August 18, 2008

The following new/updated information was posted to the NGC Web site the week of August 18, 2008.

American College of Cardiology Foundation

(1) ACC/AHA guidelines for the management of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction. A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Committee to revise the 1999 guidelines for the Management of Acute Myocardial Infarction). (2) 2007 focused update of the ACC/AHA 2004 guidelines for the management of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction. A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines. This is an addendum to a previously published guideline summary.

American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Modifications in endoscopic practice for pediatric patients. This updates a previously published guideline summary.

American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition

Labeling parenteral nutrition formulations. In: Safe practices for parenteral nutrition.

Nutrient requirements. In: Safe practices for parenteral nutrition.

Ordering parenteral nutrition. In: Safe practices for parenteral nutrition.

Parenteral nutrition administration. In: Safe practices for parenteral nutrition.

Stability and compatibility of parenteral nutrition formulations. In: Safe practices for parenteral nutrition.

Sterile compounding of parenteral nutrition formulations. In: Safe practices for parenteral nutrition.

Michigan Quality Improvement Consortium

Management of adults with major depression. This updates a previously published guideline summary.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)

Abatacept for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Infliximab for subacute manifestations of ulcerative colitis.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) State-of-the-Science Panel

NIH State-of-the-Science Conference Statement on manifestations and management of chronic insomnia in adults.

Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society

Guideline for management of wounds in patients with lower-extremity arterial disease. This updates a previously published guideline summary.

Newly Submitted

• ACCP has submitted their updated antithrombotic and thrombolytic therapy guidelines.
• CDC has updated their guidelines on prevention and control of influenza.
• ICSI has updated the following:
  • Diagnosis and initial treatment of ischemic stroke
  • Preoperative evaluation

To view a list of other guidelines in the NGC work queue, please visit our Guidelines In Progress page.

Health Awareness Topics - August 2008

• Cataract Awareness Month (see related guidelines)
• Children's Eye Health and Safety Month (see related guidelines)
• National Immunization Awareness Month (see related guidelines)

Patient Resources

NGC has selected specific Web sites that contain information designed especially for patients. See the Patient Resources Page.

In addition to external resources, NGC attempts to identify related patient resources that have been created by the guideline developer. This information, when available, is described in the NGC Brief and Complete Guideline Summaries under "Patient Resources." Users can identify those Guideline Summaries for which there are related Patient Resources by using the Detailed Search.

Conference News

• AHRQ's 2008 Annual Conference is September 7-10 in Bethesda, MD. Learn about AHRQ's latest research aimed at improving quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of care from leading experts involved in AHRQ-sponsored research and implementation projects. Register now.
  • Sunday, September 7, 2008: NGC/NQMC Clearinghouse Day (by invitation only) -- Bringing together developer organizations participating in NGC and NQMC for the purposes of (1) exchanging information related to guideline and measure development, dissemination, implementation, and maintenance, (2) discussing ways to forge closer relationships between guidelines and measures to facilitate improved patient care, and (3) providing insight to AHRQ and its technical contractor for NGC and NQMC, ECRI Institute, on how to improve these resources.
  • Monday, September 8, 2008: GRADE Workshop for Guideline Developers -- The GRADE Working Group has developed a sensible and systematic approach to grading quality of evidence and strength of clinical recommendations. In this workshop, members of the GRADE Working Group will share their approach with guideline developers, offer guided assistance in applying the approach to case examples, and highlight "best practices" and helpful resources. By attending this workshop, guideline developers will gain an understanding of the GRADE methodology and be better prepared to develop evidence-based clinical practice guidelines that have greater consistency and transparency.
• An AHRQ-sponsored Web conference on "Using Clinical Decision Support to Make Informed Patient Care Decisions" will be held on September 19, 2008, from 3:30 pm-5:00 pm EDT. The first in a series of four teleconferences on clinical decision support, this teleconference will address how clinical decision support – a clinical system, application, or process that helps health professionals make good patient care decisions – can help professionals improve the care delivered to patients. Registration is free.
• The 5th annual Guidelines International Network (G-I-N) conference, will be held October 1-3, 2008. Register online now. The theme of the conference is "Implementation in Practice." Special focus will be given to guideline implementation, collaboration in guideline production, evidence in guidelines, and guidelines and power. For further information and details about registration, please visit the G-I-N Conference Web site.

Healthy People 2010

See NGC's Frequently Requested Search page for a selection of pre-set searches of NGC for guidelines related to the Healthy People 2010 focus areas, as well as other public health and patient safety topics.

Recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisories

• August 18, 2008: Byetta (exenatide): Since issuing an advisory in October 2007, FDA has received reports of 6 cases of hemorrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis in patients taking Byetta. Byetta and other potentially suspect drugs should be promptly discontinued if pancreatitis is suspected.
• August 12, 2008: Vivitrol (naltrexone): FDA informed healthcare professionals of the risk of adverse injection site reactions in patients receiving naltrexone.
• August 8, 2008: Simvastatin Used with Amiodarone: Risk of muscle injury, rhabdomyolysis, which can lead to kidney failure or death, when simvastatin is used with amiodarone. This risk is dose-related.

NGC's Sister Resources

Find Innovations and QualityTools classified by disease or clinical category, patient population, stage of care, setting of care, and more in AHRQ's Health Care Innovations Exchange Web site.

Look for Quality Measures in AHRQ's National Quality Measures Clearinghouse (NQMC).

Other Resources

To locate a previous issue of "What's New This Week," go to the What's New Archive.

Questions or suggestions about the "What's New" feature are welcome -- please send e-mail to: info@guideline.gov.

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