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Mashup Score: 5
My friend Dorothy (a pseudonym) is in her mid-40s. She loves parties and sharing good food with family and friends. She likes watching musicals and films, going to the ballet and the pantomime, to the pub and to church as well as expressing herself creatively. Whatever she is doing, she enjoys looking stylish and receiving compliments about her appearance. It has not been possible for Dorothy to have a thorough dental examination in her adult life, nor blood pressure checks, women’s health checks or any other preventative health checks. Why? Because she has a severe intellectual disability, and there are few services that provide the adjustments she would need to access preventative healthcare. It is also not possible for her to share her story because she has few clear words, and so I, a friend and former member of her care team, have worked with members of her family to write on her behalf. Dorothy is very wary of unfamiliar situations and people and often finds transitions hard. She
Source: ebm.bmj.comCategories: General Medicine News, PayerTweet
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Mashup Score: 61Rapid reviews methods series: assessing the appropriateness of conducting a rapid review - 2 day(s) ago
This paper, part of the Cochrane Rapid Review Methods Group series, offers guidance on determining when to conduct a rapid review (RR) instead of a full systematic review (SR). While both review types aim to comprehensively synthesise evidence, RRs, conducted within a shorter time frame of typically 6 months or less, involve streamlined methods to expedite the process. The decision to opt for an RR depends on the urgency of the research question, resource availability and the impact on decision outcomes. The paper categorises scenarios where RRs are appropriate, including urgent decision-making, informing guidelines, assessing new technologies and identifying evidence gaps. It also outlines instances when RRs may be inappropriate, cautioning against conducting them solely for ease, quick publication or only cost-saving motives. When deciding on an RR, it is crucial to consider both conceptual and practical factors. These factors encompass the urgency of needing timely evidence, the con
Source: ebm.bmj.comCategories: General Medicine News, PayerTweet
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Mashup Score: 25Reporting health and medical research - 2 day(s) ago
The use of the best available evidence to inform patient care in evidence-based medicine is reliant on the accurate, complete and transparent reporting of health and medical research. Without a complete and transparent account of what was done and what was found during a research study, findings cannot be fully understood, replicated, assessed for validity and applicability, and used to inform clinical and policy decisions. For over 50 years, problems of incomplete and poor reporting of research have been widely documented across health and medical research.1–3 Unusable research reports contribute to avoidable research waste4 through the inability to appraise and synthesise research and can detrimentally impact patient care through incorrect implementation of research findings.5 Because of this, complete and transparent reporting of research is a researcher’s moral and ethical responsibility to maximise the usefulness and positive impact of their research.6 Our objective in this articl
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Mashup Score: 18
This paper forms part of a series of methodological guidance from the Cochrane Rapid Reviews Methods Group and addresses rapid qualitative evidence syntheses (QESs), which use modified systematic, transparent and reproducible methodsu to accelerate the synthesis of qualitative evidence when faced with resource constraints. This guidance covers the review process as it relates to synthesis of qualitative research. ‘Rapid’ or ‘resource-constrained’ QES require use of templates and targeted knowledge user involvement. Clear definition of perspectives and decisions on indirect evidence, sampling and use of existing QES help in targeting eligibility criteria. Involvement of an information specialist, especially in prioritising databases, targeting grey literature and planning supplemental searches, can prove invaluable. Use of templates and frameworks in study selection and data extraction can be accompanied by quality assurance procedures targeting areas of likely weakness. Current Cochran
Source: ebm.bmj.comCategories: General Medicine News, PayerTweet
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Mashup Score: 24Overly complex methods may impair pragmatic use of core evidence-based medicine principles - 3 day(s) ago
The aphorism suggesting that we should keep things as simple as possible but not simpler applies well to the world of evidence-based medicine (EBM). The initial Users’ Guide to the Medical Literature that launched the era of EBM adhered faithfully to the as-simple-as-possible rule. For instance, the first Users’ Guide to therapy published in JAMA in 1993 presenting appraisal guidance for studies of interventions offered only two primary and two secondary validity (now risk of bias) criteria and was little more than three pages in length.1 The guides that followed adhered to the same parsimonious presentations, short and with few criteria. That simplicity in part explains EBM’s extraordinarily rapid and extensive uptake, with the Users’ Guides series and subsequently the associated textbook2 widely adopted in undergraduate and postgraduate medical programmes in a matter of just a few years. Following the initial focus on critical appraisal for clinicians, EBM leaders became aware that f
