The New England journal of medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Etanercept plus standard therapy for Wegener's granulomatosis.
The majority of patients with Wegener's granulomatosis have disease flares after conventional medications are tapered. There is no consistently safe, effective treatment for the maintenance of remission. ⋯ Etanercept is not effective for the maintenance of remission in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis. Durable remissions were achieved in only a minority of the patients, and there was a high rate of treatment-related complications.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Mild intraoperative hypothermia during surgery for intracranial aneurysm.
Surgery for intracranial aneurysm often results in postoperative neurologic deficits. We conducted a randomized trial at 30 centers to determine whether intraoperative cooling during open craniotomy would improve the outcome among patients with acute aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. ⋯ Intraoperative hypothermia did not improve the neurologic outcome after craniotomy among good-grade patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
C-reactive protein levels and outcomes after statin therapy.
Statins lower the levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and C-reactive protein (CRP). Whether this latter property affects clinical outcomes is unknown. ⋯ Patients who have low CRP levels after statin therapy have better clinical outcomes than those with higher CRP levels, regardless of the resultant level of LDL cholesterol. Strategies to lower cardiovascular risk with statins should include monitoring CRP as well as cholesterol.