What was the most important medical advance reported in NEJM between 1970 and 1979? There are seven days left in this round. Vote now!
In a 1970 article, Drs. Swan, Ganz and colleagues described a new device for measuring pressures in the right side of the heart and pulmonary capillary wedge. Until then, rigid catheters were used but required fluoroscopic guidance and technical skill. They tested this prototype catheter in 100 seriously ill patients.
The obstetrician Arthur Herbst wrote an article in 1971 describing the discovery of eight young women with vaginal adenocarcinoma, with an apparent association of this rare malignancy with maternal use of diethylstilbestrol (DES). At the time, DES, a synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen, was being used to help prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with previous miscarriages.
In 1973, the first report of polyp removal using a colonoscope introduced a procedure to reduce cancer risk during screening.
In a 1976 article, Koenig and colleagues were the first to demonstrate the utility of glycosylated hemoglobin A1c concentration as a monitor of the degree of serum glucose control in patients with diabetes.
A seminal article in 1978 was the first to show the antihypertensive effect of an oral ACE inhibitor, then known simply as “SQ 14225.” At the time, it was known that inhibiting ACE lowered blood pressure, but the only available agent had to be given intravenously.
Next month, we’ll be voting on articles published between 1980 and 1989. We’ll have a run-off of all of the winning articles at the end of the year.