The New England journal of medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Randomized Trial of Bilateral versus Single Internal-Thoracic-Artery Grafts.
The use of bilateral internal thoracic (mammary) arteries for coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) may improve long-term outcomes as compared with the use of a single internal-thoracic-artery plus vein grafts. ⋯ Among patients undergoing CABG, there was no significant difference between those receiving single internal-thoracic-artery grafts and those receiving bilateral internal-thoracic-artery grafts with regard to mortality or the rates of cardiovascular events at 5 years of follow-up. There were more sternal wound complications with bilateral internal-thoracic-artery grafting than with single internal-thoracic-artery grafting. Ten-year follow-up is ongoing. (Funded by the British Heart Foundation and others; ART Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN46552265 .).
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Comment Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Cardiovascular Safety of Celecoxib, Naproxen, or Ibuprofen for Arthritis.
The cardiovascular safety of celecoxib, as compared with nonselective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), remains uncertain. ⋯ At moderate doses, celecoxib was found to be noninferior to ibuprofen or naproxen with regard to cardiovascular safety. (Funded by Pfizer; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00346216 .).
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Hypothermia for Neuroprotection in Convulsive Status Epilepticus.
Background Convulsive status epilepticus often results in permanent neurologic impairment. We evaluated the effect of induced hypothermia on neurologic outcomes in patients with convulsive status epilepticus. Methods In a multicenter trial, we randomly assigned 270 critically ill patients with convulsive status epilepticus who were receiving mechanical ventilation to hypothermia (32 to 34°C for 24 hours) in addition to standard care or to standard care alone; 268 patients were included in the analysis. ⋯ The rate of progression to EEG-confirmed status epilepticus on the first day was lower in the hypothermia group than in the control group (11% vs. 22%; odds ratio, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.79; P=0.009), but there were no significant differences between groups in the other secondary outcomes. Adverse events were more frequent in the hypothermia group than in the control group. Conclusions In this trial, induced hypothermia added to standard care was not associated with significantly better 90-day outcomes than standard care alone in patients with convulsive status epilepticus. (Funded by the French Ministry of Health; HYBERNATUS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01359332 .).
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Prevention of Bleeding in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing PCI.
In patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with placement of stents, standard anticoagulation with a vitamin K antagonist plus dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with a P2Y12 inhibitor and aspirin reduces the risk of thrombosis and stroke but increases the risk of bleeding. The effectiveness and safety of anticoagulation with rivaroxaban plus either one or two antiplatelet agents are uncertain. ⋯ In participants with atrial fibrillation undergoing PCI with placement of stents, the administration of either low-dose rivaroxaban plus a P2Y12 inhibitor for 12 months or very-low-dose rivaroxaban plus DAPT for 1, 6, or 12 months was associated with a lower rate of clinically significant bleeding than was standard therapy with a vitamin K antagonist plus DAPT for 1, 6, or 12 months. The three groups had similar efficacy rates, although the observed broad confidence intervals diminish the surety of any conclusions regarding efficacy. (Funded by Janssen Scientific Affairs and Bayer Pharmaceuticals; PIONEER AF-PCI ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01830543 .).
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Shortened Antimicrobial Treatment for Acute Otitis Media in Young Children.
Limiting the duration of antimicrobial treatment constitutes a potential strategy to reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance among children with acute otitis media. ⋯ Among children 6 to 23 months of age with acute otitis media, reduced-duration antimicrobial treatment resulted in less favorable outcomes than standard-duration treatment; in addition, neither the rate of adverse events nor the rate of emergence of antimicrobial resistance was lower with the shorter regimen. (Funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Center for Research Resources; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01511107 .).