Arch Intern Med
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Helping patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus make treatment decisions: statin choice randomized trial.
Poor quality of information transfer about the benefits and risks of statin drug use may result in patients not making informed decisions that they can act on in a timely fashion. ⋯ A decision aid enhanced decision making about statin drugs and may have favorably affected drug adherence.
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Colonization pressure has been identified as an important risk factor in the transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus species, but the role of colonization pressure in the transmission of Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate CDAD pressure, a modified form of colonization pressure based on symptomatic CDAD cases, as a risk factor for CDAD. ⋯ The results of this study suggest that CDAD pressure may be an independent risk factor for CDAD. Future studies that evaluate risk of CDAD should control for CDAD pressure.
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Venous thromboembolism (VTE) manifesting as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) remains a common vascular disease with high mortality and morbidity. Our aim was to study the clinical spectrum of VTE, assess its incidence in the general population, and evaluate potential risk factors. ⋯ Overweight, varicose veins, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, fractures, surgery, and use of oral corticosteroids, oral contraceptives, and opposed hormone therapy were independent risk factors for both DVT and PE. The magnitude of the association with some risk factors varied between DVT and PE, as well as between fatal and nonfatal PE.
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Previous studies have suggested that minor changes in thyroid function are associated with risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Our objective was to determine the relationship between thyroid function and presence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in older subjects. ⋯ The biochemical finding of subclinical hyperthyroidism is associated with AF on resting electrocardiogram. Even in euthyroid subjects with normal serum TSH levels, serum free T(4) concentration is independently associated with AF.