Family Practice News articles from July 2006

Family Practice News archives from July 2006

Follow-up of early breast cancer well managed by FPs: specialists no match on costs, satisfaction.(Family physician)(Clinical report)
July 1, 2006... ATLANTA -- Family physician follow-up care of early-stage breast cancer patients is an acceptable, cost-effective, and safe alternative to cancer specialist follow-up care, Dr. Eva Grunfeld reported at the annual meeting of the American...

'Clinical inertia' plagues diabetes care, data show.(Clinical report)
July 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- "Clinical inertia" is a common, chronic condition among American physicians who treat patients with diabetes. That was the conclusion from several studies presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes...

Once-daily type 2 drugs promising.(Type 2 diabetes)(Drug overview)
July 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- A new class of drugs for type 2 diabetes shows promise in reducing blood glucose, improving beta-cell function, and helping patients control their weight--all via one oral dose per day, researchers reported at the annual...

Clinton, Obama pitch patient safety approach to liability.
July 1, 2006... Two Democratic senators are aiming to move patient safety to the center of the medical liability debate. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have introduced legislation that would provide grant funding for...

Switch to exemestane extends early breast cancer survival.(Tamoxifen therapy)(Drug overview)
July 1, 2006... ATLANTA -- Postmenopausal women with early-stage hormone-receptive breast cancer who have done well on 2-3 years of tamoxifen therapy have significantly improved disease-free and overall survival if they are switched to exemestane midway...

Should physicians communicate with patients via e-mail?
July 1, 2006... E-mail Offers Advantages E-mail opens up the bandwidth of communication with our patients. Patients can initiate contact 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at their convenience, and physicians can reply at a time convenient for them. Unlike...

Low vitamin D may elevate hypertension risk.(Disease/Disorder overview)
July 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- People with low serum levels of vitamin D have an increased risk of developing hypertension, based on the results from two prospective studies, one of which included more than 38,000 men. On the basis on both analyses, "we...

Aliskiren plus a diuretic controls 24-hour blood pressure.(Drug overview)
July 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- A new oral antihypertensive drug, the renin inhibitor aliskiren, was effective when given with a diuretic, and it also achieved consistent, 24-hour blood pressure control as monotherapy in a pair of studies that together included...

Watch for statin-Rx interactions, side effects.(Drug overview)
July 1, 2006... PHILADELPHIA -- Be alert for potential interactions and side effects when prescribing statins, Dr. Douglas S. Paauw advised at the annual meeting of the American College of Physicians. While hepatotoxicity and rhabdomyolysis are...

Two firms shelve dual-action diabetes drugs.(Drug overview)
July 1, 2006... The future of dual [alpha]-[gamma]-peroxisome proliferator--activated receptor agonists may be in question now that development has been halted on two such agents after the completion of phase III trials. In early May, AstraZeneca...

FDA recalls contaminated insulin syringes.(Food and Drug Administration)(Disease/Disorder overview)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Food and Drug Administration has announced the recall of Closer-care insulin syringes and the extension of an earlier recall of Ultilet insulin syringes due to bacterial contamination with Paenibacillus. The recall includes...

Severity score simplifies foot ulcer management: for use with diabetic patients, the new system rates four wound factors found predictive of healing.(Metabolic Disorders)(Disease/Disorder overview)
July 1, 2006... A new system for scoring the severity of foot ulcers in diabetic patients helps predict the likelihood of healing, hospitalization, local surgery, and amputation, according to Dr. Stefan Beckert and his associates at the University of...

Tailor exercise recommendations for patients with diabetes.
July 1, 2006... MIAMI -- Not enough diabetic patients exercise, but even when they do, greater attention needs to be paid to how to best manage the effects of exertion on their type of disease, Dr. Dennis A. Cardone said at the annual meeting of the American...

In hypertensives with impaired glucose, skip thiazide diuretics.
July 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- An angiotensin receptor blocker was unable to counter the glucose intolerance triggered by a thiazide diuretic in a study of more than 200 patients with metabolic syndrome and hypertension. Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) is known...

BMD gains superior on monthly bisphosphonate.(Bone mineral density)
July 1, 2006... CHICAGO -- A 2-year analysis has shown that once-monthly ibandronate provides bone mineral density increases in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis superior to those seen with the proven daily dose. Previously reported 1-year results...

Vaginal ring upsets metabolism less than the pill: evidence suggests that oral contraceptives augment insulin resistance and related long-term risks.
July 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The contraceptive vaginal ring has fewer metabolic adverse effects than do oral contraceptives and may be a better alternative for insulin-resistant women, those with diabetes, and women with metabolic syndrome at increased risk...

FDA approves 'follow-on' human growth hormone.(Food and Drug Administration)(Omnitrope)(Drug overview)
July 1, 2006... The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first "follow-on" version of a human growth hormone, Omnitrope, a recombinant somatotropin made by Sandoz International GmbH. The approval is notable in that it raises questions about the...

