Search

Discusses the magazine's fast-tracking system for articles. Standard amount of time between when an article is submitted and when it goes to print; Criticism that medical journals provide important public information and should attempt to publish it quickly; Details of the magazine's first fast track article.

Focuses on the area for authorship in all major biomedical journals. Prohibition of duplicate publication of the same data in peer-reviewed journal; Citation of the roles and responsibilities of an author; Association of authorship with the recruitment of patients.

Presents the uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. Issues to consider before submitting a manuscript; Protection of patients' privacy rights; Preparation of manuscripts; Sending of the manuscript to the journal.

Editorial. Comments on the uses and abuses of citation data and indices. Medical journal impact factor; Problems that may be caused by the ambiguity of the term `impact factor'; Uses of journal impact factor.

Editorial. Details the `Canadian Medical Association Journal's `impact factor' and related indicators of performance in relation to top-performing journals of general and internal medicine. Relation between the volume of substantive scientific articles it publishes and the frequency with which the journal is cited; Calculation of the impact factor.

Editorial. Offers observations on E-biomed, an electronic repository of all biomedical publications which has been proposed by Dr. Harold Varmus of the United States National Institutes of Health. Issues of cost control; Implications for print journals; Complexity of peer review and revision; Copyright issues.

Background: To clarify the current status of telemedicine, we carried out a systematic review of the literature. We identified controlled assessment studies of telemedicine that reported patient outcomes, administrative changes or economic assessments and assessed the quality of that literature.Methods: We carried out a systematic electronic search for articles published from 1966 to early 2000 using the MEDLINE (1966-April 2000), HEALTHSTAR (1975-January 2000), EMBASE (1988-February 2000) and CINALH (1982-January 2000) databases. In addition, the HSTAT database (Health Services/Technology Assessment Text, US National Library of Medicine), the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE, NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, United Kingdom), the NHS Economic Evaluation Database and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register were searched. We consulted experts in the field and did a manual search of the reference lists of review articles.Results: A total of 1124 studies were identified. Based on a review of the abstracts, 133 full-text articles were obtained for closer inspection. Of these, 50 were deemed to represent assessment studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria of the review. Thirty-four of the articles assessed at least some clinical outcomes; the remaining 16 were mainly economic analyses. Most of the available literature referred only to pilot projects and short-term outcomes, and most of the studies were of low quality. Relatively convincing evidence of effectiveness was found only for teleradiology, teleneurosurgery, telepsychiatry, transmission of echocardiographic images, and the use of electronic referrals enabling e-mail consultations and video conferencing between primary and secondary health care providers. Economic analyses suggested that teleradiology, especially transmission of CT images, can be cost-saving.Interpretation: Evidence regarding the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of telemedicine is still limited. Based on current scientific evidence, only a few telemedicine applications can be recommended for broader use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractIn order to develop standardized measures to assess patients' relative priority for services for which there are waiting lists, it is essential that key terms be clearly defined. We propose that severity be defined as the degree or extent of suffering, limits to activities or risk of death; that urgency be defined as severity combined with considerations of the expected benefit and the natural history of the condition; that need be considered equivalent to urgency; and that priority be defined in terms of urgency (or need) with or without consideration of social factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offers letters to the editor about various medical topics in February 2000. Comment on the discovery by K.S. Joseph and Michael Kramer of the misreporting of gestational ages for Canadian pre-term births in 1972; Discussion of a study of physician performance in Alberta; Reaction to an article on violence in the health-care workplace.

Reports on the efforts of the United States' National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) to integrate PubMed, a medical database, with other information resources. Links to molecular biology data in the public database Genbank; Books linked to PubMed which match abstract topics to relevant passages in books; How LinkOut allows other information providers to associate themselves with a particular abstract and construct links to their content; Links to full text of journal articles.

The author offers information on the "Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine" including the status of advertisements, postage, and cultural subsidies for Canadian publishing, availability of rural studies in the publication's issues, and the effort of the editorial board to review their publishing options to ensure that the membership is getting good value for their dues.

The article criticizes the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) of medical professionals. The author is frustrated with the system. He is not happy in the way his laboratory records are handled. He cited the reasons for disliking EMR including the missing data of results. He noted that there are prospective EMR buyers who wanted to save money and reduce stress.

Focuses on the internship in biomedical publishing of Chinese cardiologist, researcher and medical school instructor Luo Yusheng at the "Canadian Medical Association Journal." Remarks of Luo Yusheng on the internship; Program aimed at helping biomedical researchers in Asia publish more of their work in the English language.

Describes results from the Physician Resource Questionnaire, administered by the Canadian Medical Association. Respondent comments regarding the condition of the medical profession; Complaints about increase in the administrative work load from the Workers Safety and Insurance Board; Unhappiness with the cost of running a medical office; Stress associated with running a family practice; Lack of personal time.

Presents letters to the editor regarding medical issues. Importance of the coherence of the title of a medical paper; Joke with reference to tinea capitis.

