Notable articles of the week

Something slightly more academic than my usual rants.

Diagnosis and management of carotid atherosclerosis: BMJ 2013;346:f1485; doi: 10.1136/bmj.f1485 - Refer symptomatic patients with 50-99% stenosis or asymptomatic patients with 70-99% stenosis for surgical revascularization. Medical therapy for symptomatic patients using plavix (CAPRIE trial), BP control, statins, smoking cessation, 2.5 of moderate intensity exercise per week. Medical therapy for asymptomatic patients? Not mentioned.

Use of caffeinated substances and risk of crashes in long distance drivers of commercial vehicles: case-control study: BMJ 2013;346:f1140; doi: 10.1136/bmj.f1140 > suggests that consuming caffeine for the purpose of staying awake can reduce the risk of an accident. But results subject to bias (state regulations for work and fatigue and reporter bias).


Use of high potency statins and rates of admission for acute kidney injury: multicenter, retrospective observational analysis of administrative databases: BMJ 2013;346:f880 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f880 > suggests that current users of high potency statins (defined at rosuva 10mg, atorva 20mg, simvastatin 40mg) are 34% more likely than users of low potency statins to be hospitalized for AKI within 120 days of starting treatment.