Journal of general internal medicine
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Symptom burden, depression, and spiritual well-being: a comparison of heart failure and advanced cancer patients.
A lower proportion of patients with chronic heart failure receive palliative care compared to patients with advanced cancer. ⋯ Patients with symptomatic heart failure and advanced cancer have similar needs for palliative care as assessed by symptom burden, depression, and spiritual well-being. This implies that heart failure patients, particularly those with more severe heart failure, need the option of palliative care just as cancer patients do.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Tea consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.
Tea consumption has been extensively studied in relation to various diseases, several epidemiologic studies have been performed to investigate the association of tea consumption with type 2 diabetes; however, the results of these studies were not entirely consistent. ⋯ This meta-analysis indicates that tea consumption > or =4 cups per day may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Mood, side-effects and smoking outcomes among persons with and without probable lifetime depression taking varenicline.
Varenicline may be associated with greater mood disturbance and side-effects among smokers with psychiatric history, but empirical evidence is limited. Differential treatment effectiveness by psychiatric history may also exist. ⋯ While some group differences were noted, DH+ smokers did not report qualitatively worse neuropsychiatric symptoms, more new/worsening mood disturbance, or differential abstinence rates compared to DH- smokers.
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Decision analysis is a tool that clinicians can use to choose an option that maximizes the overall net benefit to a patient. It is an explicit, quantitative, and systematic approach to decision making under conditions of uncertainty. In this article, we present two teaching tips aimed at helping clinical learners understand the use and relevance of decision analysis. ⋯ Learners identified the importance of incorporating values into the decision-making process as well as the role of uncertainty. The educational objectives appeared to be reached. These teaching tips introduce clinical learners to decision analysis in a fashion aimed to illustrate principles of clinical reasoning and how patient values can be actively incorporated into complex decision making.
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Review
Genetic testing before anticoagulation? A systematic review of pharmacogenetic dosing of warfarin.
Genotype-guided initial warfarin dosing may reduce over-anticoagulation and serious bleeding compared to a one-dose-fits-all dosing method. ⋯ We did not find sufficient evidence to support the use of pharmacogenetics to guide warfarin therapy. Additional clinical trials are needed to define the optimal approach to use warfarin pharmacogenetics in clinical practice.