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Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

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At least 865 records · Page 48Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Allogeneic red blood cell transfusions: efficacy, risks, alternatives and indications.

Careful assessment of risks and benefits has to precede each decision on allogeneic red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. Currently, a number of key issues in transfusion medicine are highly controversial, most importantly the influence of different transfusion thresholds on clinical outcome. The aim of this article is to review current evidence on blood transfusions, to highlight 'hot topics' with respect to efficacy, outcome and risks, and to provide the reader with transfusion guidelines. In addition, a brief synopsis of transfusion alternatives will be given. Based on up-to-date information of current evidence, together with clinical knowledge and experience, the physician will be able to make transfusion decisions that bear the lowest risk for the patient.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1998

A review of research in the United Kingdom to evaluate the implementation of clinical guidelines in general practice.

BACKGROUND: An advisory group for the NHS research and development (R&D) programme recommended in 1993 that the impact of clinical guidelines at the interface between primary and secondary care should be a research priority area. In 1994, a systematic review of 91 published evaluations of implementing clinical guidelines identified only seven UK general practice studies. OBJECTIVE: In this inquiry we aimed to determine the number of randomized studies of clinical guideline implementation in primary care being conducted in the UK in 1996 and to review the research designs. METHODS: A national health research register was interrogated for all projects relating to clinical guidelines. The investigators were contacted to establish the nature of their project and to identify implementation studies that they knew to be going on elsewhere. Copies of protocols or briefing documents were obtained from the project teams for the identified studies. RESULTS: Thirteen randomized studies in general medical practice and one in general dental practice were identified. Guidelines were being introduced to aid diagnostic decision-making, prescribing practice or referral to hospital-based services. Eight strategies for promoting guideline adherence were being evaluated. Six studies proposed to conduct economic evaluations of the intervention packages. CONCLUSION: Twelve of the 14 studies were funded by the NHS R&D programme. Since there will be a considerable time delay before all 14 studies and a number of newer studies are fully reported, it seems imperative that information of the sort collected in this inquiry be made available, preferably in the National Research Register.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are powerful tools deployed in the pursuit of evidence-based practice. The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (JAC) welcomes the submission of these types of article; however, it is crucial that these studies are conducted properly. In this article we outline the advantages and limitations inherent in these approaches, and the features that we look for when this type of article is submitted to JAC.

Editorial Policies↗
PubMed2005

Combination diet and exercise interventions for the treatment of dyslipidemia: an effective preliminary strategy to lower cholesterol levels?

At present, dyslipidemia is most commonly treated with drug therapy. However, because safety concerns regarding the use of pharmaceutical agents have arisen, a need for alternative nonpharmacological therapies has become increasingly apparent. The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) recommends lifestyle therapies, which include a combination of diet and exercise modifications, in place of drug treatment for patients who fall into an intermediate range of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. This review examined the cholesterol lowering efficacy of the following 2 NCEP-recommended combination therapies: 1) low saturated fat diets combined with exercise, and 2) nutritional supplementation, i.e., fish oil, oat bran, or plant sterol supplementation, combined with exercise, in the treatment of dyslipidemia. Combination therapies are particularly advantageous because diet and exercise elicit complementary effects on lipid profiles. More specifically, diet therapies, with some exceptions, lower total (TC) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations, whereas exercise interventions increase HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) while decreasing triglyceride (TG) levels. With respect to specific interventions, low saturated fat diets combined with exercise lowered TC, LDL-C, and TG concentrations by 7-18, 7-15, and 4-18%, respectively, while increasing HDL-C levels by 5-14%. Alternatively, nutritional supplements combined with exercise, decreased TC, LDL-C, and TG concentrations by 8-26, 8-30, and 12-39%, respectively, while increasing HDL-C levels by 2-8%. These findings suggest that combination lifestyle therapies are an efficacious, preliminary means of improving cholesterol levels in those diagnosed with dyslipidemia, and should be implemented in place of drug therapy when cholesterol levels fall just above the normal range.

Adult↗