http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1003833?query=TOC

Azithromycin and the Risk of Cardiovascular Death

Wayne A. Ray, Ph.D., Katherine T. Murray, M.D., Kathi Hall, B.S., Patrick G. Arbogast, Ph.D., and C. Michael Stein, M.B., Ch.B.

N Engl J Med 2012; 366:1881-1890 May 17, 2012

During 5 days of azithromycin therapy, there was a small absolute increase in cardiovascular deaths, which was most pronounced among patients with a high baseline risk of cardiovascular disease.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1112010?query=TOC

Association of Coffee Drinking with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality

Neal D. Freedman, Ph.D., Yikyung Park, Sc.D., Christian C. Abnet, Ph.D., Albert R. Hollenbeck, Ph.D., and Rashmi Sinha, Ph.D.

N Engl J Med 2012; 366:1891-1904 May 17, 2012

During 5,148,760 person-years of follow-up between 1995 and 2008, a total of 33,731 men and 18,784 women died. In age-adjusted models, the risk of death was increased among coffee drinkers. However, coffee drinkers were also more likely to smoke, and, after adjustment for tobacco-smoking status and other potential confounders, there was a significant inverse association between coffee consumption and mortality. Adjusted hazard ratios for death among men who drank coffee as compared with those who did not were as follows: 0.99 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.95 to 1.04) for drinking less than 1 cup per day, 0.94 (95% CI, 0.90 to 0.99) for 1 cup, 0.90 (95% CI, 0.86 to 0.93) for 2 or 3 cups, 0.88 (95% CI, 0.84 to 0.93) for 4 or 5 cups, and 0.90 (95% CI, 0.85 to 0.96) for 6 or more cups of coffee per day (P<0.001 for trend); the respective hazard ratios among women were 1.01 (95% CI, 0.96 to 1.07), 0.95 (95% CI, 0.90 to 1.01), 0.87 (95% CI, 0.83 to 0.92), 0.84 (95% CI, 0.79 to 0.90), and 0.85 (95% CI, 0.78 to 0.93) (P<0.001 for trend).

Inverse associations were observed for deaths due to heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, injuries and accidents, diabetes, and infections, but not for deaths due to cancer. Results were similar in subgroups, including persons who had never smoked and persons who reported very good to excellent health at baseline.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/HIVAIDS/HIVAIDS/32713?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=WC&eun=g380841d0r&userid=380841&email

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — “An FDA advisory committee has voted 17-0 to recommend approval for the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test. If approved, it will be the first over-the-counter home HIV test……The review projected that the home-use test would lead to 45,000 new positive test results and could avert more than 4,000 HIV transmissions in a year……In addition, the test could be expected to deliver one false positive test for every 3,750 true negative results, or approximately 1,100 false positive test results per year….”

Credit:  FEMA