Minerva

This article originally appeared in BMJ USA

Antinuclear antibodies, commonly associated with autoimmune diseases, may in the future join other tests for coronary atherosclerosis. Unaware of the artery status of 70 people, two observers scored positivity for the antibodies. Of those with known angiographically proven coronary disease, 70% were positive for antinuclear antibodies, compared with 17% of the group with no evidence of coronary disease. Epidemiologically this is poor performance for a diagnostic kit, but the authors say antinuclear antibodies should be considered in the context of existing serum markers for atherosclerosis (Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2002;61:110–114).

Removing indwelling urinary catheters at midnight seems to offer appreciable advantages over the conventional practice of removing them at 6 am. A prospective randomized trial of catheter removal at midnight and 6 am found that patients resumed their normal voiding pattern earlier and were discharged from the hospital when their catheters were removed at midnight. The authors say that a good night's sleep immediately after catheter removal reduces patients' anxiety, and that the bladder is more compliant when filling slowly overnight (British Journal of Nursing 2002;11:84–90.

Drug users can also independently have problems with …