This month we’re spotlighting our Journal Watch department. Here you can find short takes giving just the essential take-home points from notable studies that have been recently published in respected journals.

If you need to keep up with current research but don’t have time to do so, we suggest you start here each month.

The following six short articles will be free for the month of July.

Deprescribing in patients with a history of falls isn’t so easy, for either clinicians or patients. “Multifaceted, multilevel approaches are needed to overcome common barriers.”

Many women who have ovarian cancer still receive aggressive end-of-life care despite recommendations emphasizing early palliative care . . . and nonwhite women are more likely to receive aggressive care.

Discontinuation of thyroid hormone replacement is possible in some cases.
“Nearly one-third of patients remained euthyroid after discontinuation.”

Changes in ED use during the pandemic.
“Shifts in the pattern of ED visits . . . highlight the need for mental health, substance abuse, and violence risk screening and prevention during public health crises.”

Lower risk of ischemic stroke and major bleeding events with direct oral anticoagulants vs. warfarin.
“Patients with valvular atrial fibrillation who were new users of direct oral anticoagulants had lower rates of ischemic stroke or systemic embolism and major bleeding than new users of warfarin.”

Intermittent auscultation reduces risk of emergency cesarean delivery
“Compared with other fetal surveillance methods, intermittent auscultation seems to reduce the risk of emergency cesarean delivery without increasing that of adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes.”