Thursday, January 24, 2008

Interesting Journal Articles

Etanercept Treatment for Children and Adolescents with Plaque Psoriasis. NEJM, 01/2008.

Etanercept is a recombinant human soluble tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) receptor fusion protein. Etanercept (Enbrel) reduced disease severity in children and adolescents with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Biomarkers of Inflammation and Thrombosis as Predictors of Near-Term Mortality in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD): A Cohort Study. Annals of Int Med, 01/2008.

Levels of D-dimer and inflammatory markers (serum amyloid A and CRP) are higher 1-2 years before death in patients with PAD. Increasing levels of those biomarkers are independently associated with higher mortality in PAD. This is a mnemonic for the 3 biomarkers included in the study -- CAD: CRP, Amyloid, D-dimer.

A Risk Score for Predicting Near-Term Incidence of Hypertension (HTN): The Framingham Heart Study. Annals of Int Med, 01/2008.

A HTN risk prediction score can be used to estimate an individual's absolute risk for HTN. The risk score can be used as a simple, office-based tool to help management of high-risk individuals with prehypertension.

Review: Update on Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus Infection in Humans. NEJM, 01/2008.

Daily Assessment of Pain in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease. Annals of Int Med, 01/2008.

Pain in adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) seems to be far more prevalent and severe than previous large-scale studies have portrayed.

Review: Update in Palliative Medicine. Annals of Int Med, 01/2008.

A Bridge to Nowhere — The Troubled Trek of Foreign Medical Graduates in Australia. NEJM, 01/2008.

Interactive feature: Management of Type 2 Diabetes. NEJM, 01/2008.

This interactive feature allows readers to decide on the diagnosis or management of a clinical case.

A time efficient way to stay up-to-date with medical literature

"How do you eat in elephant? In small bites." The same rule probably applies to staying current with the ever expanding avalanche of medical literature. One can try the following approach:

1. Subscribe the to the RSS feeds of the 5 major medical journals (NEJM, JAMA, BMJ, Lancet and Annals) plus 2-3 subpecialty journals in your field of interest.


Medical Journals tab: A screenshot of iGoogle with RSS feeds from the major medical journals.

2. Read the journal on the day it is published online, for example, NEJM on Wednesdays.

3. Use text-to-speech to listen to articles you do not have time to read.

4. Listen to journal podcasts. Click here to subscribe the podcasts of the 4 major journals in iGoogle.

Related:
Make Your Own "Medical Journal" with iGoogle Personalized Page
Share iGoogle Tabs with Medical Journals, Podcasts and Gadgets
Annals of Internal Medicine Launches Podcast and Audio Summaries
Text-to-Speech Programs and Continuous Medical Education
Image source: OpenClipArt, public domain.

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