50 Studies Every Internist Should Know

MH: Medical Director for Innovation, AltaMed Health Services and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles. CNP: Fellow, Division of Cardiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Section 1. Preventive Medicine ; 1. Preventing Diabetes: The Diabetes Prevention Program ; 2. Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) ; 3. Aspirin for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: The Physicians' Health Study and the Women's Health Study ; 4. Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy: The Women's Health Initiative ; 5. The Cochrane Review of Screening Mammography ; 6. The European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer ; 7. Screening for Lung Cancer with Low-Dose Computed Tomography vs. Chest Radiography: The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) ; Section 2. Endocrinology ; 8. Treating Elevated Blood Sugar Levels in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) ; 9. Intensive versus conservative blood sugar control for patients with type 2 diabetes: the ACCORD trial ; 10. Intensive vs. Conventional Glycemic Control in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DCCT) ; 11. Intensive vs. Conservative Blood Pressure Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes ; Section 3. Hematology and Oncology ; 12. Choice of Anticoagulant for Prevention of Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism in Patients with Cancer ; 13. Vena Caval Filters in the Prevention of Pulmonary Embolism in Patients with Proximal Deep-Vein Thrombosis ; 14. Phase I Study of Imatinib (STI571) in Patients with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia ; Section 4. Musculoskeletal Diseases ; 15. Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Low Back Pain ; 16. Early therapy for rheumatoid arthritis: The TICORA Study ; Section 5. Nephrology ; 17. Revascularization vs. Medical Therapy for Renal Artery Stenosis ; 18. Correcting Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease: The CHOIR Study ; 19. Early versus Late Initiation of Dialysis: The IDEAL Trial ; Section 6. Gastroenterology ; 20. Use of IV Albumin in Patients with Cirrhosis and Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis ; 21. Early use of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in patients with cirrhosis and variceal bleeding ; Section 7. Infectious Diseases ; 22. Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus Infections among Patients in the Emergency Department ; 23. Antibiotic Therapy in Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ; 24. Early versus Delayed Antiretroviral Therapy for Patients with HIV: The NA-ACCORD Study ; Section 8. Cardiology ; 25. Statins in Healthy Patients with an Elevated C-Reactive Protein: The JUPITER Trial ; 26. The Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S) ; 27. Choosing Fist-Line Therapy for Hypertension: The ALLHAT Trial ; 28. Rate Control versus Rhythm Control for Atrial Fibrillation: The AFFIRM Trial ; 29. Initial Treatment of Stable Coronary Artery Disease: The COURAGE Trial ; 30. Early Invasive vs. Conservative Management for Unstable Angina or Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: The RITA 3 Trial ; 31. MADIT II: Prophylactic Defibrillator Implantation in Patients with Low Ejection Fraction Following Myocardial Infarction ; 32. Captopril in Patients with Left Ventricular Dysfunction after Myocardial Infarction: The SAVE Trial ; 33. Spironolactone in Advanced Heart Failure: The RALES Trial ; 34. The African American Heart Failure Trial (A-HeFT) ; 35. Intraaortic Balloon Support for Myocardial Infarction with Cardiogenic Shock (IABP-SHOCK II) ; Section 9. Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine ; 36. Intensive versus Conventional Glucose Control in Critically Ill Patients ; 37. Red Cell Transfusion in Critically Ill Patients: The TRICC Trial ; 38. Noninvasive Ventilation for Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ; 39. Low Tidal Volume Ventilation in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome/Acute Lung Injury ; 40. Comparison of routine vs. on-demand chest radiographs in mechanically-ventilated adults in the intensive care unit ; 41. Early Goal-Directed Therapy in Sepsis ; 42. Dopamine vs. norepinephrine in the treatment of shock ; 43. Daily Interruption of Sedative Infusions in Critically Ill Patients Undergoing Mechanical Ventilation ; 44. A Comparison of Four Methods of Weaning Patients from Mechanical Ventilation ; Section 10. Geriatrics and Palliative Care ; 45. Behavioral versus Pharmacological Treatment for Insomnia in the Elderly ; 46. Treatment of Hypertension in the Elderly ; 47. Use of feeding tubes in patients with dementia ; 48. Early Palliative Care in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer ; Section 11. Mental Health ; 49. Initial Treatment of Depression ; 50. Symptom-Triggered vs. Fixed Dose Therapy for Alcohol Withdrawal