Articles for General Practice
To request any previous articles of interest please contact library@icgp.ie
Library WebWatch (as it appears in Forum March 2019)
This month we will look at two articles of interest to Irish General Practitioners that are available full-text on request through the ICGP Library by contacting us at library@icgp.ie Both articles are based on POEMs (Patient-Oriented Evidence that Matters).
Firstly let me provide a definition of POEMs essentially they are studies that address a relevant clinical question, demonstrate improved patient-oriented outcomes, and have the potential to change practice.
Ebell, M. et al Annals of Family Medicine September/October 2018, Volume 16 (5), pages 436-439.
Top 20 POEMS of the Past 20 years: A survey of Practice-Changing Research for Family Physicians.
PROS:
This article as the title suggests ranks the top 20 POEMs over the last 20 years in various categories including the highest ranked for having recommended a major and persistent change in practice, those that recommend a novel, effective intervention and a group that recommends abandoning an ineffective practice and a final group that recommends abandoning potentially harmful practice.
This article goes on to point out that there is a huge breath of practice change in primary care and the need for doctors to have a systematic approach to keeping up to date with the medical literature especially as many of these important articles did not appear in primary care literature.
CONS:
The article points out that it faced challenges in choosing the best POEMs in recent years , largely because it is difficult to know whether a 3 year old study will withstand the test of time and the rigors of replication in real world settings. Also because of the increasing amount of industry-sponsored research published in journals and the relatively small amount of public funding for research to support the study of real-world problems in real-world settings.
It is from American sources and Ebell and the others authors were all paid by Wiley-Blackwell Inc. publishers to write the POEMs on a monthly basis.
OVERALL VERDICT:
An article that is worth a read for the busy Irish GP to then make up their own minds.
Ebell,M & Grad, R. American Family Physician, May 1, 2018, Volume 97 (9), pages 581-588.
Top 20 Research Studies of 2017 for Primary Care Physicians
PROS:
This article discusses the top 20 research studies of 2017 as voted by members of the Canadian Medical Association.
It also provides details of the Top 5 Practice Guidelines and their key recommendations.
CONS:
Ebell has declared his conflict of interest as he is cofounder and editor-in-chief of Essential Evidence Plus published by Wiley-Blackwell Inc.
OVERALL VERDICT:
Again useful to have other health professionals review material while also keeping in mind it is up to each individual practitioner to reach a diagnosis and manage/treat accordingly.
Finally for both articles it must be kept in mind that in general full-text access to POEMs is via subscription to Essential Evidence Plus but that these 2 overview articles provide useful references and highlight what they consider to be the top POEMs for health professionals to be aware of and consider in practice. *********************************************************************************************************
Patient experience of home and waiting room blood pressure measurement: a qualitative study of patients with recently diagnosed hypertension, BJGP, December 2018.
CADTH Technology Review
Clinical Evaluation of Interventions for the Management of Insomnia: A Review of Reviews, September 2018. 359 Pages
www.cadth.ca/sites/default/files/pdf/HT0003-OP0527_Insomnia_Cinical_Review.pdf
Please note: some of these links will download articles and files to your PC.
- AAFP Top 20 Articles for 2017 - email library@icgp.ie for a copy.
- Prevalence of treatment-resistant hypertension after considering pseudo-resistance and morbidity: a cross-sectional study in Irish primary care. BJGP June 2018. Click here to view
- Development of a prediction tool for patients presenting with acute cough in primary care: a prognostic study spanning six European countries. BJGP May 2018. Click here to view
- Weight loss as a predictor of cancer in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BJGP May 2018 Click here to view
- Acne Vulgaris British Journal of General Practice February 2018 Editorial pages 64-65 Click here to view
- Stemming the tide of antimicrobial resistance: implications for management of acne vulgaris. Click here to view
- GP specialists could alleviate ENT bottleneck. Forum February 2010. Click here to view.
