BMJ : British medical journal
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Does home based medication review keep older people out of hospital? The HOMER randomised controlled trial.
To determine whether home based medication review by pharmacists affects hospital readmission rates among older people. ⋯ The intervention was associated with a significantly higher rate of hospital admissions and did not significantly improve quality of life or reduce deaths. Further research is needed to explain this counterintuitive finding and to identify more effective methods of medication review.
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To investigate the association between environmental tobacco smoke, plasma cotinine concentration, and respiratory cancer or death. ⋯ This large prospective study, in which the smoking status was supported by cotinine measurements, confirms that environmental tobacco smoke is a risk factor for lung cancer and other respiratory diseases, particularly in ex-smokers.
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To determine the effect of helmets on the risk of head and neck injuries in skiers and snowboarders. ⋯ Helmets protect skiers and snowboarders against head injuries. We cannot rule out the possibility of an increased risk of neck injury with helmet use, but the estimates on which this assumption is based are imprecise.
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To identify where in England there are likely to be most constraints on choice of hospital for patients waiting longer than six months for elective care. ⋯ People in the south east (outside London), East Anglia, and parts of the south west are likely to have to travel further to exercise meaningful choice of hospital for elective care.