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SummaryA controlled prospective survey of women taking oestrogen-progestogen oral contraceptives showed increases in mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 14-2 mm Hg and 8-5 mm Hg respectively after four years. The largest increases in individual cases were 36 mm Hg systolic and 20 mm Hg diastolic. Blood pressure returned to pretreatment levels within three months after oral contraceptives had been stopped. These changes in blood pressure were unrelated to the progestogenic potencies of the preparations being taken.

ImportanceWhether selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) reduces mortality in critically ill patients remains uncertain.ObjectiveTo determine whether SDD reduces in-hospital mortality in critically ill adults.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsA cluster, crossover, randomized clinical trial that recruited 5982 mechanically ventilated adults from 19 intensive care units (ICUs) in Australia between April 2018 and May 2021 (final follow-up, August 2021). A contemporaneous ecological assessment recruited 8599 patients from participating ICUs between May 2017 and August 2021.InterventionsICUs were randomly assigned to adopt or not adopt a SDD strategy for 2 alternating 12-month periods, separated by a 3-month interperiod gap. Patients in the SDD group (n = 2791) received a 6-hourly application of an oral paste and administration of a gastric suspension containing colistin, tobramycin, and nystatin for the duration of mechanical ventilation, plus a 4-day course of an intravenous antibiotic with a suitable antimicrobial spectrum. Patients in the control group (n = 3191) received standard care.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe primary outcome was in-hospital mortality within 90 days. There were 8 secondary outcomes, including the proportion of patients with new positive blood cultures, antibiotic-resistant organisms (AROs), and Clostridioides difficile infections. For the ecological assessment, a noninferiority margin of 2% was prespecified for 3 outcomes including new cultures of AROs.ResultsOf 5982 patients (mean age, 58.3 years; 36.8% women) enrolled from 19 ICUs, all patients completed the trial. There were 753/2791 (27.0%) and 928/3191 (29.1%) in-hospital deaths in the SDD and standard care groups, respectively (mean difference, −1.7% [95% CI, −4.8% to 1.3%]; odds ratio, 0.91 [95% CI, 0.82-1.02]; P = .12). Of 8 prespecified secondary outcomes, 6 showed no significant differences. In the SDD vs standard care groups, 23.1% vs 34.6% had new ARO cultures (absolute difference, −11.0%; 95% CI, −14.7% to −7.3%), 5.6% vs 8.1% had new positive blood cultures (absolute difference, −1.95%; 95% CI, −3.5% to −0.4%), and 0.5% vs 0.9% had new C difficile infections (absolute difference, −0.24%; 95% CI, −0.6% to 0.1%). In 8599 patients enrolled in the ecological assessment, use of SDD was not shown to be noninferior with regard to the change in the proportion of patients who developed new AROs (−3.3% vs −1.59%; mean difference, −1.71% [1-sided 97.5% CI, −∞ to 4.31%] and 0.88% vs 0.55%; mean difference, −0.32% [1-sided 97.5% CI, −∞ to 5.47%]) in the first and second periods, respectively.Conclusions and RelevanceAmong critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation, SDD, compared with standard care without SDD, did not significantly reduce in-hospital mortality. However, the confidence interval around the effect estimate includes a clinically important benefit.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02389036

A prospective controlled study investigated the effects of oral contraceptives on blood pressure in 485 women who were between 17 and 46 years of age and had blood pressures of < 140/90 mmHg at entry. The women were divided into seven groups depending on the chosen method of contraception: intrauterine device o r barrier method (control group): ethinyl oestradiol 3 0 p g plus levonorgestrel 150 p g (Microgynon-30 or Ovranette); norethisterone 350 p g (Micronor): norgestrel 75 pg (Neogest): norethisterone oenanthate 200 mg intramuscularly every 2 months for the first 6 months, then every 3 months thereafter; ethinyl oestradiol 30 pg plus ethynodiol diacetate 2 mg (Conova-30); and ethynodiol diacetate 500 p g (Femulen). Blood pressures were measured every 3 months by the family planning clinic nurse under standardized conditions using an Elag-Koln automatic sphygmomanometer. After one year, blood pressure had risen significantly (P(0.05) in the 137 women taking ethinyl oestradiol plus levonorgestrel (mean systolic and diastolic rises 6 . 4 and 2 . 7 m m H g respectively) and in the 91 women taking ethinyl oestradiol plus ethynodiol diacetate (mean systolic and diastolic rises 6 . 2 and 3 .O m m H g respectively). The 9 4 women taking the progestogen-only preparations and the 143 women in the control group showed n o increases in blood pressure. These d a t a were confirmed after 2 years of follow-up.

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These findings suggest that the Edinburgh Delirium Test Box-ICU has diagnostic utility in detecting ICU delirium in patients with Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale Score greater than -3. The Edinburgh Delirium Test Box-ICU has potential additional value in longitudinally tracking attentional deficits because it provides a range of scores and is sensitive to change.