Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2022
Observational StudyMisleading medical literature: An observational study.
Language that implies a conclusion not supported by the evidence is common in the medical literature. The hypothesis of the present study was that medical journal publications are more likely to use misleading language for the interpretation of a demonstrated null (i.e. chance or not statistically significant) effect than a demonstrated real (i.e. statistically significant) effect. ⋯ Among a random selection of sentences in prestigious journals describing P-values close to 0.05, 1 in 10 are misleading (n = 44, 11%) and this is more prevalent when the P-values are above 0.05 compared to below 0.05. Caution is advised for researchers, clinicians and editors to align with the context and purpose of P-values.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2022
ReviewReview article: Diagnosing acute pancreatitis in diabetes mellitus.
Acute pancreatitis is a common reason for presentation to EDs. The criteria for diagnosis of acute pancreatitis are defined by the revised Atlanta classification. Patients with diabetes mellitus are at increased risk of acute pancreatitis. ⋯ Checkpoint inhibitors may also precipitate acute type 1 diabetes mellitus and be associated with elevated lipase and amylase. Finally, individuals with diabetes mellitus are at increased risk of hypertriglyceridaemic pancreatitis, which may be associated with falsely normal lipase and amylase because of laboratory interference. Awareness of these factors in individuals with diabetes mellitus presenting to EDs with symptoms suggestive of acute pancreatitis is important for accurate diagnosis.