YSN Library August 1 - August 5

These are the hours that I will be in the Library this week.
Questions, comments, concerns, please email me: janene.batten@yale.edu

Monday 8/1
8:30 - 4:00

Tuesday 8/2
Call Medical Library for assistance - 737-4065
Class: 3:30 - 4:30 EndNote Basics (TCC - Med Library)

Wednesday 8/3
8:30 - 1:30

Thursday 8/4
Call Medical Library for assistance - 737-4065

Friday 8/5
8:30 - 5:00

For all other Classes go to Library Classes

Antimalarial Agents in Africa

Another great audio interview in the NEJM this week.

Arrow KJ, Gelband H, Jamison DT. Making Antimalarial Agents Available in Africa. N Engl J Med. 2005 Jul 6

The Africa Malaria Report 2003 prepared by UNICEF shows that Africa's population carries the largest burden of malaria cases in the world, and the barrier to treating those that have the disease is cost. It's no wonder, with Africa being home to come of the poorest of poor in the world. And now, across Africa, malaria has become resistant to chloroquine - the cheaper antimalarial. The alternative - artemisinins which are widely used in Asia, and very expesive by comparison.

The solution propoes by the Institute of Medicine is to "allow subsidies to enter at a high international level — at the top of the distribution chain. ... The drugs would then flow down to the end users through the same pathways as chloroquine now does, with the requisite profit margins being taken where the private sector now operates. If these drugs start at a very low price when they enter the supply chain and if their supply is adequate, the price to consumers should be about the same as the current price of chloroquine."

Read the story, or listen to the interview, it's heartbreaking.

National Guidelines Clearinghouse - Updated Guidelines

The following new/updated information was posted to the NGC Web site the week of July 25, 2005.

National Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Supportive Care
Infection control. Prevention of healthcare-associated infection in primary and community care.

Veterans Health Administration
VHA/DoD clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis and management of hypertension in the primary care setting. (This updates a previously published guideline summary.)

Guideline Synthesis
The Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents  (has been updated to include recommendations from the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario)

More Guidelines in Progress

Tour de Lance

"Sunday July 24 is Lance Armstrong Day. It marks the end of an era. His achievements can never be repeated. " Lance Armstrong has defied the odds and won his 7th Tour de France in as many years.

You've seen the action, you've watched the brilliance, you've cheered the champion. Now read about how he does it. Dr. Edward Coyle published an article in the June issue of Journal of Applied Physiology describing how Lance's ability to win is as a result of an 8% improvement in muscular efficiency when cycling, as well as large reductions in body weight and body fat during the months before the race. The article is the result of a seven-year study conducted at the University of Texas's Human Performance Laboratory.

And the proof is in the riding ...
Tour de France 2005
Fact: During the first eight days over 1,300km were raced at over 47km/h (29.20 mph)!
Fact: [Lance] set a record for a time trial, completing the opening stage at 54.676km/h (33.974 mph) – the fastest ever in the Tour.
Fact: Armstrong and his colleagues established another record: the quickest team time trial ever – 67.5km (41.88miles) at 57.324km/h (35.619 mph).
Lance lives strong.

Coyle, EF. Improved muscular effi ciency displayed as Tour de France champion matures.J Appl Physiol. 2005 Jun;98(6):2191-6. Epub 2005 Mar 17.

YSN Library July 25 - July 29

These are the hours that I will be in the Library this week.
Questions, comments, concerns, please email me: janene.batten@yale.edu

Monday 7/25
8:30 - 4:00

Tuesday 7/26
Call Medical Library for assistance - 737-4065
Class: 1:00-2:00 RefWorks Basics (TCC - Med Library)
Class: 4:00 - 5:00 EndNote Advanced (TCC - Med Library)

Wednesday 7/27
8:30 - 5:00
Class: 5:00 - 6:00 RSS and Blogs (TCC - Med Library)

Thursday 7/28
Call Medical Library for assistance - 737-4065

Friday 7/29
8:30 - 5:00

For all other Classes go to Library Classes

AHRQ - Quality Tools Update

The QualityTools Web site, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Listed below are some updates.  For a complete list of the tools go to Quality Tools.

