Drugs

Long-Term Oral Bisphosphonates Get Little Love in Study

— Study compared hip fractures after 5 years, 7 years, and 10 years by Kristen Monaco, Staff Writer, MedPage Today December 7, 2020 Women got no extra protection against hip fracture from staying on oral bisphosphonates beyond 7 years, researchers reported. In a retrospective cohort study of nearly 30,000 women who completed 5 years of […]

Antibiotics Before Age 2 Associated With Chronic Childhood Health Problems

By MAYO CLINIC NOVEMBER 15, 2020 In a retrospective case study, Mayo Clinic researchers have found that antibiotics administered to children younger than 2 are associated with several ongoing illnesses or conditions, ranging from allergies to obesity. The findings appear in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Using health record data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a population-based research […]

ACR 2020: Corticosteroid Injections Do Not Hasten Progression of Knee Osteoarthritis

November 9, 2020—It does not appear that corticosteroid injections for the management of pain associated with knee osteoarthritis contribute to worsening of the condition, according to research presented at the American College of Rheumatology Virtual Convergence 2020, which took place online from November 5 to 9. “Cortisone injections have been used for a long time […]

Epidural Corticosteroid Injections for Sciatica

An Abridged Cochrane Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Oliveira, Crystian B. PhD SPINE: November 1, 2020 – Volume 45 – Issue 21 – p E1405-E1415 doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000003651 Study Design. Systematic with meta-analysis Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of epidural corticosteroid injections compared with placebo injection in reducing leg […]

Beta blockers may raise heart failure risk in women

Reuters Health Medical News|July 14, 2020 Among women with no prior history of cardiovascular disease, taking beta blockers for hypertension raises the risk of heart failure, a new study suggests. Among thousands of patients presenting to the hospital with acute coronary syndrome, more women taking beta blockers (21.3%) than men (16.7%) had heart failure, translating […]

Sobering Data on Risks of Short-Term Oral Corticosteroids

Sobering Data on Risks of Short-Term Oral Corticosteroids — Short steroid bursts linked to serious adverse events within a month by Nicole Lou, Staff Writer, MedPage Today July 6, 2020 Corticosteroid bursts as short as 2 weeks or less were still linked to severe adverse events among relatively healthy users, according to a large study […]

Muscle Relaxer Rx Doubled Over 12-Year Span

— Spike in prescriptions among older adults particularly concerning, researchers note by Elizabeth Hlavinka, Staff Writer, MedPage Today June 24, 2020 As U.S. opioid prescriptions continue to trend downwards, skeletal muscle relaxer scripts are on the rise, according to an analysis of the CDC’s National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). Between 2005 and 2016, the number […]

Hormone replacement therapy, breast cancer risk factors, and breast cancer risk: A nationwide population-based cohort

Yoo TK, Han KD, Kim DH, et al Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention|June 1, 2020 A nationwide cohort with risk stratification according to risk factors for breast cancer was examined for the association between hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and breast cancer. Data from 4,558,376 postmenopausal women who underwent breast cancer screening and regular health checkups […]

Efficacy of intra-articular hypertonic dextrose (prolotherapy) for knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial – Full Text Article

Sit RWS, Wu RWK, Rabago D Annals of Family Medicine|May 21, 2020 Researchers investigated whether intra-articular hypertonic dextrose prolotherapy (DPT) affords an efficacious option relative to normal saline (NS) injection for the management of knee osteoarthritis (KOA), via this single-center, parallel-group, blinded, randomized controlled trial at a university primary care clinic in Hong Kong. They […]

Ditch the statins: 7 natural ways to lower your cholesterol levels

May 13, 2020 Naveed Saleh, MD, MS, for MDLinx Although statins are remarkably effective at lowering lipid levels, they have been mired in controversy, an imbroglio commonly referred to as the “statin wars.” Much of this controversy centers on the benefits of statins as primary prevention vs their adverse effects, most disconcertingly acute renal failure […]

Effect of Postoperative Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs on Nonunion Rates in Long Bone Fractures

William A. Tucker, MD; Mitchell C. Birt, MD; Archie A. Heddings, MD; Greg A. Horton, MD Orthopedics. https://doi.org/10.3928/01477447-20200428-06 Posted May 7, 2020 Abstract The association of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with non-union in long bone fractures has been controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether NSAID exposure results in increased risk of […]

Impact of Chiropractic Care on Use of Prescription Opioids in Patients with Spinal Pain

James M Whedon, DC, MS Pain Medicine, pnaa014, https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnaa014 Published: 06 March 2020 Abstract Objective Utilization of nonpharmacological pain management may prevent unnecessary use of opioids. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of chiropractic utilization upon use of prescription opioids among patients with spinal pain. Design and Setting We employed a retrospective cohort design for […]

Impact of Chiropractic Care on Use of Prescription Opioids in Patients with Spinal Pain

James M Whedon, DC, MS Pain Medicine, pnaa014, https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnaa014 Published: 06 March 2020 Abstract Objective Utilization of nonpharmacological pain management may prevent unnecessary use of opioids. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of chiropractic utilization upon use of prescription opioids among patients with spinal pain. Design and Setting We employed a retrospective cohort design […]

Effect of Coenzyme Q10 on statin-associated myalgia and adherence to statin therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Atherosclerosis — Kennedy C, et al. | March 12, 2020 Researchers performed this systematic review to determine if treatment with Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) can successfully improve symptoms and can ensure maintenance on statin therapy among patients with statin-associated myalgia. They analyzed relevant studies identified from MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library. For review, 8 studies […]

Cannabis Satisfaction High Despite Little Change in Pain Scores

— Better sleep may be driving satisfaction in chronic pain patients, study suggests by Judy George, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today March 3, 2020 NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Chronic pain patients expressed high satisfaction with medical cannabis despite clinically insignificant changes in pain scores, a prospective study showed. Of a subset of chronic pain patients […]

Aspirin and fracture risk: A systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis of observational studies

BMJ Open — Barker AL, Soh SE, Sanders KM, et al. | February 25, 2020 A systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis of observational studies were conducted to provides insights into the potential for aspirin to preserve bone mineral density (BMD) and reduce fracture risk, building knowledge of the risk-benefit profile of aspirin. A systematic review […]

Aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: A meta-analysis with a particular focus on subgroups

BMC Medicine — Gelbenegger G, Postula M, Pecen L, et al. | November 14, 2019 Thirteen randomized, controlled trials on the effect of aspirin for primary prevention of CVD vs control were included in this meta-analysis to examine the benefit-risk ratio of aspirin for primary prevention of CVD with a special focus on subgroups. Researchers […]

Relationship between long-term use of proton pump inhibitors and risk of gastric cancer: A systematic analysis

Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology — Jiang K, et al. | October 30, 2019 Via performing systematical analysis, researchers sought to ascertain how long-term therapy with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) influence the risk of gastric cancer. Seven relevant articles with 943,070 patients were included in this work. The analysis revealed that the risk of gastric […]

Most toothaches do not require antibiotics, new ADA guideline says

October 29, 2019 Antibiotics are not needed for most toothaches, the American Dental Association, or ADA, instructed in a newly published guideline, saying that antibiotics may do more harm than good in these cases. Previous research has shown that dentists prescribe around 10% of all antibiotics, and that most are unnecessary. Such overprescribing can contribute to […]

Early Access to Chiropractors, PTs Tied to Decreased Long-Term Opioid Use

October 23, 2019 Odds of short- or long-term opioid use higher for initial visits with physicians for low back pain TUESDAY, Oct. 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Patients who initially see a physical therapist or chiropractor for low back pain rather than a primary care physician are much less likely to be prescribed opioids, according […]