Clinical Inquiries
Clinical Inquiries
Should we stop prescribing IM progesterone to women with a history of preterm labor?
EVIDENCE-BASED REVIEW: YES, we should stop the routine prescribing of IM progesterone to prevent preterm delivery. A 2003 randomized controlled...
Clinical Inquiries
Does inadequate sleep increase obesity risk in children?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Yes, a link has been established but not a cause-effect relationship. Shorter reported sleep duration in childhood is...
Clinical Inquiries
Which injections are effective for lateral epicondylitis?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Placebo injections actually improve lateral epicondylitis at high rates. No other injections convincingly improve it better...
Clinical Inquiries
Is exercise therapy effective treatment for low back pain?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Yes, it is somewhat effective. Exercise therapy—including general exercise, yoga, Pilates, and motor control exercise—has...
Clinical Inquiries
Do carotid artery calcifications seen on radiographs predict stenosis in asymptomatic adults?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Not very well. In asymptomatic patients, carotid artery calcification seen on radiograph has a positive...
Clinical Inquiries
Can family physicians accurately screen for AAA with point-of-care ultrasound?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Likely yes. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) by nonradiologist physicians is...
Clinical Inquiries
Is event-driven PrEP dosing for HIV as effective as daily dosing?
Probably, although there are no head-to-head trials comparing the 2 dosing regimens. Event-driven pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) dosing...
Clinical Inquiries
Is NPH associated with fewer adverse events than analog basal insulin for adults with T2D?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: NO. Insulin glargine may lead to less patient-reported, symptomatic, and nocturnal hypoglycemia, although overall, there...
Clinical Inquiries
Is ketamine effective and safe for treatment-resistant depression?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: MAYBE, but it’s too soon to tell. There is limited evidence that ketamine by itself is effective in the very short term....
Clinical Inquiries
Is metformin effective for reducing weight in obese or overweight adolescents?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Yes, to some degree—but it is of uncertain clinical significance. Over a period of 6 months, metformin modestly reduced...
Clinical Inquiries
Which detoxification regimens are effective for alcohol withdrawal syndrome?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Benzodiazepines remain the first-line regimen for alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) and are the only class more effective...