Table of contents

Therapeutics

• Budesonide-formoterol for maintenance and as needed reliever treatment reduced asthma exacerbations (30 January, 2007)
• Review: long acting β agonists increase severe asthma exacerbations and asthma related deaths in children and adults (30 January, 2007)
• Review: omalizumab reduces exacerbation and steroid use in chronic asthma (30 January, 2007)
• Review: long acting β₂ adrenoceptor agonists are effective in poorly reversible chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

  (30 January, 2007)
• Review: anticholinergics but not β₂ agonists reduce exacerbations requiring hospital admission and respiratory deaths in COPD

  (30 January, 2007)
• Physiotherapy plus a craniocervical training programme was better than physiotherapy alone in tension type headache (30 January, 2007)
• Review: medical therapy with calcium channel blockers or α blockers helps patients to pass urinary stones (30 January, 2007) Free
• Review: planned early birth after prelabour rupture of membranes at term has benefits for mother and infant (30 January, 2007)
• Diuretics were superior to calcium channel blockers and short term ACE inhibitors for reducing heart failure in hypertension (30 January, 2007)
• Daily oral vitamin B-12 with or without folic acid for 24 weeks did not improve cognitive function in elderly people (30 January, 2007)
• Environmental and dietary interventions in the first 5 years of life did not reduce risk of asthma and allergic disease (30 January, 2007)
• Naltrexone increased abstinence and reduced heavy drinking during treatment (30 January, 2007)
• Nurse-led cognitive behaviour therapy improved insight and reduced negative symptoms and readmissions in schizophrenia (30 January, 2007)
• Periodic telephone counselling for polypharmacy improved compliance and reduced mortality (30 January, 2007)
• Review: opiate administration may alter physical examination findings but does not increase management errors in acute abdominal pain (30 January, 2007)