Definition and reporting of composite outcomes are often inadequate in randomized clinical trials on pharmacological interventions for coronary artery disease.

Objectives: To estimate the frequency and critically appraise the use and reporting of composite outcomes in randomized clinical trials on pharmacological interventions for coronary artery disease.

Study Design And Setting: A metaresearch study. A search strategy was developed to retrieve references from MEDLINE.

Family Physician's Educational Interview with Patients Helps in Early Recognition of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms.

Purpose: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) can have an etiology outside the lower urinary tract (LUT) and are therefore an important diagnostic indicator for assessing the overall health of a person. However, LUTS is still mainly neglected by primary health care providers as well as by patients. In this study, we assessed the importance of an educational interview (EI) conducted by a GP on the patients' ability to recognize LUTS.

Cost effectiveness of antihypertensive drugs and treatment guidelines.

Purpose: Arterial hypertension (AH) is associated with a high economic burden for the individual patient and for society in general. The study evaluates antihypertensives and their cost-effectiveness, comparing diuretics (D), beta-blockers (B), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin-II receptor blockers (A) and calcium channel blockers (C) with no intervention (NI).

Methods: The study included five health states in a Markov model.

Reporting quality and adherence of randomized controlled trials about statins and/or fibrates for diabetic retinopathy to the CONSORT checklist.

Background: A considerable amount of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been published on statins and/or fibrates for diabetic retinopathy, a clinical condition associated with high social and economic burden. Adherence to the CONSORT statement items is imperative to ensure transparency and reproducibility in clinical research. The aim of this study is to assess the reporting quality and the adherence to CONSORT of RCTs assessing statins and/or fibrates for diabetic retinopathy.