Research
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and breast cancer mortality in women receiving tamoxifen
This population based cohort study of 2430 women in Ontario showed that paroxetine use during tamoxifen treatment is associated with an increased risk of death from breast cancer, supporting the hypothesis that paroxetine (pictured) can reduce or abolish the benefit of tamoxifen in women with breast cancer. The accompanying editorial concludes that promotion of the drug interaction between paroxetine and tamoxifen is needed among doctors and pharmacists, as is harmonisation of the summary of product characteristics.
News
Doctor's sacking is setback for French public health, supporters say
A high profile expert on public health, Alain Braillon, has lost his position at the University Hospital of Amiens, Picardy, in a move that public health doctors fear may become more frequent because of a new hospital payment system. Public hospitals in France now have to comply with what is called "T2A," which stands for "tariff by activity," under which hospitals are funded per activity carried out. Health experts point out that time consuming public health interventions are therefore less rewarding for hospitals, particularly in the short term.
Other news published 9 February 2010:
Comment
Are the odds stacked against today's young researchers?
"Is the original thinker encouraged in medicine any more? How do young and excited potential clinical scientists get going? We have no reason to think that there is any paucity of original ideas, and many young medical students and doctors will still be thinking about unresolved medical and scientific problems. But now the odds are stacked against them," says Michael Oliver in this personal view.
Other views and reviews published on 8 February 2010:
Education
The role of interventional radiology in trauma
Many aspects of immediate trauma care suffer from a lack of high quality prospective research. This clinical review by Ian A Zealley and Sam Chakraverty is based predominantly on evidence from retrospective cohort series and is subject to the limitations inherent in this type of level 2 research. The authors summarise the evidence supporting the use of interventional radiological techniques in the management of haemorrhage caused by blunt abdominal trauma.
Research
Management of urinary tract infection
A randomised controlled trial of five different management strategies for urinary tract infections (UTIs) in primary care found that all five approaches achieved similar symptom control. There is no advantage in routinely sending midstream urine samples for testing, and antibiotics targeted with dipstick tests with a delayed prescription as backup, or empirical delayed prescription, can help to reduce antibiotic use, say Paul Little and colleagues. The accompanying cost effectiveness study found that dipstick testing with targeted antibiotics is likely to be cost effective if the value of saving a day of moderately bad symptoms is £10 or more, but caution is required given the considerable uncertainty surrounding the estimates. In a linked observational study, antibiotic resistance and not prescribing antibiotics were associated with a greater than 50% increase in the duration of more severe symptoms in women with uncomplicated UTIs. An accompanying editorial says that how doctors deliver care is as influential as the treatment itself.
More on UTIs published on 5 February:
Research
Use of venlafaxine compared with other antidepressants and the risk of sudden cardiac death or near death
In this large, population based study using the UK General Practice Research Database, the use of venlafaxine was not associated with an excess risk of sudden cardiac death or near death compared with fluoxetine, dosulepin, or citalopram, in patients with depression or anxiety. The accompanying editorial agrees that the risk seems no greater than for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and concludes that continued restriction on the use of venlafaxine on the grounds of cardiovascular toxicity seems inappropriate.
doc2doc
Have you changed your mind about climate change?
Evidence shows the IPCC prediction that the Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035 was based on a telephone interview with a scientist and not on any research, making the last few weeks difficult for climate change enthusiasts. Are we all guilty of uncritically accepting the climate change theory? Who can honestly say that they've examined the evidence and made up their own minds rather than believing what they read in the papers? Join the debate at doc2doc, BMJ Group's global clinical online community
Video
Submitting your research to the BMJ
We've produced a short video to help you find out about getting research published in the BMJ. It includes interviews with published authors and clips from some of the short films we often commission to accompany important research articles.
BMJ Group Awards 2010
BMJ Group Awards are back for the second year
The shortlists for the BMJ Group Awards 2010 have just been announced. The 11 awards include three new categories: primary care team of the year, secondary care team of the year, and junior doctor of the year.
The awards are run in association with MDDUS (Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland). They recognise individuals, organisations, and initiatives that have made outstanding contributions to health care. More than 700 nominations had to be whittled down to produce shortlists of a reasonable size.
For all except the lifetime achievement award the winners will be chosen by expert panels (see the shortlisted candidates for the 10 categories here). For the lifetime achievement award the 117 nominations were reduced to a shortlist of 10, choosing candidates on the basis of who has, over their working lives, made a unique and substantial contribution to improving health care, whether in clinical practice, public health, health policy, medical education, or medical research (see full list below).
Voting started on Monday 4 January; to vote for the lifetime achievement award go to bmj.com. Winners of all the awards will be announced on 10 March. For more information, or to book tickets for the awards ceremony, visit the BMJ Group Awards website. To find out more, watch a video of last year's event.
Find out more about the 10 shortlisted candidates for the BMJ Group Lifetime Achievement Awards 2010.
Latest from BMJ Careers
BMJ latest and most read:
What's new
Latest blogs
Find BMJ on:
Services
Tools
Online poll
Resources
Print issues
