place in a single centre in Great Britain which provided sole acute hospital medical services for its population.

The article discusses a study to evaluate the cost efficacy of the National Health Service (NHS) breast screening programme in Great Britain. The study finds that regular breast cancer screening of women aged 50-70 years were associated with 2040 additional quality adjusted life years (QALYs) and was not very cost effective. NHS breast cancer screening is moderately likely to be cost effective at the standard cost effectiveness threshold.

The article evaluates the possibilities of cardiovascular events following the use of clarithromycin in cases of lower respiratory tract infections. It presents a study that identifies the association between the settings of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD with cardiovascular events.

The article discusses whether bisphosphonates used for the treatment of osteoporosis are associated with increased risks of oesophageal, gastric, or colorectal cancers. It is revealed that bisphosphonates use in general is not associated with increased risks for any common gastrointestinal cancer. The results provide reassurance to physicians prescribing bisphosphonates.

The article reports a study compared the energy and macronutrient content of main meals created by television chefs with ready meals sold by supermarkets, and compared both with nutritional guidelines published by the World Health Organization. The results revealed that neither ready meals old at supermarkets nor recipes created by television chefs complied with WHO recommendations. Recipes were less healthy than ready meals, as they contained significantly more fat and less fibre per portion.