# Med-Read.org — Independent Open-Access Medical Literature Appraisal & Archival Monograph Desk

> An independent, non-commercial clinical epidemiology and study-appraisal reference helping patients, clinicians, and researchers decode relative vs. absolute risk (ARR), Number Needed to Treat (NNT), surrogate vs. hard clinical endpoints, open-access journal peer-review integrity, and environmental noise epidemiology.
> Historical Provenance: From 2019 to 2022, `med-read.org` hosted MedRead Publishing Group open-access medical monographs cited by the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (`emro.who.int`), Heriot-Watt University (`researchportal.hw.ac.uk`), Scientific Research Publishing (`scirp.org`), and Auctores (`auctoresonline.org`). Maintained in English (`/`), Spanish (`/es/`), and Simplified Chinese (`/zh/`).

## Core Methodological & Clinical Reference Findings

- **How to Read a Medical Paper in 10 Minutes (`/study-appraisal`)**: Translates Relative Risk Reduction (`RRR = (CER - EER) / CER`) into Absolute Risk Reduction (`ARR = CER - EER`) and Number Needed to Treat (`NNT = 1 / ARR`). Demonstrates why a 50% relative risk drop from 0.2% to 0.1% yields an ARR of 0.1% (NNT = 1,000), and audits p-hacking, immortal time bias, and underpowered subgroup claims under CONSORT 2025 and GRADE rules.
- **Open-Access Integrity & Peer-Review Verification (`/open-access-integrity`)**: Explains the critical distinction between PubMed Central (`PMC` full-text repository) and `MEDLINE` (NLM Literature Selection Technical Review Committee curation), and gives a 5-step verification protocol across Crossref DOI metadata, DOAJ indexing, ClinicalTrials.gov (`NCT`) pre-registration, and Retraction Watch.
- **Environmental Noise Exposure & Cardiovascular Epidemiology (`/environmental-noise-health`)**: Preserves the historical 2020 MedRead monograph on peri-urbanization and acoustic noise exposure (`#scientific-9-946` / `Zia MA et al.`) cited by Heriot-Watt University and SCIRP, and synthesizes the WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines (road traffic limits of `53 dB Lden` and `45 dB Lnight`, where each `+10 dB Lden` above 53 dB increases ischemic heart disease incidence by `RR 1.08`, 95% CI 1.01-1.15).
- **Cardiometabolic Trial Ledger (`/cardometabolic-evidence`)**: Contrasts laboratory surrogate markers (`LDL-C`, `HbA1c`) against hard MACE and all-cause mortality endpoints across primary/secondary statin trials (`NNT 83-100` vs `NNT 28-39` over 5 years), SGLT2 inhibitors (`DAPA-HF`, `EMPA-REG`), and GLP-1 receptor agonists (`SELECT` semaglutide `ARR 1.5%`, `NNT 67` over 39.8 months).
- **Oncology Trial Endpoints Decoded (`/oncology-endpoints`)**: Decodes Overall Survival (`OS`) vs. Progression-Free Survival (`PFS`), Objective Response Rate (`ORR`), and Pathologic Complete Response (`pCR`), illustrating why over 60% of oncology surrogate approvals lack subsequent OS confirmation while carrying CTCAE Grade 3/4 toxicity.
- **Infectious Disease & Diagnostic Epidemiology (`/infectious-epidemiology`)**: Applies Bayes' theorem to diagnostic sensitivity/specificity in low-prevalence cohorts (showing why a 98% specific test at 0.5% prevalence yields only a `19.7%` Positive Predictive Value) and contrasts RCT vaccine efficacy against observational real-world effectiveness.
- **Global Clinical Trial Hubs & Diagnostic Coordinate System (`/global-clinical-research`)**: Benchmarks clinical trial registry volume (WHO ICTRP / ClinicalTrials.gov), ethics approval timelines, and public academic diagnostic workup costs (3.0T MRI, PET-CT, NGS genomic panels) across the US (`NIH/FDA`), EU (`EMA`), UK (`NHS/NIHR`), Japan (`PMDA`), and China (`NMPA` / National Medical Centers).
- **2019-2022 Archival Monograph Concordance (`/archived-articles`)**: Complete citation index preserving the 26 historical MedRead journal scopes and legacy article anchors (`#who-emro-pediatrics`, `#scientific-9-946`, `#gfm-1001-polypharmacy`, `#article-pdf-9`).

