Clinical practice guidelines find extensive usage worldwide amongst both researchers and clinicians. In 2021, I had the opportunity to act as one of the trainee members of two guideline groups of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) with the experience being transformative. The following will be a multi-part series on the why’s … Read more
This year’s annual scientific meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA) held in Chicago, Illinois November 10-12, 2018 was excellent. The abbreviated 3-day meeting received positive feedback as this allowed practicing physicians to attend the meeting over the weekend and be able to return to their practice early in the work week rather than having … Read more
A few days ago, the long-anticipated 2018 AHA/ACC Cholesterol Clinical Practice Guidelines were released at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2018 in Chicago. The update from 2013 was viewed favorably in the cardiology community, as it reflected a large body of evidence that has accumulated since, specifically the recommendations for targeting LDL< 70 mg/dL … Read more
Two AHA Councils, the Council on Hypertension and the Council on Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease, have joined forces with the American Society of Hypertension to make Joint Hyptertension 2018 Scientific Sessions (#Hypertension18) among the most impactful. Dr. Karen Griffin, FAHA Vice Chair for the Council on Hypertension Scientific Sessions Planning Committee calls it the “premier scientific … Read more
I have run into zealous naysayers from both camps. From a clinical researcher: “Human trials are the ultimate, difficult to run, very different from animal studies which may have no clinical relevance.” From a bench scientist: “Epidemiologic studies are trash in, trash out. Well designed animal studies are real science that will advance health.” … Read more
I discovered epidemiology through an interest in evidence-based practice and clinical research. Seeing patients brought up research questions, and I wanted to be able to answer those with numbers. What I learned is that our results differed from the few published studies that crafted the informal, “word on the street” guidelines we abided by, not … Read more
From clinical science supported by data to data science supported by clinicians We live in an era of a tremendous amount of information. Scientific research is particularly well suited by the possibilities offered by analyzing large sets of data. In the past, data has been locked up in individual data bases and were not openly … Read more