Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Article

How does gender-affirming hormone therapy affect QOL in transgender patients?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: December 12, 2022

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: There are modest effects on depression but not anxiety. Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is associated with modest i...

Article

How accurate is transcutaneous bilirubin testing in newborns with darker skin tones?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: November 21, 2022

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Fairly accurate. Photometric transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) testing may overestimate total serum bilirubin (TSB) in neonates...

Article

Does an early COPD diagnosis improve long-term outcomes?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: October 12, 2022

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: It depends. A diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) made using screening spirometry in patients without ...

Article

Does adjunctive oxytocin infusion during balloon cervical ripening improve labor induction?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: March 8, 2022

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: YES. Compared to the use of a transcervical balloon alone, combined cervical ripening with a balloon catheter and oxytocin s...

Article

Can family physicians accurately screen for AAA with point-of-care ultrasound?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: July 23, 2021

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Likely yes. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) by nonradiologist physician...

Article

Is event-driven PrEP dosing for HIV as effective as daily dosing?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: June 22, 2021

Probably, although there are no head-to-head trials comparing the 2 dosing regimens. Event-driven pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) dosing red...

Article

Is ketamine effective and safe for treatment-resistant depression?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: April 7, 2021

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: MAYBE, but it’s too soon to tell. There is limited evidence that ketamine by itself is effective in the very short term. Sin...

Article

Is metformin effective for reducing weight in obese or overweight adolescents?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: March 4, 2021

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Yes, to some degree—but it is of uncertain clinical significance. Over a period of 6 months, metformin modestly reduced weig...

Article

Do electronic reminder systems help patients with T2DM to lose weight?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: November 11, 2020

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: PROBABLY NOT—but they may augment self-management. Four-component telehealth systems—including electronic reminders, measuri...

Article

Does early introduction of peanuts to an infant’s diet reduce the risk for peanut allergy?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: October 14, 2020

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Probably not, unless the child has severe eczema or egg allergy. In a general pediatric population, introducing peanuts earl...

Article

Does concurrent use of clopidogrel and PPIs increase CV risk in patients with ACS?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: July 20, 2020

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: No. Adding a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) in patients taking antiplatelet medications such as clopidogrel for acute coronary ...

Article

Does vitamin D supplementation reduce asthma exacerbations?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: May 12, 2020

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Yes, to some extent it does, and primarily in patients with low vitamin D levels. Supplementation reduces asthma exacerbatio...

Article

Do prophylactic antipyretics reduce vaccination-associated symptoms in children?

Author:: Sarah Safranek, MLIS

Publish date: April 13, 2020

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Yes for acetaminophen, not so much for ibuprofen. Prophylactic acetaminophen reduces the odds of febrile reactions in the fi...