The Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients (VIRGO) Classification System: A Taxonomy for Young Women With Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Current classification schemes for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) may not accommodate the breadth of clinical phenotypes in young women.

Methods And Results: We developed a novel taxonomy among young adults (≤55 years) with AMI enrolled in the Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients (VIRGO) study. We first classified a subset of patients (n=600) according to the Third Universal Definition of MI using a structured abstraction tool.

Trends in left ventricular assist device use and outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries, 2004-2011.

Objective: To characterise the trends in the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation rates and outcomes between 2004 and 2011 in the Medicare population. Since the approval of the HeartMate II in 2008, the use of LVADs has steadily climbed. Given the increase in LVAD use, issues around discharge disposition, post-implant hospitalisations and costs require further understanding.

Most important outcomes research papers on treatment of stable coronary artery disease.

The following are highlights from the new series, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes Topic Review. This series will summarize the most important manuscripts, as selected by the Editor, that have been published in the Circulation portfolio. The objective of this series is to provide our readership with a timely, comprehensive selection of important papers that are relevant to the quality and outcomes, and general cardiology audience.

Most important outcomes research papers on anticoagulation for cardiovascular disease.

The following are highlights from the new series, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes Topic Review. This series will summarize the most important manuscripts, as selected by the Editor, that have been published in the Circulation portfolio. The objective of this new series is to provide our readership with a timely, comprehensive selection of important papers that are relevant to the quality and outcomes, and general cardiology audience.

Most important articles on cardiovascular disease among racial and ethnic minorities.

The following are highlights from the new series, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes Topic Review. This series will summarize the most important manuscripts, as selected by the Editor, that have published in the Circulation portfolio. The objective of this new series is to provide our readership with a timely, comprehensive selection of important papers that are relevant to the quality and outcomes, and general cardiology audience.

Most important outcomes research papers in cardiovascular disease in the elderly.

The following are highlights from the new series, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes Topic Review. This series will summarize the most important manuscripts, as selected by the Editor, that have published in the Circulation portfolio. The objective of this new series is to provide our readership with a timely, comprehensive selection of important papers that are relevant to the quality and outcomes and general cardiology audience.

Natural history of nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas and incidentalomas: a systematic review and metaanalysis.

Context: The natural history of pituitary incidentalomas (PIs) and nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) remains poorly understood.

Objective: The objective of the study was to synthesize the literature on the prognostic factors involved in the progression of PIs and NFPAs in patients followed up conservatively.

Data Sources: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL.

Outcomes of surgical treatment for nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Surgery is commonly used in the management of pituitary nonfunctioning adenomas (NFPA). The goal of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the effect of surgery on mortality, surgical complications, pituitary function and vision.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane CENTRAL, queried experts and reviewed the reference list of included publications.

Clinical review: Adult height in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: a systematic review and metaanalysis.

Context: Treatment for patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) may affect the final height of these patients.

Objective: Our objective was to determine the distribution of achieved height in patients with classic CAH diagnosed at infancy or early childhood and treated with glucocorticoids.

Data Sources: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, ISI Web of Science, and Scopus through September 2008; the reference sections of included studies; and expert files.

Prenatal dexamethasone use for the prevention of virilization in pregnancies at risk for classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia because of 21-hydroxylase (CYP21A2) deficiency: a systematic review and meta-analyses.

Context: Prenatal treatment with dexamethasone to prevent virilization in pregnancies at risk for classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) remains controversial.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analyses of studies that evaluated the effects of dexamethasone administration during pregnancies at risk for classical CAH because of 21-hydroxylase deficiency (CYP21A2).

Data Sources: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL from inception through August 2009.

Stopping randomized trials early for benefit and estimation of treatment effects: systematic review and meta-regression analysis.

Context: Theory and simulation suggest that randomized controlled trials (RCTs) stopped early for benefit (truncated RCTs) systematically overestimate treatment effects for the outcome that precipitated early stopping.

Objective: To compare the treatment effect from truncated RCTs with that from meta-analyses of RCTs addressing the same question but not stopped early (nontruncated RCTs) and to explore factors associated with overestimates of effect.

Data Sources: Search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Current Contents, and full-text journal content databases to identify truncated RCTs up to January 2007; search of MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects to identify systematic reviews from which individual RCTs were extracted up to January 2008.

Aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events: a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing patients with and without diabetes.

Objective: The negative results of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have challenged current guideline recommendations for using aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular events among patients with diabetes. We therefore sought to determine if the effect of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular events and mortality differs between patients with and without diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: We conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus since their inceptions until November 2008 for RCTs of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular events.

Stopping randomized trials early for benefit: a protocol of the Study Of Trial Policy Of Interim Truncation-2 (STOPIT-2).

Background: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) stopped early for benefit often receive great attention and affect clinical practice, but pose interpretational challenges for clinicians, researchers, and policy makers. Because the decision to stop the trial may arise from catching the treatment effect at a random high, truncated RCTs (tRCTs) may overestimate the true treatment effect. The Study Of Trial Policy Of Interim Truncation (STOPIT-1), which systematically reviewed the epidemiology and reporting quality of tRCTs, found that such trials are becoming more common, but that reporting of stopping rules and decisions were often deficient.