Current medical research and opinion
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To assess the relative antidepressant efficacy of escitalopram and comparator antidepressants. ⋯ In this meta-analysis, superior efficacy of escitalopram compared to SSRIs and SNRIs was confirmed, although the superiority over SSRIs was largely explained by differences between escitalopram and citalopram.
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Comparative Study
Carbapenems versus other beta-lactams in the treatment of hospitalised patients with infection: a mixed treatment comparison.
To compare the effectiveness of meropenem with cefepime and piperacillin/tazobactam in the absence of direct comparisons in randomised controlled trials. ⋯ This mixed treatment comparison suggests meropenem has substantial advantages over cefepime, ertapenem, imipenem/cilastatin and piperacillin/tazobactam in the treatment of hospitalised patients with infection.
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To conceptualize, develop, and provide preliminary psychometric evidence for the Adherence Estimator--a brief, three-item proximal screener for the likelihood of non-adherence to prescription medications (medication non-fulfillment and non-persistence) for chronic disease. ⋯ The three-item Adherence Estimator measures three proximal beliefs related to intentional non-adherence (medication non-fulfillment and non-persistence). Preliminary evidence of the validity of the Adherence Evidence supports its intended use to segment patients on their propensity to adhere to a newly-prescribed prescription medication. The Adherence Estimator is readily scored and is easily interpretable. Due to its brevity and transparency, it should prove to be practical for use in everyday clinical practice and in disease management for adherence quality improvement. Study limitations related to sample representation and self reports of chronic disease and adherence behaviors were discussed.
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To describe and compare the differences in subject characteristics, glycaemic control, diabetes complications, and treatment between 1998 and 2006 in patients with type 2 diabetes. ⋯ Glycaemic control, diabetes therapy and patient care were improved in 2006. However, the gap between therapeutic guidelines and glycaemic control strongly suggests that promoting awareness of treat-to-target treatment and continuing medical education in clinical practice are still needed.