CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal articles from April 2006

CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal archives from April 2006

Why we agreed to step into the breach/Pourquoi nous avons accepte d'assurer l'interim.(Editorial)
April 11, 2006... The recent change in CMAJ's editorial leadership is troubling and disappointing. John Hoey and Anne Marie Todkill can be proud of their very forward leadership for the Journal during their tenure, and the Journal, its staff, and Canadian...

Why we are staying on/Pourquoi nous restons.(Editorial)
April 11, 2006... Published at www.cmaj.ca on Mar. 16, 2006. Readers of the Journal will be aware that the publisher of CMAJdismissed our Editor-in-Chief and Senior Deputy Editor on Feb. 20, 2006. Subsequently, our Acting Editor, Editorial Fellow and 2 part-time...

Winds of change.(physicians to work in both the public and private sector)(Brief article)
April 11, 2006... Last June's Supreme Court of Canada ruling, coupled with growing wait-time angst have prompted 3 provinces to open the door, at least part way, to the private delivery of health care. The Alberta government has announced it will allow...

Quebec's proposed wait time guarantees.(News)
April 11, 2006... The province of Quebec is proposing a "new era" in health care standards, guaranteeing timely access to ageing Quebecers in need of knee or hip replacements or cataract surgery--and offering a limited role to the private sector to ensure no...

Alberta's hybrid public-private "third way".
April 11, 2006... The Alberta Government claims its new Health Policy Framework allowing patients to pay out-of-pocket for certain surgeries, and physicians to slide between the public and private systems will help save a sinking health care system. Critics say...

BC to reform health care.(British Columbia)
April 11, 2006... British Columbia is planning to enshrine the Canada Health Act's 5 basic principles in provincial legislation that will also consider more private health care delivery models, Premier Gordon Campbell outlined in a Throne Speech on Feb.14. ...

Quebec included in CaRMS match.(Canadian Resident Matching Service)
April 11, 2006... For the first time in its 35-year history, the 2006 residency match included Quebec's 3 francophone medical schools. The addition of Laval, Sherbrooke and Montreal, makes the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) truly national, says...

Manitoba pharmacists' association clarifies Plan B regulations.
April 11, 2006... After meeting with the Manitoba government official responsible for privacy, the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association is reminding its members that women requesting the levonorgestrol (Plan B) morning-after pill have the right to remain...

Generic act.(Doctors Without Borders)(Brief article)
April 11, 2006... Generic act: By summer, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hopes to be able to ship the first order for an AIDS drug manufactured under a new Canadian law, known as the Jean Chretien Pledge to Africa Act. The 2004 Act allows for production of...

Corruption in health care.(Brief article)
April 11, 2006... Corruption in health care: Theft, bribery and extortion robs millions of health care dollars each year while deaths are caused by counterfeit drug use, drug-resistant disease and inability to pay bribes, finds the Global Corruption Report 2006....

Happy doctors? Satisfaction with professional life.(Brief article)
April 11, 2006... The results of the 2004 CFPC/ CMA/RCPSC National Physician Survey regarding respondents' satisfaction with their current professional life held some surprises. For example, geriatricians surveyed were among the top 10 most satisfied specialist...

New development in avian flu vaccines.(Bench to Bedside)(Brief article)
April 11, 2006... Urgent development of an effective vaccine is a priority in preparations for a potential influenza pandemic. A new vaccine has been synthesized that appears to have some advantages over previous vaccines. Vaccines for avian flu (influenza A...

Diversity of avian influenza.(Bench to Bedside)
April 11, 2006... The medical world is watching Southeast Asia and southern China with a keen eye, as preparations are made for a potential pandemic of influenza A/H5N1. This interest heightened in March 2005 when the H5N1 virus was found in migratory waterfowl...

Prioritizing and stopping prescription medicines.(Analysis)
April 11, 2006... Pharmaceuticals have had a remarkable effect on improving life expectancy and quality of life. However, most medicines need not be used lifelong, and the ongoing benefits of specific drugs must be considered in the clinical and social contexts...

An unusual case of endocarditis.(Teaching Case Report)
April 11, 2006... The Case: A 31-year-old woman, an immigrant from Ethiopia, was admitted to hospital with a 2-week history of general weakness, cough and fever. She denied recent dental treatment or intravenous drug use and had not undergone any invasive...

People with diabetes should avoid antibiotic gatifloxacin.(Health and Drug Alerts)
April 11, 2006... Reason for posting: Gatifloxacin (Tequin) is commonly used to treat respiratory infections, including community-acquired pneumonia, acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis, sinusitis and urinary tract infections Health Canada has previously...

Does pioglitazone prevent macrovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes?(In the Literature)
April 11, 2006... Dormandy JA, Charbonnel B, Eckland DJ, et al; the PROactive Investigators. Secondary prevention of macrovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes in the PROactive Study (PROspective pioglitAzone Clinical Trial In macroVascular Events): a...

