Adjunct low-dose, short-course corticosteroids probably reduce short-term mortality in adults with severe pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), according to a review of 20 randomized trials involving 3459 participants. Drawing from major medical databases through September 2025, the analysis found that corticosteroids (3 mg/kg of body weight per day […]
A UK randomized, single-blind, controlled trial of 135 otherwise healthy participants with periodontitis showed that intensive periodontal treatment (IPT) improved vascular outcomes beyond endothelial function. Participants were randomized to IPT (scaling, root planning, and corrective surgery if needed) or control periodontal treatment (CPT: supra-gingival scaling and polishing) and followed for […]
Two recent trials from China evaluated strategies to improve outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke treated within 4.5 hours of symptom onset. In the first open-label trial, 550 patients with large-vessel occlusion were randomized to receive either intravenous tenecteplase followed by endovascular thrombectomy or thrombectomy alone. Functional independence at […]
A recent randomized crossover trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of combining dapagliflozin with spironolactone versus using dapagliflozin alone in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction. Involving 108 participants (median age 76, 57% women), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 72 mL/min/1.73 m2，the 12-week study found […]
An individual patient-data pooled analysis of the four Intensive Blood Pressure (BP) Reduction in Acute Cerebral Haemorrhage Trials (INTERACT) supports the safety and efficacy of early intensive BP-lowering in intracerebral hemorrhage. There were 404 patients in INTERACT1, 2829 in INTERACT2, 7036 in INTERACT3, and 1043 in INTERACT4, respectively. INTERACT1–3 enrolled […]
A Canadian study of adults with high blood pressure (BP) found no difference in health outcomes between taking BP medications in the morning versus at bedtime. A total of 3,357 adult patients with high BP (56.4% female; median age, 67 years; 53.7% on monotherapy) were randomly assigned to take their […]
A systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo-controlled randomized trials showed that there is moderate certainty evidence that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are efficacious for acute low back pain, and that exercise, spinal manipulative therapy, taping, antidepressants, and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) agonists are efficacious for chronic low back […]
A Korean population-based study suggests an association between antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) and risk of pacemaker implantation or syncope in patients of new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF). A total of 770,977 new-onset AF cases were identified from 2013 to 2019 and 142,141 patients were prescribed AADs within 1 year of AF diagnosis. […]