NEJM 16 Sep 2010 Vol 363
1139 Now to bonnie Scotland, where there was much dismay from sections of the public in 2006 when smoking in public places was banned. We might have expected an immediate benefit to some sections of Scottish society, such as those who smoked in pubs, and there was indeed an immediate drop in myocardial infarction. But what of the wee bairns who generally receive all their second-hand cigarette smoke at home? Well, happily enough they seem to have benefitted too: before the ban, there was a 5.2% annual increase in hospital admissions for asthma in children under 15; after the legislation there was a fall of 18.2% per year.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1002861
Lancet 18 Sep 2010 Vol 376
975 There has been a long wait for something to replace warfarin which would avert the need for constant monitoring and so free up an immense amount of clinical time. Sure enough, dabigatran is now with us, but is difficult to get used to it, except perhaps as a patient. The RE-LY trail last year showed that it was as effective at stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation as warfarin at a standard dose, and caused fewer haemorrhagic complications. This substudy shows that the size of the relative benefit relates to the standard of INR control in the warfarin patients. If Boehringer Ingelheim were to set their price for dabigatran at the average cost of warfarin plus all the expenses of INR monitoring, it could make a handsome profit and benefit the whole world.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)61194-4/abstract
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