Check antibody levels before revaccinating adopted kids.(Clinical report)
July 1, 2006... SAN FRANCISCO -- Records for most vaccines flora most countries of origin for children adopted internationally are trustworthy, Dr. Bindy Crouch said in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. For...

HPV vaccine expected to prevent most vulvar and vaginal cancers.(Human papillomavirus vaccines)(Drug overview)
July 1, 2006... ATLANTA -- The recently approved quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine shown to be effective for preventing most HPV-related cervical cancers is also expected to prevent most vulvar and vaginal cancers, Dr. Jorma paavonen reported at the...

Treat bilateral AOM with antibiotics in toddlers: for children younger than 2 years but with AOM in only one ear, the benefit was much more modest.(Acute otitis media)(Drug overview)
July 1, 2006... SAN FRANCISCO -- Children younger than 2 years with acute otitis media in both ears constitute the pediatric population most likely to benefit from antibiotic treatment of this common childhood infection, according to the findings of a...

Corticosteroids, antihistamines fail to help acute otitis media.
July 1, 2006... SAN FRANCISCO -- Although it may seem logical that corticosteroids, antihistamines, and/or decongestants may be good adjunctive treatments of acute otitis media, the evidence does not bear this out, Dr. Tasnee Chonmaitree said at the annual...

Rifaximin-loperamide combo knocks out traveler's diarrhea.(Drug overview)
July 1, 2006... LOS ANGELES -- A combination of rifaximin and loperamide, taken at the first sign of traveler's diarrhea, is the optimal way to treat an illness that affects 10 million American tourists a year, Dr. Herbert L. DuPont said at the annual...

Intervene, monitor facial hemangioma on infants.(Disease/Disorder overview)
July 1, 2006... LAS VEGAS -- Telling parents that an infant's facial hemangioma will go away and doesn't need follow-up is no longer acceptable, Dr. Edward D. Buckingham said at an international symposium sponsored by the American Academy of Facial Plastic...

Anticoagulation doesn't foul capsule endoscopy.(Small-bowel findings on capsule endoscopy )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... LOS ANGELES -- The rate of small-bowel findings on capsule endoscopy was the same whether or not patients were on anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy, results from a single-center study showed. The findings are important because many...

Diabetes, CAD tied to increased colorectal cancer.(Coronary artery disease)(Disease/Disorder overview)
July 1, 2006... LOS ANGELES -- The risk of developing colorectal adenomas is increased both in women with diabetes and individuals with coronary artery disease, according to two studies presented at the annual Digestive Disease Week. Dr. Jill E. Elwing...

Red flags mark progression to Crohn's disease.(Disease/Disorder overview)
July 1, 2006... LOS ANGELES -- A number of clinical, laboratory, and serologic "red flags" may distinguish patients with ulcerative colitis who will progress to a diagnosis of Crohn's disease, researchers reported at the annual Digestive Disease Week. ...

Low literacy sabotages colonoscopy preparation.(Clinical report)
July 1, 2006... LOS ANGELES -- Low literacy was by far the most common independent predictor of poor bowel preparation and incomplete colonoscopy in a study presented at the annual Digestive Disease Week. Among 195 patients who underwent colonoscopy at...

Autism test highly predictive of diagnosis at age 3.(Disease/Disorder overview)
July 1, 2006... SAN FRANCISCO -- An 18-month-old child who scored above the threshold for autism spectrum disorders on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule was more than six times as likely to have a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder at...

Comorbidities common in autistic kids.(Disease/Disorder overview)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... SAN FRANCISCO -- Data from a large national survey document very high levels of comorbidity among children with autism, James G. Gurney, Ph.D., reported at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. Compared with children...

Insomnia.(Treated with Benzodiazepines)(Drug overview)
July 1, 2006... Several new prescription medications have been introduced recently for treating insomnia and have largely taken the place of the benzodiazepines, once the most commonly used medications for insomnia. The newer nonbenzodiazepine benzodiazepine...

Advances in fibroid treatment loom on horizon.
July 1, 2006... TORONTO -- Treating uterine fibroids may eventually be as simple as prescribing a pill, of zapping the benign growths with high-intensity focused ultrasound--two of several promising nonsurgical alternatives to the roughly 300,000...

Weigh fetal exposure risks against undertreatment.
July 1, 2006... TORONTO -- Physicians weighing the risks versus benefits of medicating nonobstetric conditions during pregnancy should consider that their dilemma is not one of fetal exposure versus nonexposure, according to Dr. Zachary N. Stowe, a...

Prenatal vitamins and reducing pediatric cancer risk.
July 1, 2006... There is some evidence that the use of vitamins in general and folic acid in particular may inhibit the development of some types of cancer in adults, although the data are not from randomized trials and are debated. There are also several...