CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal articles from September 2007

CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal archives from September 2007

Outliving colorectal cancer/Survivre au cancer colorectal.(Editorial)
September 11, 2007... In Canada in 2007, about 20 460 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed and 8700 people will die from this disease. (1) About half would live if this country had a more robust and coherent approach to early detection and treatment....

Cross-Canada colorectal cancer screening programs remain elusive.(News)
September 11, 2007... Canadian provinces have made only minimal progress in introducing colorectal cancer screening programs, despite overwhelming evidence that aggressive screening and public education can help stem the progress of one of the most pervasive but...

Cancer program puts family physicians at the frontline.(News)(Urban Primary Care Oncology Network)
September 11, 2007... A unique Manitoba program is helping family physicians reclaim a primary role on the front line of cancer treatment. The Urban Primary Care Oncology Network, thought to be the only program of its kind in Canada, is being hailed by Cancer...

New dosage limits for medical marijuana: but where's the science?(News)
September 11, 2007... New evidence-based guidelines are urgently needed to help doctors negotiate Canada's hazy medical marijuana landscape, particularly in light of Health Canada's efforts to impose new dose limits, say the nation's leading cannabis researcher and...

Canada's doctors assail pharmacist prescribing.(News)
September 11, 2007... A longer version of this article was published at www.cmaj.ca on Aug. 22, 2007. From allowing pharmacists to prescribe, to allowing other health professionals to head collaborative team practices, reforms have been introduced that...

CMA urges national equivalent of medicare for extended health services.(News)(Canadian Medical Association)
September 11, 2007... A longer version of this article was published at www.cmaj.ca on Aug. 21, 2007. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has thrown its weight behind developing and passing national legislation to cover the pharmaceutical, long-term,...

Health Minister Clement promises crackdown on illicit drug use.(News)(Tony Clement )
September 11, 2007... A longer version of this article was published at www.cmaj.ca on Aug. 21, 2007. Federal Minister of Health Tony Clement promised a bevy of new health-related federal initiatives in an address to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA)...

CMA considers election and structural reforms.(News)(Canadian Medical Association )(Brief article)
September 11, 2007... A longer version of this article was published at www.cmaj.ca on Aug. 20, 2007. Potential changes to the practice of rotating the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) presidency through provincial associations and the process for electing...

Disease outbreaks in wake of Southeast Asia floods.(News)
September 11, 2007... More than 2000 people have reportedly died and 19 million have been displaced by monsoon floods in regions of India, Nepal and Bangladesh, where outbreaks of diarrhea and other waterborne diseases are now emerging. The stagnant waters are also...

Calgary seeks help to identify E. coli source.(News)(Calgary Health Region, Escherichia coli)
September 11, 2007... Published at www.cmaj.ca on Aug. 17, 2007. The Calgary Health Region has called in an epidemiologist with the Public Health Agency of Canada to try to identify the reason for an unusually high number of cases of Escherichia coli O157:H7...

India and China register.(News @ a glance)(clinical trial registers)(Brief article)
September 11, 2007... India and China register: The WHO has expanded its clinical trial registry to include trial registers in China and India. This will allow policy-makers and scientist to track local research, improve the quality of research and meet global...

Cannabis v. tobacco.(News @ a glance)(health effects)(Brief article)
September 11, 2007... Cannabis v. tobacco: A single joint of cannabis can damage the lungs as much as chain-smoking up to 5 tobacco cigarettes, indicates new research (Thorax 2007 July 31; Epub ahead of print). The New Zealand study, involving 339 subjects, also...

e-Electioneering.(News @ a glance)(Progressive Conservatives promise on electronic health records)(Brief article)
September 11, 2007... e-Electioneering: Ontario's Progressive Conservatives are promising electronic health records for every resident within 7 years, if they are elected on Oct. 10. Alberta and Prince Edward Island plan to have their systems in place in 2008; BC...

Pharmacy of the developing world.(News @ a glance)(India)(Brief article)
September 11, 2007... Pharmacy of the developing world: India can continue to provide affordable medicines in developing countries after the High Court in Chennai, India, upheld India's Patents Act against a challenge from the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Novartis....

Medical ethics award.(News @ a glance)(Dr. William Marsden Award in Medical Ethics to John Dossetor)(Brief article)
September 11, 2007... Medical ethics award: Dr. John Dossetor (pictured above), CMAJ's former Ombudsman (2002-2006) and a member of the 2006 CMAJGovernance Review Panel, was awarded the inaugural Dr. William Marsden Award in Medical Ethics at the CMA Annual Meeting...

