Impact of shift work on blood pressure among emergency medical services clinicians and related shift workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Compared to day workers, shift workers face an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease. We reviewed the evidence to address the research question: Does acute exposure to shift work impact (blunt) the natural drop (dip) in Blood Pressure (BP) occurring during sleep and/or nighttime hours? (PROSPERO CRD42018110847).

Methods: We performed a systematic review of five databases.

Validation of the Fatigue Severity Scale in chronic hepatitis C.

Background: Fatigue is a common symptom of chronic hepatitis C virus (cHCV) infection and a common side effect of interferon-based treatment for cHCV. This study provides confirmatory evidence of the reliability and validity of the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) to document fatigue in cHCV research and identifies values that indicate clinically important differences in FSS to aid in interpreting fatigue in cHCV clinical trials.

Methods: The study used data from two double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase IIb trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of simeprevir plus peginterferon-α/ribavirin in treatment-naïve (PILLAR, n = 386) and treatment-experienced patients (ASPIRE, n = 462) with cHCV infection.

Measurement of diabetes stress in older children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: Studies indicate general psychological stress plays a role in the glycemic control of individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Disease-specific rather than general measures may be more closely related to measures of health outcomes. Therefore, measurement of diabetes-related stress is needed to advance knowledge of significant relationships between stress and glycemic control.

What's new in prenatal screening and diagnosis?

This article provides clinicians with an overview of current methods for prenatal genetic screening and diagnosis. Topics include developments in prenatal screening procedures such as ethnicity-based carrier testing, maternal serum screening, and ultrasonography. Diagnostic alternatives to amniocentesis include chorionic villus sampling and preimplantation diagnosis.