Reports that the 'British Medical Journal' has become the world's first general medical journal available online at PubMed Central. How only scientific papers will appear there; Concern of some publishers that posting their journals will undermine their subscriber base.

Editorial. Reports on the results of an audit of manuscripts processed by the `Canadian Medical Association Journal' from January to April 1999 to determine how quickly the journal evaluates submissions. Interval time between manuscript receipt and publication.

Discusses manuscripts submitted to the `Canadian Journal of Medicine.'

Advocacy efforts by Doherty and others in the UK have helped to kickstart conversations about neurodiversity internationally, says Elizabeth[1], a Calgary-based physician who was diagnosed with autism a few years ago. Family physician Jennifer Vassel used to think she was weird. The group now has nearly 1000 members, including Canadian physicians like Vassel. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the scenario of medical sector in Canada with primary focus on its lagging status in using robotic surgery methods. It adds that despite of being an increasingly popular practice in hospitals across the globe, robotic surgery has not flourished in Canada as its hefty price tag may be deterring governments.

An essay is presented on the two aspects of medicine. It discusses the nature of curing and healing, which are considered as the two faces of medicine, and the roles of patient and health care practitioner in the conduction of such act. The authors share how physicians and health workers become an effective curer and of how they must comprehend curing and healing in stressful clinical state.

Provides information on medical rules, quotations and sayings in medical practice. Significance of the quotations and sayings on medicine; List of sayings, quotations and rules which have been determined to contain loopholes or exceptions; Purpose of naming each exception to every rule in medicine.

Reports on a survey posted on the Canadian Medical Association Journal's web site to determine demographic information on its users. Wide range of ages, nationalities, and professional interests of the respondents; Willingness of the users to pay for access to the online journal; Feedback from readers regarding what they thought of the journal.

Covers several topics of interest as of September 15, 1997. Questions whether users can get addicted to the Internet; The Internet Pathology Laboratory for Medical Education offering Internet education; An online version of the CMA `Publications Catalogue' redesigned to be more attractive to physicians; Other news.

The article focuses on having a low dose approach when taking new medications. According to the authors, having a low dose approach can decrease the risk of unwanted effects, engage patients in identifying the best dosage for them and provide a placebo effect. They added that starting with a higher dose may cause dose-related side-effects to the patients.

The article focuses on the history of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). According to the author, CMAJ was initiated in 1911 as a merger of the Montreal Medical Journal and the Maritime Medical News. He mentions that CMAJ's aim was to be a medium in promoting Canadian medicine. He points out that CMAJ is a reflection of both doctors and Canada itself.

The article explains the importance of registering observational studies, which play a pivotal part of the medical evidence base in areas of public health. It notes that observational studies include public release of the study results to advance biomedical knowledge, informed consents and oversight by ethical review boards. However, it stresses that these studies, like clinical trials are subject to publication bias, including misrepresentation of phenotype definitions.

Provides an update related to health and medicine as of October 2003. Threat of tobacco companies in Alberta over its antitobacco strategy; Information on a World Breast-feeding Week poster issued by the health minister of New Zealand; Details on the television series "Crisis Zone."

This article presents a study regarding risk management in rural and remote medicine. The study describes an action research process to create a framework for clinical risk assessment and management in the context of remote and rural medicine. The framework is required to support educational, medicolegal, and quality improvement processes in remote and rural medical practice.

Reports on legislation giving more regulatory oversight of medical professions in Canada to the government. Objections of the British Columbia Medical Association (BCMA) and the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia have delayed implementation of the legislation by British Columbia's minister of health; Medical professions are largely self-regulated in British Columbia.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Surgery is the property of CMA Impact Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

he article describes in detail a different method of approach and fixation that has proved very useful in the author's experience: open reduction and internal fixation of trimalleolar ankle fractures using the posterolateral approach. Surgery is performed in the prone position with a bump under the ipsilateral hip. The sural nerve courses from medial to lateral and crosses the lateral border of the Achilles tendon on average 9.8 cm proximal to its insertion in the calcaneus. One of the challenges during execution of the surgery is obtaining an accurate lateral C-arm image of the ankle.

Addresses the growing number of recommended prevention strategies in Canada. Sectors who urge prevention as a way to improve health and prolong life; Factor that prompted an increase in recommended preventive strategies; Problems posed by the increasing number of strategies.

The pathogenic, diagnostic and therapeutic landscape of sepsis is no longer confined to the intensive care unit: many patients from other portals of entry to care, both outside and within the hospital, progress to severe disease. Approaches that have led to improved outcomes with other diseases (e.g., acute myocardial infarction, stroke and trauma) can now be similarly applied to sepsis. Improved understanding of the pathogenesis of severe sepsis and septic shock has led to the development of new therapies that place importance on early identification and aggressive management. This review emphasizes approaches to the early recognition, diagnosis and therapeutic management of sepsis, giving the clinician the most contemporary and practical approaches with which to treat these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study to determine the grades of recommendations and levels of evidence available if the formal practice of evidence-based medicine is applied to general thoracic surgery. Three general thoracic surgeons, by consensus, developed a sample of 10 clinically important questions. The first 3 steps of evidence-based medicine--creation of answerable clinical questions, search for best external evidence, and critical appraisal of literature--were performed. A hierarchical series of search strategies was employed to identify the best level of evidence. It concludes that the formal evidence-based--medicine approach to general thoracic surgery found the grades of recommendation and levels of evidence for a sample of clinically important questions to be high.