A case of intermittent ataxia associated with migraine headaches.(Teaching Case Report)(Case study)
September 11, 2007... The case: A previously healthy 42-year-old woman had presented to our neurology service 1 year earlier with left-sided temporal headaches that she said typically lasted from a few hours to all day. They were associated with nausea but not with...

A case of valproate-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy: look beyond the liver.(Clinical Vistas)(Case study)
September 11, 2007... An 18-year-old woman presented to hospital with a 2-day history of decreased consciousness, nausea and vomiting. She had started taking valproate (750 mg/d) 2 weeks before for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy. The patient had no history...

Campylobacter and bacterial gastroenteritis.(Public Health)(Disease/Disorder overview)
September 11, 2007... Campylobacteris the most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in the developed world. (1) In Canada, where the disease is reportable, 9345 cases (30.2 per 100 000) of campylobacteriosis were reported in 2004, as compared with 4953 cases of...

Low bone mineral density and fracture burden in postmenopausal women.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 11, 2007... Abstract Background: The study objectives were to determine fracture rates in relation to bone mineral density at various central skeletal sites, using the World Health Organization definition for osteoporosis (T-score -2.5 or less), and...

Socioeconomic status and perinatal outcomes in a setting with universal access to essential health care services.(Research)
September 11, 2007... Abstract Background: The health care system in Canada provides essential health services to all women irrespective of socioeconomic status. Our objective was to determine whether perinatal and infant outcomes varied by family income and...

Frequency of colorectal cancer screening and the impact of family physicians on screening behaviour.(Research)
September 11, 2007... Abstract Background: Mortality associated with colorectal cancer can be reduced by early detection. However, the participation of eligible people in colorectal cancer screening is thought to be inadequate. We examined the frequency of...

Sharing the responsibility for assessing the risk of the driver with dementia.(Medicine and Society)
September 11, 2007... Key points of the article Major concerns * There are a growing numbers of drivers with dementia * Physicians often fail to recognize unsafe drivers with dementia * There are no valid in-office tests available to predict...

Treating hypertriglyceridemia.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 11, 2007... In their review of hypertriglyceridemia, George Yuan and colleagues advocate "hemodynamic stabilization, cessation of all oral intake, placement of a nasogastric tube and control of metabolic disturbances" to treat triglyceriderelated acute...

Stepping down from CIHR.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 11, 2007... I am writing to clarify my reasons for stepping down as President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Contrary to what Wayne Kondro wrote in the news article on my leaving, (1) I am not "weary of serving as the scapegoat." On...

Reed Elsevier's arms business.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 11, 2007... CMAJ should be applauded for its news article highlighting the conflict of interest in Reed Elsevier's roles as a medical publisher and an organizer of arms fairs. (1) Following similar articles in other journals, (2-4) petitions by academics,...

Open Medicine and open access.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 11, 2007... Although the endorsement by CMAJ's editors of open-access medical publishing is welcome, (1) we would like to point out that there is an important distinction between open- and free-access publication. The editors of Open Medicinehave not only...

Correction.(LETTERS)(Correction notice)
September 11, 2007... In a commentary in the July 31 issue of CMAJ, (1) an error was made regarding the countries that have implemented needle-exchange programs. Scotland has not introduced such a program but has taken steps toward implementing one. REFERENCE...

Borders and boundaries.(bio-art)
September 11, 2007... Oron Catts and SymbioticA presentation Subtle Technologies Conference University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. May 24-7, 2007 Throughout history, art has been framed by conventions situated in cultural and aesthetic values. These values, in...

Physicians at home in fiction.(The Doctor in Literature, vol. 2: Private Life)(Book review)
September 11, 2007... The Doctor in Literature Volume 2: private life Solomon Posen Radcliffe Publishing Ltd.; 2006 298 pp US$59.95 ISBN-10 1 85775 779 3 ISBN-13 978 1 85775 779 8 For anyone who has even a passing interest in the representation of physicians in...

Deaths.(Obituary)
September 11, 2007... NOTICE Readers are invited to submit brief remembrances of recently departed colleagues. Colourful writing is encouraged, but please limit your notice to 150 words. Send to pubs@cma.ca; fax 613 565-5471. Beland, Leonce,...

When healers become killers: the doctor as terrorist.(Salon)
September 11, 2007... Doctors, as any nurse will tell you, are inclined to arrogance. Most times this is to the good: it takes a certain self-assertive pride to claim powers of life and death. On the other hand, spiritual pride, combined with arrogance, can...