A case of recurrent meningitis.(Clinical Vistas)
April 11, 2006... A20 year-old man presented to the emergency department with a 4-hour history of severe bifrontal headache, neck pain and vomiting associated with fever and a 1-week history of productive cough. About 5 months earlier he had been admitted to...

Chagas disease: hidden affliction and visible neglect.(Public Health)
April 11, 2006... Background and epidemiology: In September 2005, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hosted the Canadian launch of a photography exhibition (1) and feature documentary (www.chagasthemovie .com) about Chagas disease. This parasitic disease, which is...

Attainment of treatment goals by people with Alzheimer's disease receiving galantamine: a randomized controlled trial.
April 11, 2006... Abstract Background: Although cholinesterase inhibitors have produced statistically significant treatment effects, their clinical meaningfulness in Alzheimer's disease is disputed. An important aspect of clinical meaningfulness is the...

The costs of planned cesarean versus planned vaginal birth in the Term Breech Trial.
April 11, 2006... Abstract Background: The Term Breech Trial compared the safety of planned cesarean and planned vaginal birth for breech presentations at term. The combined outcome of perinatal or neonatal death and serious neonatal morbidity was found to...

An innovative approach to involve patients in measuring treatment effects in drug trials.(Column)
April 11, 2006... The role of cholinesterase inhibitors in treating patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease is controversial. Of 22 randomized controlled double-blind trials published to date, 19 reported that the cholinesterase inhibitor under study...

The economic case for planned cesarean section for breech presentation at term.(Column)
April 11, 2006... Breech presentation occurs in 3%-4% of deliveries. The optimal method for delivering these babies has been a controversial issue in obstetrics. The Term Breech Trial compared the efficacy of planned caesarean section with that of planned...

Do manufacturers of brand-name drugs engage in price competition? An analysis of introductory prices.(Column)
April 11, 2006... Most new drugs that reach the market do not offer any significant therapeutic gain over existing products. (1,2) Critics of the pharmaceutical industry have argued that these "me-too" drugs are a needless waste of resources. It can take...

Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia: an underrecognized cause of early cardiovascular disease.
April 11, 2006... Abstract Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) is a monogenic disorder that affects about 1 in 500 people, with a higher prevalence in certain subpopulations such as people of Quebecois, Christian Lebanese and Dutch South...

Science and journalism: never the two shall meet?(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 11, 2006... Since when has the CMAJ become Canada's leading tabloid medical journal? At best, your article1 questioning the professionalism of pharmacists relating to the dispensing of emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) is a perfect example of...

One size fits all?(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 11, 2006... The article by McIntyre and colleagues (1) rightly points out the importance of measurement of severity of depression and remission of symptoms in mental health and primary care settings. After attending the CANMAT conference in Vancouver in...

Ginseng enhances the effectiveness of DHEA.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 11, 2006... I appreciated the RCT on the efficacy of ginseng for preventing upper respiratory tract infections. (1) I suggest cortisol evolved as the natural antagonist of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) activity and is the basis of the "fight or flight...

Personal conviction: what role should it play?(Letter to the editor)
April 11, 2006... I enjoyed the humour in the article by Barbara W. very much. (1) I agree that it is unfair to humiliate people, and that humiliation is particularly reprehensible when people are in vulnerable situations. I have, however, a question about the...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
April 11, 2006... There was a clerical error in the date of death of Dr. Brian Williams as listed in a recent issue.1 Dr. Williams died on Nov. 17, 2005, not Nov. 18, 2005, as indicated. We apologize for the error. REFERENCE (1.) Deaths....

Solace for a difficult journey.(Book review)
April 11, 2006... Excerpts from a Family Medical Dictionary Rebecca Brown Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press; 2001 113 pp $19.95 (cloth) ISBN 0-299-18970 A mid the increasing number of best-selling memoirs many come with...

Discharge day.(Room for a view)(Short story)
April 11, 2006... Ella was going home. She had been admitted to hospital a few days before I started my month as attending physician on the medical ward. The history in her chart was all too familiar: 89-year-old woman from nursing home; Alzheimer's disease;...

Deaths.(Obituary)
April 11, 2006... Bryant, Harold Russell; Dalhousie University, 1939. Died Dec. 31, 2005, aged 93. Chipperfield, Wesley Gordon, Calgary; University of Manitoba, 1952, general surgery. Died Jan. 1, 2006, aged 84; survived by his wife, Agnes, daughter Debbie...

Query.(parent child relations)
April 11, 2006... My daughter's five now, and she just started school. She's in French immersion kindergarten and has learned the words for all the primary colours, how to count to vingt, and she knows the word for family. School happens only on Mondays,...