## Primary Monograph Index (English / Español / 中文)

- [Appraisal Workbench & Risk Decoder](https://med-read.org/) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/)
- [How to Read a Medical Paper in 10 Minutes](https://med-read.org/study-appraisal) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/study-appraisal) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/study-appraisal)
- [Open-Access Publishing & Peer-Review Verification](https://med-read.org/open-access-integrity) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/open-access-integrity) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/open-access-integrity)
- [Peri-Urbanization & Environmental Noise Epidemiology](https://med-read.org/environmental-noise-health) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/environmental-noise-health) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/environmental-noise-health)
- [Cardiometabolic Clinical Trial Ledger](https://med-read.org/cardometabolic-evidence) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/cardometabolic-evidence) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/cardometabolic-evidence)
- [Oncology Trial Endpoints (OS vs PFS) Decoded](https://med-read.org/oncology-endpoints) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/oncology-endpoints) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/oncology-endpoints)
- [Infectious Disease & Diagnostic PPV Epidemiology](https://med-read.org/infectious-epidemiology) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/infectious-epidemiology) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/infectious-epidemiology)
- [Global Clinical Trial Hubs & Diagnostic Benchmarks](https://med-read.org/global-clinical-research) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/global-clinical-research) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/global-clinical-research)
- [Historical MedRead (2019-2022) Citation Concordance](https://med-read.org/archived-articles) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/archived-articles) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/archived-articles)
- [About & Archival Stewardship Disclosure](https://med-read.org/about) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/about) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/about)
- [Evidence & Reproducibility Ledger](https://med-read.org/updates/) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/updates/) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/updates/)
- [Launch Manifesto: Why We Rebuilt the Open-Access Desk](https://med-read.org/updates/2026-11-why-we-rebuilt-the-open-access-desk) | [ES](https://med-read.org/es/updates/2026-11-why-we-rebuilt-the-open-access-desk) | [ZH](https://med-read.org/zh/updates/2026-11-why-we-rebuilt-the-open-access-desk)

## Mathematical Formulas & Epidemiological Reference Equations

1. **Relative Risk (RR)**: `RR = EER / CER` where `CER` is the Control Event Rate and `EER` is the Experimental Event Rate.
2. **Relative Risk Reduction (RRR)**: `RRR = (CER - EER) / CER = 1 - RR`.
3. **Absolute Risk Reduction (ARR)**: `ARR = CER - EER` (percentage points; multiply by 10 for events prevented per 1,000 patients).
4. **Number Needed to Treat (NNT)**: `NNT = 1 / ARR = 100 / ARR(%)` (rounded up to the nearest integer).
5. **Number Needed to Harm (NNH)**: `NNH = 1 / ARI` where `ARI = EER_harm - CER_harm`.
6. **Bayesian Positive Predictive Value (PPV)**: `PPV = (Prevalence * Sensitivity) / [(Prevalence * Sensitivity) + (1 - Prevalence) * (1 - Specificity)]`.
7. **WHO Road Traffic Noise Ischemic Heart Disease Spline**: `RR_IHD = 1.00` for `Lden <= 53 dB(A)`; `RR_IHD = 1.08 ^ ((Lden - 53) / 10)` for `Lden > 53 dB(A)` (95% CI: 1.01 to 1.15 per +10 dB).
8. **WHO Nighttime Sleep Disturbance (%HSD, Road Traffic)**: `%HSD = 19.4312 - 0.9336 * Lnight + 0.0126 * (Lnight ^ 2)` for `Lnight` in `40-68 dB(A)`.

## Interactive Clinical Workbenches Hosted on Med-Read.org

- **Tool 01 (`/#nnt-calc-form`)**: The Medical Headline De-Spinner & 1,000-Person Reality Lens (20x50 SVG icon array + 6 landmark trial presets: SELECT Semaglutide, Primary Statin, DAPA-HF SGLT2i, Mammography 40-49y, Surrogate PFS Oncology Drug).
- **Tool 02 (`/study-appraisal#mentor-audit-widget` & `/open-access-integrity#mentor-audit-widget`)**: 5-Minute Clinical Paper & Journal Vetting Mentor (8-point diagnostic checklist outputting 0-100 Methodological Certainty Score and GRADE A-D badge).
- **Tool 03 (`/environmental-noise-health#noise-calc-widget`)**: WHO Environmental Noise & Bedroom Cardiovascular Risk Calculator (street Lden, nocturnal Lnight, and acoustic glazing attenuation).
- **Tool 04 (`/infectious-epidemiology#bayes-calc-widget`)**: Interactive Bayesian Diagnostic PPV & False-Alarm Explorer.