Annals of internal medicine
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Review Meta Analysis
Major Update: Masks for Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 in Health Care and Community Settings-Final Update of a Living, Rapid Review.
Optimal use of masks for preventing COVID-19 is unclear. ⋯ None.
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Dyslipidemia is an important risk factor for coronary artery disease and stroke. All persons with dyslipidemia should be advised to focus on lifestyle interventions, including regular aerobic exercise, a healthy diet, maintenance of a healthy weight, and abstinence from smoking. In addition to lifestyle interventions, lipid-lowering therapy should be considered for persons at moderate to high risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease based on validated risk equations. Statin therapy is the first-line medical treatment for dyslipidemia due to its effectiveness and favorable adverse effect profile, but newer treatments provide additional tools for clinicians to effectively treat dyslipidemia.
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Review
Improving COVID-19 Disease Severity Surveillance Measures: Statewide Implementation Experience.
Measurement of the burden of COVID-19 on U. S. hospitals has been an important element of the public health response to the pandemic. However, because of variation in testing density and policies, the metric is not standardized across facilities. ⋯ The proportion of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who had received dexamethasone was 49.6% during the first month of surveillance and decreased to a monthly average of approximately 33% by April 2022, where it has remained since (range, 28.7% to 33%). Adding a single data element to mandated reporting to estimate the frequency of severe COVID-19 in hospitalized patients was feasible and provided actionable information for health authorities and policy makers. Updates to surveillance methods are necessary to match data collection with public health response needs.
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Blood and urine tests are commonly performed by clinicians in both ambulatory and hospital settings that detect chronic and acute kidney disease. Thresholds for these tests have been established that signal the presence and severity of kidney injury or dysfunction. In the appropriate clinical context of a patient's history and physical examination, an abnormal test result should trigger specific actions for clinicians, including reviewing patient medication use, follow-up testing, prescribing lifestyle modifications, and specialist referral. Tests for kidney disease can also be used to determine the future risk for kidney failure as well as cardiovascular death.
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Comment Meta Analysis
In patients with chronic neuropathic pain, cannabinoids improve sleep and reduce pain vs. placebo.
McParland AL, Bhatia A, Matelski J, et al. Evaluating the impact of cannabinoids on sleep health and pain in patients with chronic neuropathic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2022;48:180-190. 36598058.