Background Atrial fibrillation is a leading preventable cause of recurrent stroke for which
early detection and treatment are critical. However, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is often …

Background There is much controversy about the use of computed tomography (CT) for
patients with minor head injury. We aimed to develop a highly sensitive clinical decision rule for …

WITH neither the time nor the resources available to prevent, detect, or treat every disorder
in every patient, which preventive, diagnostic, or therapeutic interventions should take priority…

A NEW paradigm for medical practice is emerging. Evidence-based medicine de-emphasizes
intuition, unsystematic clinical experience, and pathophysiologic rationale as sufficient …

Because economic evaluations of health care services are being published with increasing
frequency it is important to (a) evaluate them rigorously and (b) compare the net benefit of …

The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is related to age. Anticoagulation is highly effective in
preventing stroke in patients with AF, but the risk of hemorrhage may be increased in older …

Background The Randomized Aldactone Evaluation Study (RALES) demonstrated that
spironolactone significantly improves outcomes in patients with severe heart failure. Use of …

ContextPatients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) have an increased risk of stroke and
other vascular events.ObjectiveTo compare the risk of vascular and bleeding events in …

The protocol of a clinical trial serves as the foundation for study planning, conduct, reporting,
and appraisal. However, trial protocols and existing protocol guidelines vary greatly in …

High quality protocols facilitate proper conduct, reporting, and external review of clinical
trials. However, the completeness of trial protocols is often inadequate. To help improve the …