Current perspectives on the use of fetal fibronectin testing in preterm labor diagnosis and management.

One in 10 infants in the United States is delivered preterm (ie, before the 37th week of pregnancy), contributing to the significant burden on the national healthcare system. Nevertheless, a lack of agreement continues among obstetric professional societies on guidelines for standardization of the approach to the diagnosis and management of patients with symptoms of preterm labor (PTL). This disparity in consensus has likely resulted in poor identification of women at an increased risk for preterm birth (PTB).

The refinement of topics for systematic reviews: lessons and recommendations from the Effective Health Care Program.

Objectives: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Health Care Program conducts systematic reviews of health-care topics nominated by stakeholders. Topics undergo refinement to ensure relevant questions of appropriate scope and useful reviews. Input from key informants, experts, and a literature scan informs changes in the nominated topic.

Primary care-relevant interventions for tobacco use prevention and cessation in children and adolescents: a systematic evidence review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

Background: Interventions to prevent smoking uptake or encourage cessation among young persons might help prevent tobacco-related illness.

Purpose: To review the evidence for the efficacy and harms of primary care-relevant interventions that aim to reduce tobacco use among children and adolescents.

Data Sources: Three systematic reviews that collectively covered the relevant literature; MEDLINE, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects through 14 September 2012; and manual searches of reference lists and gray literature.