Intravenous iron administration does not significantly increase the risk of bacteremia in chronic hemodialysis patients.

Background: Correction of iron deficiency is critical in chronic hemodialysis patients, and intravenous administration is superior to the oral route in this goal. Recently, concern was raised that intravenous iron administration might promote infection in dialysis patients.

Methods: We reviewed the data from a recent prospective study of 985 patients in which no link between iron therapy and bacteremia had been found.

[One-year follow-up of a population of patients with angina. Factors influencing mortality and occurrence of cardiovascular events. Results of the ELAN study].

The ELAN (Etude longitudinale dans l'angor) study was carried out both to acquire better knowledge of the occurrence of major cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, revascularization surgery, death) in patients followed up for angina pectoris, and to determine the factors influencing such events. A cohort of angina patients was formed in January 1997, and 3,284 patients were followed up by 488 French cardiologists during a one-year period. Of these 3,284 patients, 96 (29/1000) died; causes of death included underlying coronary heart disease in 31, sudden death in 8, other cardiac aetiologies in 35, and noncardiac causes in 22.

[Characteristics of a cohort of 4,000 French patients with angina. The ELAN study].

The ELAN (Etude Longitudinale dans l'ANgor) study was carried out to evaluate factors influencing the occurrence of death, myocardial infarction and revascularization procedures in patients with known angina pectoris. Analysis of baseline data collected in January 1997 involves 4,035 patients throughout France, which were recruited by 613 cardiologists practising on a private, hospital or mixed basis. The study population comprised 75% of men with a mean age of 65 years and 25% of women with a mean age of 70 years.

Selection of quality-of-life measures for a prevention trial: a psychometric analysis.

Quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes have become increasingly important in the evaluation of health interventions. The objective of the present study was to determine which of three generic QoL instruments was most suitable for use in an 8-year nutritional primary prevention trial. We compared the Duke Health Profile, the Nottingham Health Profile, and the Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire (SF36).

Bias and precision in visual analogue scales: a randomized controlled trial.

Various types of visual analogue scales (VAS) are used in epidemiologic and clinical research. This paper reports on a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effects of variations in the orientation and type of scale on bias and precision in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. This trial was included in the pilot study of the SU.