The link between miscarriage and heart disease and other stories . . .

A new systematic review of the association between miscarriage and coronary heart disease in women (Heart 2013, doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2012-303237) gives Minerva pause for thought. We know that recurrent miscarriage can sometimes be an indicator of underlying autoimmune disease, such as the antiphospholipid syndrome or systemic lupus erythematosus, but some deeper more common vascular mechanism seems to be at play that links miscarriage with cardiovascular risk. Having just one miscarriage increases a woman’s risk of coronary heart disease by about 45%, and having more than one doubles it. We need more and better primary studies from the large and accurate databases that are now coming online.

One of the most common dilemmas that paediatricians face is how far to go in investigating children after a first episode of febrile urinary tract infection. In a study in Pediatrics (2013;131:e665-71, doi:10.1542/peds.2012-0164), several Italian paediatricians, plus one from …