Participation in a population-based physical activity programme as an aid for smoking cessation: a randomised trial.

Objectives: Exercise combined with nicotine therapy may help smoking cessation and minimise weight gain after quitting. Low participation in vigorous-intensity physical activity programmes precludes their population-wide applicability. In a randomised controlled trial, we tested whether a population-based moderate-intensity physical activity programme increases quit rates among sedentary smokers receiving nicotine therapy.

Efficacy of clinical guideline implementation to improve the appropriateness of chest physiotherapy prescription among inpatients with community-acquired pneumonia.

Background: Although there is no strong evidence of benefit, chest physiotherapy (CP) seems to be commonly used in simple pneumonia. CP requires equipment and frequently involves the assistance of a respiratory therapist, engendering a significant medical workload and cost.

Aim: To measure and compare the efficacy of two modalities of chest physiotherapy (CP) guideline implementation on the appropriateness of CP prescription among patients hospitalised for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Effectiveness of a low-intensity smoking cessation intervention for hospitalized patients.

Debate exists about how intense smoking cessation interventions for hospitalized patients should be. In this study we assessed the effectiveness of a low-intensity smoking cessation intervention for hospitalized patients, without follow-up phone calls. We designed a cohort study with a historical control group, in the Department of Medicine of an 850-bed teaching hospital.

Counselling overweight and obese patients in primary care: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Primary care physicians are well positioned to provide counselling for overweight and obese patients, but no prospective study has assessed the effectiveness of this counselling in primary care. We aimed to evaluate weight reduction counselling by primary care physicians, and its relationship with weight change and patients' behaviour to control weight.

Design: A prospective cohort study.

Efficacy of resident training in smoking cessation: a randomized, controlled trial of a program based on application of behavioral theory and practice with standardized patients.

Background: New educational programs must be developed to improve physicians' skills and effectiveness in counseling patients about smoking cessation.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of an educational program based on behavioral theory, active learning methods, and practice with standardized patients in helping patients abstain from smoking and changing physicians' counseling practices.

Design: Cluster randomized, controlled trial.

Clinical prediction of deep venous thrombosis using two risk assessment methods in combination with rapid quantitative D-dimer testing.

Purpose: The optimal approach to diagnosing deep venous thrombosis is not entirely clear. In this prospective cohort study, we aimed to evaluate the yield of two methods of assessing the pretest probability of deep venous thrombosis-the treating physician's implicit assessment and the Wells score, a validated prediction rule that incorporates signs, symptoms, and the presence or absence of an alternative diagnosis-used in isolation and in combination with D-dimer measurement.

Subjects And Methods: We studied 278 patients who were referred for suspicion of deep venous thrombosis.