Evidence-Based Medicine

Ryan Zarychanski, MD, MSc, of the University of Manitoba, and colleagues reported they found no clinical benefit for use of hydroxyethyl starch for fluid resuscitation and found evidence of greater risks associated with this drug compared with alternatives. Image: Daniel Gwozdz, University of Manitoba

Author Insights: An Analysis Excluding Trials by Researcher Under Fire for Misconduct Finds Product Used for Critically Ill Patients Is Harmful

By Bridget M. Kuehn on February 19, 2013

A new analysis has found that hydroxyethyl starch (HES), a fluid product used to help resuscitate critically ill patients, does not improve patient survival and may cause harm, according to results published in JAMA today. The results suggest that alleged… Read More ›

Use of bias and spin when reporting negative findings from clinical trials may tip the balance in creating a more positive perception of a treatment that has little or no demonstrated benefit or may downplay serious adverse effects. (Image: pixhook/iStockphoto.com)

Researchers Say Spin and Bias Sometimes Used to Put Best Face on Breast Cancer Study Findings

By Mike Mitka on January 9, 2013

Most researchers conducting clinical trials hope their work pays off in positive results demonstrating that an experimental intervention benefits patients. But when a trial produces negative findings that a treatment is not helpful or that it has adverse effects, some… Read More ›

Author Insights: Many Devices Approved Without Comparative Effectiveness Data

By Bridget M. Kuehn on November 6, 2012

About half of high-risk cardiac devices approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were approved without comparative data on whether they provide better outcomes than other treatment options, found an analysis published online in JAMA. Advances in medical… Read More ›

An analysis by John P. Ioannidis, MD, DSc, of Stanford University, and colleagues suggests that physicians and patients should view studies that suggest large treatment effects with skepticism. Image: Stanford School of Medicine Office of Communications & Public Affairs

Author Insights: Studies That Show Large Treatment Effects Are Usually Wrong

By Bridget M. Kuehn on October 23, 2012

Most medical interventions have modest effects, and studies that suggest big effects are usually small and are eventually proven wrong, according to an analysis of medical studies published in JAMA today. Studies that appear to demonstrate that a medication or… Read More ›

Joseph S. Ross, MD, MHS, assistant professor of internal medicine at Yale University, and colleagues found that a 2008 recommendation to stop PSA-based prostate cancer screening in older men had only a small effect on screening. Image: Yale University

Author Insights: Slight Dip in Prostate Cancer Screening for Older Men After Recommendations

By Bridget M. Kuehn on September 17, 2012

The rate of prostate cancer screening by testing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels among men age 75 years or older declined just 2 percentage points after a 2008 recommendation from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to discontinue such screening… Read More ›

Evidence is scant regarding the benefits and harms of universal screening for hearing loss in asymptomatic older adults. (Image: Jacek Oleksinski/iStockphoto.com)

Little Evidence Available on Whether Universal Screening for Hearing Loss Improves Health Outcomes

By Mike Mitka on August 13, 2012

There’s insufficient evidence to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for age-related hearing loss in asymptomatic adults aged 50 years or older, says the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). However, the USPSTF recommendation statement, which appears… Read More ›

JAMA Forum: Bill Would Gut Patient-Centered Outcomes Research

By Aaron Carroll, MD, MS on July 26, 2012

Last week, the House Appropriations subcommittee on labor, health and human services, and education approved a spending bill, which moves along this week to the full committee for consideration and possible amendments. Then, it’s on to a vote in the… Read More ›

Michael W. Fried, MD, director of the Liver Center at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, and colleagues found that silymarin (milk thistle), a supplement used by many patients with chronic liver disease, did not improve liver function, decrease virus levels, or improve quality of life among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. (Image: Nicolette DeGroot)

Author Insight: Milk Thistle Doesn’t Improve Outcomes for Patients With Hepatitis C

By Bridget M. Kuehn on July 17, 2012

Patients who are not helped by the standard treatments for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections often turn to unproven alternative therapies, including silymarin, an extract of milk thistle that is a popular supplement among patients with liver conditions. But a… Read More ›

Paul A. Offit, MD, of Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, says that much federally funded research of alternative and complementary medicine is misguided. (Image: April Saul at the Philadelphia Inquirer)

Author Insights: Refocus Questionable US-Funded Complementary and Alternative Therapies Research

By Mike Mitka on May 1, 2012

The mission of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is “to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the usefulness and safety of complementary and alternative medicine interventions and their roles in improving health… Read More ›

Using sleeping pills is associated with an increased risk of death, a new study suggests. (Image: iStockphoto.com/Skip ODonnell)

Use of Sleeping Pills Associated With Greater Death Risk

By Bridget M. Kuehn on February 28, 2012

Patients taking prescription sleeping pills, even if they received only a short-term supply, have a more than 3 times greater risk of dying over a few years than a matched group of patients not taking these medications, according to a… Read More ›

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