Archives of internal medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
A randomized controlled trial of telemonitoring in older adults with multiple health issues to prevent hospitalizations and emergency department visits.
Efficiently caring for frail older adults will become an increasingly important part of health care reform;telemonitoring within homes may be an answer to improve outcomes. This study sought to assess differences in hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits among older adults using telemonitoring vs usual care. ⋯ Among older patients, telemonitoring did not result in fewer hospitalizations or ED visits. Secondary outcomes demonstrated no significant differences between the telemonitoring group and the usual care group.The cause of greater mortality in the telemonitoring group is unknown.
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Off-label prescribing may lead to adverse drug events. Little is known about its prevalence and determinants resulting from challenges in documenting treatment indication. ⋯ Off-label prescribing is common and varies by drug, patient, and physician characteristics. Electronic prescribing should document treatment indication to monitor off-label use.
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Review Comparative Study
Subclinical hyperthyroidism and the risk of coronary heart disease and mortality.
Data from prospective cohort studies regarding the association between subclinical hyperthyroidism and cardiovascular outcomes are conflicting.We aimed to assess the risks of total and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality, CHD events, and atrial fibrillation (AF) associated with endogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism among all available large prospective cohorts. ⋯ Endogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism is associated with increased risks of total, CHD mortality, and incident AF, with highest risks of CHD mortality and AF when thyrotropin level is lower than 0.10 mIU/L.
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Letter Comparative Study
Effect of physician payment disclosure laws on prescribing.