Level 2: Mid-level evidenceThe efficacy of oral doxycycline was compared with that of IV ceftriaxone (Rocephin) in a randomized trial of 118 patients with Lyme neuroborreliosis (Lancet Neurol. 2008;7:690-695). Patients were randomized to oral doxycycline 200 mg plus IV placebo vs. IV ceftriaxone 2 g plus oral placebo once daily for 14 days. Analysis based…
A Cochrane review concluded that beta blockers are not indicated as first-line therapy for hypertension. Other reviews similarly questioned the drugs’ usefulness as antihypertensives.
Level 1: Likely reliable evidenceThe Justification for the Use of Statins in Primary Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin (JUPITER) studied the use of rosuvastatin (Crestor) for prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with normal cholesterol levels but elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (N Engl J Med. 2008;359:2195-2207). A total of 17,802 patients (11,001 men…
Level 1: Likely reliable evidenceA recent Cochrane systematic review evaluated the efficacy and safety of St. John’s wort extracts for the treatment of major depression (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008[4]:CD000448). The review included 29 randomized trials comparing St. John’s wort with placebo (11 trials), standard antidepressants (12 trials), or both (six trials) in a total…
Level 2: Mid-level evidenceA multinational cohort study evaluated 24,295 women who had cervical cytology and HPV screening at baseline and one or more cervical cytology or histopathology exams within the five- to six-year follow-up period (BMJ. 2008;337:a1754). Follow-up was completed by 20%-31% of women, which may weaken the predictive value of negative HPV DNA results.…
Level 2: Mid-level evidenceCovering of the head during sleep was associated with an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), based on a systematic review of 10 case-control studies with data on prevalence of head covering during sleep in 1,234 cases and 3,822 controls (Arch Dis Child. 2008;93:778-783). All studies distinguished covering of the…
Postoperative catheterization for more than two days is associated with an increased risk of in-hospital UTI and 30-day mortality.
Mean weight loss at two years was 9.7 lb with the Mediterranean diet vs. 10.3 lb with the low-carbohydrate diet vs. 6.4 lb with the low-fat diet.
A randomized trial in Bangladesh evaluated the efficacy of influenza vaccine in pregnant women.
Consumption of nuts, corn, popcorn, and berries was not associated with an increased risk for diverticular disease in a prospective cohort study.
