July 9th, 2010
Podcast 95: What if hypertensive patients titrated their own drug dosages?
This week’s interview is with the editorialist commenting on an exciting Lancet paper. The writer, Dr. Gbenga Ogedegbe, says that the work, in which patients with uncontrolled hypertension titrated their own medications according to prespecified rules, could change how clinicians manage uncomplicated hypertension. From his base at New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Ogedegbe […]
July 1st, 2010
Podcast 94: What does a new meta-analysis tell us about statins and primary prevention?
A meta-analysis of 11 studies encompassing more than 60,000 subjects finds that statins don’t lower all-cause mortality in people without cardiovascular disease. One editorialist calls the study, just published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, “the cleanest and most complete meta-analysis of pharmacological lipid lowering for primary prevention.” One of the study’s principal authors, Kausik K. […]
June 25th, 2010
Podcast 93: Is computed tomography safe? Yes, but …
That’s the question asked in an intriguing essay — by a radiologist — released online in the New England Journal of Medicine. We have her as our guest this week. Feedback, please! You can comment here or by emailing me at jelia@jwatch.org — or better still, call 1-617-440-4374. Interview-related links: Rebecca Smith-Bindman’s essay Radiation doses from common CT […]
June 18th, 2010
Podcast 92: Corticosteroids in COPD exacerbations — high-dose intravenous or low-dose oral?
A JAMA paper suggests that in all but the most severe exacerbations of COPD, it’s best to start off with low-dose oral corticosteroids rather than the higher-dose intravenous treatment that, contrary to guideline recommendations, almost everyone now gets. Our conversation this week is with the study’s first author, Dr. Peter Lindenauer. Visit the Journal Watch website […]
June 11th, 2010
Podcast 91: What risks do NSAIDs hold for healthy people? They’re not trivial.
We talk with a Danish researcher, Emil Fosbøl, whose team estimated the risks of cardiovascular events caused by NSAID use in healthy people. Your feedback is always welcomed and encouraged. Please drop me a note (jelia@jwatch.org) or call in a comment to 1-617-440-4374. I’m eager to act on your suggestions. The interview-related link: First Watch coverage of the […]
June 5th, 2010
Podcast 90: Preventing type 2 diabetes with low-dose metformin and rosiglitazone seems possible, but clinical use has to await results of another study.
Here’s a question wrapped in mist: How to prevent diabetes? Well, lifestyle changes for sure, but that’s hard. Drug therapy? Easier, but side effects can take away that advantage pretty quickly. Rosiglitazone offers some benefits, but its side effects — most notably increased risks for heart failure and death — have some people wondering whether […]