NICE Eyes on Evidence - Issue 69 January 2015

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This month's issue contains evidence updates on:

Pharmacy-based screening for cardiovascular risk
A systematic review suggests that pharmacy-based screening for cardiovascular risk factors may be possible. However, many people do not act on the advice to visit their GP, and the effect of screening on new diagnoses has not been robustly shown.

Self-management of hypertension in people at high risk of cardiovascular events
An open-label randomised controlled trial finds that people with hypertension who self-monitor their blood pressure and up-titrate their antihypertensive medication experience a greater reduction in systolic blood pressure than people who manage hypertension with usual care.

Mental health after stopping smoking
A meta-analysis finds that stopping smoking is associated with reductions in anxiety, depression and stress, and improvements in quality of life and mood.

Alpha-blockers for expulsion of ureteral stones
A Cochrane review reports that alpha-blockers are more effective at expelling ureteral stones less than 10 mm in diameter than standard therapy or calcium channel blockers.

Haemoglobin thresholds for blood transfusion
Two meta-analyses report that restricting transfusion of red blood cells to people with a haemoglobin level of either less than 7.0 g/dl or 6.4 g/dl to 9.7 g/dl reduces mortality and serious infection, but does not significantly affect the overall risk of infection.

Evidence Updates
NICE has recently published Evidence Updates on:

Spasticity in children and young people with non-progressive brain disorders

Ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage

Hyperphosphataemia in chronic kidney disease