BMJ open
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To investigate whether the introduction of a named general practitioner (GP, family physician) improved patients' healthcare for patients aged 75 and over in England. ⋯ The introduction of the named GP scheme was not associated with improvements in either continuity of care or rates of unplanned hospitalisation.
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Individualising therapy is an important challenge for intensive care of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Targeting a cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) tailored to optimise cerebrovascular autoregulation has been suggested as an attractive strategy on the basis of a large body of retrospective observational data. The objective of this study is to prospectively assess the feasibility and safety of such a strategy compared with fixed thresholds which is the current standard of care from international consensus guidelines. ⋯ Ethical approval has been obtained for each participating centre. The results will be presented at international scientific conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.
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Observational Study
Association between physician characteristics and payments from industry in 2015-2017: observational study.
To investigate the association between physician characteristics and the value of industry payments. ⋯ Industry payments to physicians were highly concentrated among a small number of physicians. Male sex, longer length of time in clinical practice, graduated from a top-ranked US medical school and practicing certain specialties, were independently associated with higher industry payments.
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Achieving efficacious and safe treatments for unstable angina pectoris (UAP) is still a challenging clinical problem. The availability of different oral Chinese patent medicines frequently poses a practical challenge to clinicians, namely, which one to choose as first-line regimen for treatment. This study aims to examine the comparative effectiveness and safety of oral Chinese patent medicines for UAP on the national essential drugs list of China. ⋯ The NMA will help us to reduce the uncertainty of interventions and help clinicians to make optimal and more accurate therapeutic decisions for adults with UAP. Therefore, we will publish the findings of this study in a peer-reviewed journal. No ethics approval is necessary for this study based on the nature of its design.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Is age more than manual material handling associated with lumbar vertebral body and disc changes? A cross-sectional multicentre MRI study.
Conflicting evidence exists to what extent manual material handling (MMH) causes lumbar disc disease, lack of evidence exist that this effect takes place especially at L5-S1 level, where the greatest moment occurs. The aim was to assess if lumbar vertebral body and disc changes are more common in people whose job involves significant MMH and, if so, to evaluate if lumbar vertebral body and disc changes are more prevalent in the lower part of the lumbar spine (L4-L5 and L5-S1). ⋯ Age, and not MMH, seems to primarily affect the presence of intervertebral disc changes; prospective studies are needed to better explore the relationship between MMH and the possible presence (and level) of lumbar vertebral body and/or disc changes.