Indication creep: physician beware / L'expansion des indications : medecins, attention.(Editorial)(off label prescribing)
September 25, 2007... Published at www.cmaj.ca on Sept. 5, 2007. This issue of CMAJ features a systematic review (page 725) of the use in critically ill patients of erythropoietin, a drug that is widely promoted without an approved indication in this patient...

Interface of private and public faces proposed cord blood bank.(News)
September 25, 2007... One of the "thorniest" issues facing the proposed national public cord blood bank will be how it relates to established private banks, says Dr. Stephen Couban, president of the Canadian Blood and Bone Transplant Group. In mid-June,...

New editor to increase systematic reviews and transfer knowledge.(News)(Sharon Straus)
September 25, 2007... The CMAJ's newly minted Section Editor, Reviews, Dr. Sharon Straus will develop tools to move research from the journal's pages into physicians' practices. Straus, a geriatrician and general internist, holds a Canada Research Chair in...

Presidential musings: prescriptions for the nation.(News)(Canadian Medical Association presidents Brian Day and Colin McMillan on the health care system)
September 25, 2007... This article combines 2 previously published at www.cmaj.ca on Aug. 22 and Aug. 23, 2007. Wait time programming is a poor "surrogate" for a proper health human resources strategy. The use of private clinics to alleviate wait lists will...

Next-up: private clinic owner is president-elect.(News)(Robert Ouellet)(Interview)
September 25, 2007... Delegates unanimously endorsed a second consecutive for-profit private clinic owner/operator to lead the association. Radiologist and CMA board member Dr. Robert Ouellet, 62, will assume the helm when Day's term expires in August 2008....

Physicians go green.(News)
September 25, 2007... A longer version of this article was published at www.cmaj.ca on Aug. 23, 2007. Canadian doctors will be asked to become environmental stewards, after 95% of delegates to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) General Council voted Aug. 22...

Legal actions against doctors down 50% in past decade.(News)(Reprint)
September 25, 2007... Published at www.cmaj.ca on Aug. 23, 2007. New challenges face Canada's doctors, and "our environment is likely to become more, not less threatening," Dr. Peter Fraser told the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Protective Association...

Matters of trust.(Dispatch from the medical front)
September 25, 2007... Hi Amy," the phone call began, "I'm working ER tonight and there's a guy here with SVC syndrome I think. Could you come by?" I trotted in to the hospital and met George, a patient with a 75-pack-a-year smoking history, a very large neck and a...

Adverse events documented.(News @ a glance)(Canadian Institute for Health Information report)(Brief article)
September 25, 2007... Adverse events documented: An analysis of adverse event surveys and patient safety indicators by the Canadian Institute for Health Information reveals that Canada still lags behind other nations in reducing risk. The analysis states that in...

Physicians take the challenge.(News @ a glance)(Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief's World Health Day Challenge)(Brief article)
September 25, 2007... Physicians take the challenge: More than 100 physicians and health care professionals donated all or part of a day's income to support primary health and development in rural Africa. The Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief's World Health Day...

US Medicare won't pay for adverse events.(News @ a glance)(Brief article)
September 25, 2007... US Medicare won't pay for adverse events: The US federal government has decided that Medicare will no longer bear the financial burden of treatments caused by preventable errors, injuries and infections in hospitals. Among the conditions "that...

Expand use of mosquito nets.(News @ a glance)(Brief article)
September 25, 2007... Expand use of mosquito nets: New World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines recommend that long-lasting insecticide-treated nets be distributed either free or heavily subsidized and used by all members of the community in nations in which there...

WOW Web site.(News @ a glance)(What Older Women Want)(Website overview)(Brief article)
September 25, 2007... WOW Web site: A portal for health consumers and practitioners has been created to disseminate information about 3 major health concerns of older women: urinary incontinence, memory loss and exercise. Launched in response to the findings of a...

Differences in the proportion of boys and girls enrolled in primary school.(Pulse)(Brief article)
September 25, 2007... Recent data from the World Health Organization show that the proportion of boys and girls enrolled in primary school differs by country (Figure 1). Of the 153 countries for which data were reported, 30 had at least 5% more boys than girls...

Wheezes, blisters, bumps and runs: multisystem manifestations of a Crohn's disease flare-up.(Teaching Case Report)(Case study)
September 25, 2007... The case: A 37-year-old woman with a history of psoriasis and ulcerative proctitis presented to the hospital with blistering skin lesions on her lower legs. The patient had been in remission from presumed ulcerative colitis for 4 years and was...

