MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20019208 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Doctors and dentists have traditionally used antibiotic prophylaxis in certain patient groups in order to prevent infective endocarditis (IE). New guidelines, however, suggest that the risk to patients from using antibiotics is higher than the risk from IE. This paper analyses the relative risks of prescribing and not prescribing antibiotic prophylaxis against the background of Pascal's Wager, the infamous assertion that it is better to believe in God regardless of evidence, because of the prospective benefits should He exist. Many doctors seem to believe the parallel proposition that it is better to prescribe antibiotics, regardless of evidence, because of the prospective benefit conferred upon the patient. This has been called the "no lose philosophy" in medicine: better safe than sorry, even if the evidence inconveniently suggests that following this mantra is potentially more likely to result in sorry than safe. It transpires that, just as Pascal's Wager fails to convince because of a lack of evidence to support it and the costs incurred by trying to believe, so the "belts and braces" approach of prescribing antibiotic prophylaxis is unjustifiable given the actual evidence of potential risk and benefit to the patient. Ultimately, there is no no-lose if your clinical decisions, like Pascal's Wager, are based on faith rather than evidence. |
Authors:
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D Shaw; D I Conway |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Heart (British Cardiac Society) Volume: 96 ISSN: 1468-201X ISO Abbreviation: Heart Publication Date: 2010 Jan |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2009-12-18 Completed Date: 2010-01-27 Revised Date: 2010-08-03 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9602087 Medline TA: Heart Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 15-8 Citation Subset: AIM; IM |
Affiliation:
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Dental School, Faculty of Medicine, University of Glasgow, 378 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JZ. d.shaw@dental.gla.ac.uk |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Antibiotic Prophylaxis*
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adverse effects Dentist's Practice Patterns Endocarditis / prevention & control* Humans Physician's Practice Patterns Practice Guidelines as Topic Risk Assessment |
| Comments/Corrections | |
Comment In:
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Heart. 2010 Aug;96(16):1333; author reply 1333
[PMID:
20659955
]
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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