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Mashup Score: 3CARE-radiology statement explanation and elaboration: reporting guideline for radiological case reports - 4 day(s) ago
Despite the increasing number of radiological case reports, the majority lack a standardised methodology of writing and reporting. We therefore develop a reporting guideline for radiological case reports based on the CAse REport (CARE) statement. We established a multidisciplinary group of experts, comprising 40 radiologists, methodologists, journal editors and researchers, to develop a reporting guideline for radiological case reports according to the methodology recommended by the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research network. The Delphi panel was requested to evaluate the significance of a list of elements for potential inclusion in a guideline for reporting mediation analyses. By reviewing the reporting guidelines and through discussion, we initially drafted 46 potential items. Following a Delphi survey and discussion, the final CARE-radiology checklist is comprised of 38 items in 16 domains. CARE-radiology is a comprehensive reporting guideline for radiological
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Mashup Score: 2
Objectively measuring physical activity (PA) has consistently shown an association with reduced all-cause mortality risk in cross-sectional studies. However, the strength of this association may change over time. We quantify the time-varying, covariate-adjusted association between the total volume of PA and all-cause mortality over a 12-year follow-up period using Cox regression with a time varying effect of population-referenced quantile total activity count adjusted for traditional risk factors. Analyses focus on participants 50–84 years old with adequate accelerometer wear time and without missing covariates. The findings suggest that (1) the use of baseline PA in Cox models with long follow-up periods may be inappropriate without time-varying effects and (2) the use of accelerometry derived volume of PA in risk score calculations may be most appropriate for short-term to medium-term risk scores. Data are available in a public, open access repository. NHANES data are publicly availa
Source: ebm.bmj.comCategories: General Medicine News, PayerTweet
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Mashup Score: 4
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to exert a heavy burden in most countries in the world, with high blood pressure continuing to be one of the most important drivers of this burden. The urgency to tackle CVD has never been clearer. WHO launched a global effort (the Global Hearts Initiative) with five technical packages aimed at targeting major drivers of the CVD burden, including actions on tobacco (MPOWER), physical activity (ACTIVE), some aspects of diet such as reducing salt (SHAKE) and trans fats intake (REPLACE) and HEARTS. HEARTS is a set of activities to improve cardiovascular risk management in primary care, with a focus on high blood pressure.1 The HEARTS technical package is an institutionalised model of care and a set of guidelines for cardiovascular risk management, focusing on hypertension control and secondary prevention in primary healthcare. HEARTS is structured around six pillars, focusing on treatment and medication protocols, better quality blood pressure measur
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Mashup Score: 20Integrating large language models in systematic reviews: a framework and case study using ROBINS-I for risk of bias assessment - 8 day(s) ago
Large language models (LLMs) may facilitate and expedite systematic reviews, although the approach to integrate LLMs in the review process is unclear. This study evaluates GPT-4 agreement with human reviewers in assessing the risk of bias using the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool and proposes a framework for integrating LLMs into systematic reviews. The case study demonstrated that raw per cent agreement was the highest for the ROBINS-I domain of ‘Classification of Intervention’. Kendall agreement coefficient was highest for the domains of ‘Participant Selection’, ‘Missing Data’ and ‘Measurement of Outcomes’, suggesting moderate agreement in these domains. Raw agreement about the overall risk of bias across domains was 61% (Kendall coefficient=0.35). The proposed framework for integrating LLMs into systematic reviews consists of four domains: rationale for LLM use, protocol (task definition, model selection, prompt engineering, data entry methods
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Mashup Score: 8Talk Evidence: Will semaglutide buck the trend of other weight loss drugs? on Apple Podcasts - 9 day(s) ago
Show Talk Evidence, Ep Will semaglutide buck the trend of other weight loss drugs? – 19 Apr 2024
Source: podcasts.apple.comCategories: General Medicine News, PayerTweet
"Even for a routine dental check-up, Dorothy needs specialist dentistry and requires sedation. We face similar challenges for all of Dorothy’s health issues." #PatientVoices #FreeAccess Link: https://t.co/a3c92fQiEa