Key Highlights
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A new study finds that patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) have more than twice the 5-year risk of developing a serious heart infection called infective endocarditis compared to matched controls. This suggests HCM may be an intermediate-risk condition not currently covered by guidelines for preventive antibiotics, potentially changing how these patients are managed.
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A pragmatic clinical trial shows that a behaviorally-designed incentive program, like offering rewards, can successfully increase daily physical activity by over 700 steps per day in patients with knee osteoarthritis. However, the same study found that corticosteroid injections into the knee provided no additional benefit for reducing pain or improving function compared to lidocaine-only injections.
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Research using real-world data highlights that lower health literacy is linked to greater reliance on unverified health news on social media and using emergency departments for non-urgent reasons like long outpatient clinic waits. This underscores a critical need for public health initiatives focused on improving digital and general health literacy to reduce strain on emergency services.
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