• Early Child Development in Social Context: A Chartbook http://www.qualitytools.ahrq.gov/summary/summary.aspx?view_id=1&doc_id=7219 This chartbook contains more than thirty key indicators of development and health for children ages zero to six along with social factors in the family and neighborhood that affect these outcomes.
• Perinatal Depression: Prevalence, Screening Accuracy, and Screening Outcomes. Summary, Evidence Report/Technology Assessment http://www.qualitytools.ahrq.gov/summary/summary.aspx?view_id=1&doc_id=7291 To address gaps in knowledge about perinatal depression, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), in collaboration with the Safe Motherhood Group (SMG), commissioned this evidence report from the RTI International-University of North Carolina's (RTI-UNC's) Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) for a systematic review of the evidence on three questions related to perinatal depression. These questions address the prevalence and incidence of perinatal depression, the accuracy of screening instruments for perinatal depression, and the effectiveness of interventions for women screened as high risk for developing perinatal depression.
• Learn the Signs. Act Early. Interactive Tool for Parents: Milestones Chart http://www.qualitytools.ahrq.gov/summary/summary.aspx?view_id=1&doc_id=7322 This interactive tool allows parents and caregivers to view how a developmental milestone category (social and emotional, cognitive, or language) changes as a child grows.

YSN Library July 18 - July 22

These are the hours that I will be in the Library this week.
Questions, comments, concerns, please email me: janene.batten@yale.edu

Monday 7/18
2:00 - 4:00

Tuesday 7/19
Call Medical Library for assistance - 737-4065
Class: 5:00-6:00pm Advanced Searching (TCC Medical Library)

Wednesday 7/20
11:30 - 5:00
Class: 4:30-5:30pm PowerPoint Basics (TCC Medical Library)

Thursday 7/21
Call Medical Library for assistance - 737-4065
Class: 1:00-2:00pm EndNote Basics (TCC Medical Library)

Friday 7/22
8:30 - 10:00

Other Library Classes

HIV Screening Recommendations

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released new recommendations on HIV screening. The Task Force recommends that all pregnant women, not just those considered at high risk, be screened for the virus that causes AIDS because testing has proven so successful at helping prevent the spread of the disease to babies.

Scientific advances in treating HIV have changed the 1996 recommendations that screening all pregnant women was of no benefit. More accurate HIV testing during pregnancy and new treatments for HIV have been shown to be safe and effective for mothers and infants and may reduce the number of infants born with the disease.

In addition to its recommendations about pregnant women, the Task Force also reaffirmed its recommendation that adolescents and adults at increased risk for HIV be tested. The Task Force broadened its definition of high risk to include those getting care at homeless shelters or clinics specializing in the care of sexually transmitted diseases.

The recommendations were published in the July 5 Annals of Internal Medicine. Select to read the AHRQ press release.

Lack of Evidence for Screening for Childhood Obesity

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is urging pediatricians not to focus only on height and weight in determining whether a child is overweight.

In a new recommendation, the Task Force found insufficient evidence that screening children for overweight provides any benefit. Leading groups of family doctors and pediatricians endorse routine screening using the height-weight ratio of the Body Mass Index. But there's no evidence that all children with high BMIs need to lose weight to be healthy-and there's no evidence that pediatricians' weight counseling results in weight loss and better health. BMI can be fairly effective at identifying children who have weight problems, said Task Force member Virginia Moyer, M.D. But it can't determine if body mass is mostly fat or lean tissue, and not all children with high BMIs need to lose weight, said Moyer, a pediatrics professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Dr. Moyer recommends that doctors investigate rapid increases in weight that are not accompanied by increases in height.

Select to read the recommendation.

The recommendation is published in the July issue of Pediatrics.

AHRQ - 2005 Guide to Clinical Preventive Services

AHRQ released the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services 2005, which highlights current recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

These evidence-based recommendations for clinicians address preventive services, which include screening tests, counseling, and preventive medications for adults and children in the primary care setting. The guide contains recommendations that have been adapted for a pocket-size book, making it easier for clinicians to consult the recommendations in their daily practice. THe Guide can also be viewed, and printed, at the AHRQ website. Recommendations are presented in an indexed, easy-to-use format, with at-a-glance charts. Recommendation statements and supporting statements from the Task Force are available on the AHRQ Web site.

Read the press release and select to download a copy of the guide.
A print copy of the guide is available by sending an e-mail to ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov.