{"id":31876,"date":"2014-07-02T10:26:43","date_gmt":"2014-07-02T09:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=31876"},"modified":"2014-07-03T10:08:23","modified_gmt":"2014-07-03T09:08:23","slug":"the-bmj-today-statins-and-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2014\/07\/02\/the-bmj-today-statins-and-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"The BMJ Today: Statins and uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"

And so the debate about the adverse effects of statins rumbles on.\u00a0Nigel Hawkes reported<\/a> from yesterday’s press briefing at the Science Media Centre\u00a0saying that the ‘Statins War’ shows ‘no signs of a ceasefire’. Six\u00a0leading professors of cardiology and epidemiology present at the\u00a0meeting backed the NICE guidance on extending the use of statins,\u00a0expressing conviction that benefits of statins outweigh the risks.<\/p>\n

But how, argues<\/a> Ben Goldacre in a recent rapid response do patients (and\u00a0doctors for that matter) weigh up the risks and benefits of\u00a0preventative treatments such as statins when each patient is different\u00a0and each has different needs?<\/p>\n

Professor Peter Weissberg, Medical Director of the British Heart\u00a0Foundation (ref Hawkes- link above) has stated that ‘objective\u00a0evidence from RCTs is particularly important with a drug such as a\u00a0statin where we have to strike a balance between visible harm and\u00a0invisible benefit’. With these ‘invisible benefits’ in mind, Ben\u00a0Goldacre highlights that with this new type of preventative treatment\u00a0medicine we may find ourselves becoming less like doctors and more\u00a0like being a life insurance sales team ‘offering occasional benefits,\u00a0many years from now, in exchange for small ongoing costs’.<\/p>\n

The theme of uncertainty continues with a recent clinical review on allergic rhinitis in children<\/a>. The authors provide clarity on the management\u00a0of this important condition with its potential to have major impact on\u00a0children’s quality of life, as well as being a risk factor for a child\u00a0developing asthma in later life. They set out the evidence for use of\u00a0nasal irrigation, second generation H1 antihistamines as well as\u00a0modern intranasal glucocorticoids and immunotherapy.<\/p>\n

And Margaret McCartney\u00a0highlights<\/a> the difficulties faced in primary care in making\u00a0appropriate cancer referrals. She says that UK’s health secretary’s\u00a0suggestion to ‘name and shame’ surgeries with low referral rates\u00a0represents ‘a failure to understand what GPs do’.<\/p>\n

Whether discussing the risks and benefits of statins, or spending time\u00a0making a diagnosis of cancer, the ultimate outcome for patient care is\u00a0that we present our patients with sufficient information in order to\u00a0support them to be able to make ‘their own truly informed decisions’.\u00a0(ref Goldacre -see link above).<\/p>\n

Cath McDermott<\/strong> is education editor, The BMJ<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And so the debate about the adverse effects of statins rumbles on.\u00a0Nigel Hawkes reported from yesterday’s press briefing at the Science Media Centre\u00a0saying that the ‘Statins War’ shows ‘no signs of a ceasefire’. Six\u00a0leading professors of cardiology and epidemiology present at the\u00a0meeting backed the NICE guidance on extending the use of statins,\u00a0expressing conviction that benefits […]<\/p>\n

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