Presents correspondence regarding medical issues in Canada as of April 2003. Place of anatomy study in medical education; Death in Canadian prisons; Managing hypertriglyceridemia.

Abstract Objective: To revise and expand the 1996 Osteoporosis Society of Canada clinical practice guidelines for the management of osteoporosis, incorporating recent advances in diagnosis, prevention and management of osteoporosis, and to identify and assess the evidence supporting the recommendations. Options: All aspects of osteoporosis care and its fracture complications — including classification, diagnosis, management and methods for screening, as well as prevention and reducing fracture risk — were reviewed, revised as required and expressed as a set of recommendations. Outcomes: Strategies for identifying and evaluating those at high risk; the use of bone mineral density and biochemical markers in diagnosis and assessing response to management; recommendations regarding nutrition and physical activity; and the selection of pharmacologic therapy for the prevention and management of osteoporosis in men and women and for osteoporosis resulting from glucocorticoid treatment. Evidence: All recommendations were developed using a justifiable and reproducible process involving an explicit method for the evaluation and citation of supporting evidence. Values: All recommendations were reviewed by members of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Osteoporosis Society of Canada, an expert steering committee and others, including family physicians, dietitians, therapists and representatives of various medical specialties involved in osteoporosis care (geriatric medicine, rheumatology, endocrinology, obstetrics and gynecology, nephrology, radiology) as well as methodologists from across Canada. Benefits, harm and costs: Earlier diagnosis and prevention of fractures should decrease the medical, social and economic burdens of this disease. Recommendations: This document outlines detailed recommendations pertaining to all aspects of osteoporosis. Strategies for identifying those at increased risk (i.e., those with at least one major or 2 minor risk... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents letters to the editor on medical topics as of October 1, 2002. Rhabdomyolysis and cerivastatin dosages; COX-2 inhibitors in the treatment of cardiovascular disease; Recommendation of the Canadian Medical Association regarding blood alcohol limit.

Presents letters to the editor on medical topics as of September 17, 2002. Group B streptococcal infection risk factors; Risks of Friday hospital discharges; Overcrowding in emergency departments; Decriminalization of nonmedical drug use; Medical insurance for circumcision.

Presents letters to the editor on medical topics as of August 6, 2002. Effects of marijuana on young adults; Concerns of Canadian medical students; Research in residency programs; Transparency at Health Canada.

Presents letters to the editor on topics in medicine as of July 23, 2002. Problems with Fast-Check HIV-1/2 serum and Fast-Check HIV-1/2 point-of-care whole blood tests; Variations in mortality rates among Canadian neonatal intensive care units and anonymous reporting; Elevated mercury levels in the body due to consumption of seafood.

Presents letters to the editor about medical topics and research. Data from the COX-2 trials; Safe drug prescribing; Tissue plasminogen activator for acute stroke.

Background Little is known about the impact of evidence-based medicine in primary care. Our objective was to explore the influence of evidence on day-to-day family practice, with specific reference to cardiovascular disease. Methods A total of 9 focus groups were conducted in rural, semi-urban and urban settings in Nova Scotia. The participants were 50 family physicians who had practised in their communities for more than 1 year and who were treating patients with cardiovascular disease. Findings Two major themes emerged: evidence in the clinical encounter and the culture of evidence. The family physicians reported thinking about evidence during the clinical encounter but still situated that evidence within the specific context of their patients and their communities. They appreciated evidence that had been appraised, summarized and published as a guideline by an independent national organization. Evidence remained in the forefront of consciousness for a limited time frame. Local specialists, trusted because of their previous successes with shared patient care, were important sources and interpreters of evidence. Interpretation Day-to-day family practice offers both obstacles and opportunities for the application of evidence. Although evidence is an important part of clinical practice, it is not absolute and is considered along with many other factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents letters to the editor on various medical topics, as of April 30, 2002. The cardiovascular effects of recreational hockey; Question of whether to lower the legal blood-alcohol level in Canada; Protestant bioethics; Others.

Presents letters to the editor on medical topics as of March 19, 2002. Lessons from the terrorist attacks of September 11; Eating disorders in Canadian teenagers; Fibrinolytic therapy for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction; Risk factors for cardiovascular disease; Waiting times for cancer surgery.

Presents letters to the editor regarding medical topics as of November 13, 2001. Flu vaccination in Alberta long-term care facilities; Response to a review of the book 'Asclepius: the God of Medicine'; Hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer; Waiting time for breast cancer surgery in Quebec.