Nosocomial myiasis in a Canadian intensive care unit.(Clinical Vistas)(Case study)
September 25, 2007... A 65-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with respiratory distress, congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation thought to be secondary to pneumonia and myocardial infarction. Intubation was performed, and she was admitted...

Raw milk and the protection of public health.(Public Health)(Case study)
September 25, 2007... The raw-food movement, characterized by eating raw rather than cooked food, is a fledgling but growing trend in North America. One product that might be incorporated and distributed under this movement is raw, or unpasteurized, milk....

Diabetes drug pioglitazone (Actos): risk of fracture.(Health and Drug Alerts)
September 25, 2007... Reason for posting: Pioglitazone is an oral hypoglycemic agent widely used as monotherapy or combination therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, a recent analysis by the drug's manufacturer of several unpublished clinical trials in the...

Erythropoietin-receptor agonists in critically ill patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 25, 2007... ABSTRACT Introduction: Anemia and the need for red blood cell transfusions are common among patients admitted to intensive care units. Erythropoietin has been used to decrease the need for transfusions; however, its ability to improve...

Static magnets for reducing pain: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 25, 2007... ABSTRACT Background: Static magnets are marketed with claims of effectiveness for reducing pain, although evidence of scientific principles or biological mechanisms to support such claims is limited. We performed a systematic review and...

Obstructive sleep apnea in 2 women with familial partial lipodystrophy due to a heterozygous LMNA R482Q mutation.(Research letter)(Case study)
September 25, 2007... Although obstructive sleep apnea has many attributes of a complex genetic trait, (1) few genetic mutations have been identified in patients with the condition. Obesity has been shown to be associated with obstructive sleep apnea in the general...

Erythropoietin use in critically ill patients: forest and trees.(Commentary)
September 25, 2007... In this issue, Zarychanski and colleagues present a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that evaluates the use of erythropoietin in critically ill patients. (1) The primary purpose of this commentary is not to critique their analysis...

Methylphenidate use and divorce.(Letters)
September 25, 2007... The findings in a CMAJ research article by Lisa Strohschein on methylphenidate use among Canadian children are likely to be misinterpreted because of the methodology used and the author's interpretation of the data. (1) Strohschein used survey...

Early congenital syphilis.(Letters)
September 25, 2007... Since the publication of our recent public health article about early congenital syphilis, (1) we have been able to obtain patient consent for publication of photographs and details pertaining to 2 pregnant women who delivered babies with...

In memoriam Ursus.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
September 25, 2007... As I listened to U2's Beautiful Dayon my iPod while jogging on a beautiful day, I mourned the loss of my comrade in the trenches of family medicine, Ursus. (1) Who else relishes the freedom of singing along to an uplifting song on the commute...

Correction.(Correction notice)
September 25, 2007... A footnote, which mentions that extrapulmonary sequestrations have their own pleural covering, was inadvertently omitted from Table 1 in a Practice article (1) in the May 22 issue of the journal. We apologize for this omission. REFERENCE...

Pompous pedants, medical monsters, humane healers: operatic physicians.(Lifeworks)
September 25, 2007... If you look to reality TV or the many television hospital dramas to gauge how our society views doctors today, you're following a timeworn tradition. In fact, the 400-yearold extravagant and excessive art form of opera predates TV when it comes...

Martha's forest.(Reflections)(Martha T. Drummond)(Brief article)
September 25, 2007... Martha spends more and more of her time in the woods these days. After all, she planted every tree herself. She runs her fingers over the rough bark of that ancient oak where Lord Samuel and Lady Veronica swore their oath of eternal love....

Love squawks through technology.(Poetry)(Poem)(Brief article)
September 25, 2007... Love squawks through technology Dr. X sits in his home study, listening to Ella Fitzgerald, tying flies, considering cancelling the New England Journal. Occasionally the intercom buzzes: Mr. McGuire has lost a...

Deaths.(Obituary)
September 25, 2007... Bonnell, George Elmer, Fredericton; Dalhousie University, 1953, urology. Died July 26, 2007, aged 88. Clute, Kenneth Fleury, Toronto; University of Toronto, 1945, pediatrics. Died July 22, 2007, aged 88. Cooper, Robert Morris,...

W is for Wilbert's wee willy (which tends to go off prematurely).(Salon)(premature ejaculation)
September 25, 2007... As a frequent lecturer on pharmaceutical issues I learned very early that you can't talk about drugs without at least one erectile dysfunction joke. Hear the one about Viagra being marketed in liquid form? Now it's truly possible for a man to...