This article summarizes the top 20 research studies of 2025 identified as POEMs (patient-oriented evidence that matters). Treating male sex partners of female patients with oral and topical medication reduces recurrence of bacterial vaginosis. Anti-influenza drugs do not reduce hospitalizations or mortality. COVID-19 vaccines still improve mortality and reduce hospitalizations. Influenza vaccines are safe in pregnancy. Vaginal estrogen appears to be safe in breast cancer survivors. Women with normal bone density given zoledronic acid every 5 years have fewer fractures. Early post-partum insertion of a long-acting reversible contraceptive is associated with fewer pregnancies vs delayed insertion. Early medication abortion before pregnancy confirmation is safe and effective. After stent placement in patients with atherosclerotic coronary vascular disease who are taking an anticoagulant, adding aspirin worsens outcomes. After catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation, discontinuing anticoagulants after 1 year is safe if atrial arrhythmia does not recur, whereas left atrial appendage closure is superior to oral anticoagulation. For patients with provoked venous thromboembolism and at least one ongoing risk factor, 12 months of apixaban is better than 3 months. Clopidogrel is slightly more effective than aspirin for the secondary prevention of myocardial infarction and stroke over 3 years. Intensive blood pressure lowering decreases cardiovascular events but increases rates of hypotension and syncope, and there are concerns about the applicability of the data to the United States. Duloxetine, milnacipran, and pregabalin provide meaningful pain reduction in adults with fibromyalgia. Amyloid-directed monoclonal antibodies do not provide clinically meaningful cognitive benefits and may cause harms. Bright light therapy is effective for nonseasonal depression. Water exposure 6 hours after cutaneous surgery does not increase the risk of complications. A meta-analysis of platelet-rich plasma injections for knee osteoarthritis concluded that high-quality studies found no meaningful pain improvement. Using an oral challenge to rule out sulfonamide allergy is safe when used with a risk assessment tool.
For more than 25 years, a team of six clinicians has reviewed more than 100 clinical medical journals monthly to identify studies that are most likely to change primary care practice for the better. The team includes experts in family medicine, pharmacy, hospital medicine, and women's health.
The goal of this process is to identify POEMs (patient-oriented evidence that matters). To qualify as a POEM, the study should report at least one patient-oriented outcome, defined as improvement in outcomes that matter to patients, such as morbidity, mortality, symptoms, or quality of life. This contrasts with disease-oriented evidence, which describes results such as changes in laboratory values, imaging studies, or other parameters that do not inherently reflect patient-oriented improvements. The study should be free of biases that threaten the validity of the results.1,2 The word “matters” in POEM also means that the results would change what many primary care physicians do by encouraging the adoption of a new practice or discontinuing an old one. Each year, more than 20,000 research studies are reviewed by the POEMs team, but in 2025, only 260 met the inclusion criteria. All new POEMs are emailed to subscribers of Essential Evidence Plus (Wiley-Blackwell, Inc), and a selection appears in American Family Physician (AFP).
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