29 new CATs have been published in the month.

Top CATs
Pulmonary embolism: a clinical prediction rule helped diagnosed it
Clinical bottom line (level 1a)

  1. A tenth of patients attending an emergency deparment with a suspected PE has one.

  2. A clinical diagnosis rule based on history and examination can rank patients at low, medium or high risk for a pulmonary embolism.

  3. Patients ranked at low-risk and with a normal d-dimer are unlikely to have a PE (LR - 0.023) .

  4. A diagnostic protocol for PE missed 0.6% of PEs.

Wells et al: Ann Intern Med 2001; 135 : 98-107
   
What's new
Lumbar puncture: bed rest does not reduce headache
Bed rest following a dural puncture does not reduce subsequent headache. The benefits of fluid supplementation are unclear.

COPD: physicians were poor at assessing FEV1
Physicians were poor at predicting FEV1 in patients with COPD exacerbations and were poor at assessing the response following treatment

Heart failure: LV assist devices reduce mortality.
Left ventricular assist devices reduce mortality in end-stage heart failure but complications are common.