Amos Cahan

• MD
• Infectious diseases physician at Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital

Historically, guidelines for blood pressure measurement recommended adjusting the cuff deflation rate to the patient's heart rate (2-3 mmHg per heartbeat).Current guidelines recommend a fixed cuff deflation rate of 2 mmHg/sec.. In this study, we assess the association between pulse rate (PR) and BP variability. All BP measurements in adult patients...

ClinicalTrials.gov was established as a web-based registry for clinical trials of human participants in 2000. Mandatory registration started in 2008. Given more than a decade of registered trials, it's important to understand the "topic" areas and their evolution over time from this resource. This information may help in identifying current knowled...

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) damages cell membranes and is used in medicine for non‐thermal ablation of malignant tumors. Our aim was to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of IRE. The pathogenic microorganisms, S. aureus, S. pyogenes, E. coli, P. aeruginosa and C. albicans were subjected to IRE. Survival was measured as a function of voltage a...

Background ClinicalTrials.gov is valuable for aggregate-level analysis of trials. The recently published final rule aims to improve reporting of trial results. We aimed to assess variability in ClinicalTirals.gov records reporting participants’ baseline measures. Methods and findings The September 2015 edition of the database for Aggregate Analysi...

Frequency of aggregated baseline characteristics reported in >1 study in the HLACTs subset of ClinicalTrials.gov studies (N = 13,808). (DOCX)

Derivation of analysis population and summary of exclusion criteria. (DOCX)

Domain expert comparison between 30 ClinicalTrials.gov records and their corresponding journal articles. (DOCX)

Formats of trial participant “Age” on ClinicalTrials.gov. (DOCX)

Objective Metformin is the recommended initial drug treatment in type 2 diabetes mellitus, but there is no clearly preferred choice for an additional drug when indicated. We compare the counterfactual drug effectiveness in lowering glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and effect on body mass index (BMI) of four diabetes second-line drug classes using...

ClinicalTrials.gov was established as a web-based registry for clinical trials of human participants in 2000. Mandatory registration started in 2008. Given more than a decade of registered trials, it’s important to understand the “topic” areas and their evolution over time from this resource. This information may help in identifying current knowled...

Background A number of empiric antibiotic treatment options for febrile neutropenia exist, yet there is no universally-accepted initial protocol. We aimed to assess the performance of a protocol (piperacillin, gentamicin and cefazolin) introduced over 40 years ago and compare its coverage against bacteria isolated from blood of neutropenic patients...

Objective Metformin is the recommended initial drug treatment in type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, but there is no clearly preferred choice for an additional drug when indicated. We use electronic health records to infer the counterfactual drug effectiveness in reducing HbA1c levels and effect on body-mass index (BMI) of four second line diabetes drug clas...

Background: The effects of an intervention on patients from populations other than that included in a trial may vary as a result of differences in population features, treatment administration, or general setting. Determining the generalizability of a trial to a target population is important in clinical decision making at both the individual prac...

Physicians intuitively apply pattern recognition when evaluating a patient. Rational diagnosis making requires that clinical patterns be put in the context of disease prior probability, yet physicians often exhibit flawed probabilistic reasoning. Difficulties in making a diagnosis are reflected in the high rates of deadly and costly diagnostic erro...

Uncertainty is involved in each and every step of the diagnostic process. Trying to eliminate doubt altogether is too costly, is likely to fail, and may lead to patient harm. Acknowledging this, the threshold approach aims to optimize diagnosis-making by adopting the explicit use of probability estimates and by discouraging the pursuit of 100% cert...

Background: A critical consideration when applying the results of a clinical trial to a particular patient is the degree of similarity of the patient to the trial population. However, similarity assessment rarely is practical in the clinical setting. Here, we explore means to support similarity assessment by clinicians. Methods: A scale chart wa...

Telehealth is the use of technology for remote patient monitoring and care. Wearables are small electronic devices that can seamlessly collect data about a patient for prolonged periods of time and support the implementation of telemedicine in the patient’s natural environment. In a reality where patients are becoming older and sicker, medicine is...

As the volume and variety of healthcare related data continues to grow, the analysis and use of this data will increasingly depend on the ability to appropriately collect, curate and integrate disparate data from many different sources. We describe our approach to and highlight our experiences with the development of a robust data collection, curat...

The present invention depicts an implantable artificial pacemaker (AAP) comprising oscillatory means providing pulsating signals at a pre-selected frequency, wherein the pacemaker is pacing the aorta. The invention also describes an AAP further comprising; (i) a plurality of sensors disposed internally or externally to the aorta; and (ii) a pacing...

Background: Epidemiological features of infective endocarditis have changed during the last decades because of increases in the prevalence of health care exposure and of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection. Consequently, the role of surgery is evolving. We aim to provide a contemporary profile of epidemiological, microbiological, and clini...

Antihypertensive β-blocker use is associated with greater intervisit blood pressure variability (BPV) and with less favorable outcomes compared to other antihypertensive agents. A theoretical model demonstrated that accuracy and precision of BP measurement are affected by heart rate (HR) at a constant cuff deflation rate. We aimed to examine the em...

To the Editor: In their recent article in Hypertension , Muntner et al1 examined the correlates and prognostic significance of intervisit blood pressure (BP) variability in Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants. They report that increased intervisit variability was related to age, physical inactivity, BP, laboratory a...

Overactivity of the Forkhead transcription factor FoxO1 promotes diabetic hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and acute-phase response, whereas suppression of FoxO1 activity by insulin may alleviate diabetes. The reported efficacy of long-chain fatty acyl (LCFA) analogs of the MEDICA series in activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and in treating...

Blood pressure (BP) assessment may be vulnerable to bias by increased BP variability. Uncertainty in determining BP control is inherent to the clinic setting. We analyzed a registry of 3949 patients referred for ambulatory BP monitoring. The difference between clinic and ambulatory readings was plotted against ambulatory BP variability, assessed by...

The present invention provides a system adapted to disinfect a stethoscope head wherein said system comprises: (a) a plurality of disposable pads having adhesive and disinfection agents absorbed therein, said pads being adapted to adhere to and disinfect said stethoscope head; and, (b) a portable dispenser adapted for serially dispensing said dispo...

The present invention discloses an inflatable immobilization device adapted for inflating from a thin-film envelope configuration to a three-dimensional body support configuration having a predetermined shape, characterized in that said inflating occurs by a foaming reaction that occurs substantially after said device has been positioned on the bod...

The present invention discloses a kit for in vivo treating dilation of target organs. The kit comprises of a biocompatible and bioadsorbable polymerizable liquid; an applicator tool for applying said liquid polymer over said portion; and, curing means adapted to solidify said liquid polymer to a measure it provides a counter mechanical support to s...

In light of the increasing popularity of the threshold approach in clinical decision-making, this study assesses the role of expertise in physicians' agreement in estimating the probability of disease in patients. A cross-sectional survey of physicians of different specialties, attending weekly staff meetings in four teaching hospitals in Jerusalem...

The "threshold approach" is based on a physician's assessment of the likelihood of a disease expressed as a probability. The use of Bayes' theorem to calculate disease probability in patients with and without a particular characteristic, may be hampered by the presence of subadditivity (i.e. the sum of probabilities concerning a single case scenari...