All Posts Tagged With: "journal of the american medical association"

JAMA commentary is completely off-base

In February, 2009, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a commentary by John D. Kraemer and Lawrence Gostin which I feel is off base. The main attribute that is incorrect is their assumption that ILADS political challenge to IDSA was based on political manuevering. There is a huge spectrum of science that proves the existence of chronic Lyme disease. The reason the IDSA guidelines are being challenged is that they are innaccurate, not that there is a political conflict of interest. You must pay to access the JAMA article however I did find a version (not sure if it is legal?) that someone posted on their website. http://www.mimosabridalaz.com/Science%20Politics%20and%20Values.pdf

When will this end.

Bryan

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Abstract:

Science, Politics, and Values
The Politicization of Professional Practice Guidelines

John D. Kraemer, JD, MPH; Lawrence O. Gostin, JD

JAMA. 2009;301(6):665-667.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) issued updated clinical practice guidelines in 2006 for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease.1 Within days, the Connecticut attorney general launched an investigation, alleging IDSA had violated state antitrust law by recommending against the use of long-term antibiotics to treat “chronic Lyme disease (CLD),” a label applied by advocates to a variety of nonspecific symptoms for which frequently no evidence suggests the etiologic agent of Lyme disease is responsible. The IDSA was forced to settle the claim to avoid exorbitant litigation costs, even though the society’s guidelines were based on sound science. The case exemplifies the politicization of health policy, with elected officials advocating for health policies against the weight of scientific evidence.

The Antitrust Investigation of IDSA

Although untreated or inadequately treated Lyme disease can progress to cause neurological complications and arthritis, there is no evidence the…  full text: http://www.mimosabridalaz.com/Science%20Politics%20and%20Values.pdf

Author Affiliations: O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.