OB/GYN Clinical Alert articles from August 2003

OB/GYN Clinical Alert archives from August 2003

Influence of estrogen plus progestin on breast cancer and mammography in healthy postmenopausal women.(Abstract & Commentary)
August 1, 2003... Synopsis: In an intent-to-treat analysis, the use of conjugated equine estrogen combined with continuous medroxyprogesterone acetate by menopausal women increased the hazard ratio of invasive breast cancer to 1.24. Source: Chlebowski RT,...

Relationship between long durations and different regimenes of hormone therapy and risk of breast cancer.(Abstract & Commentary)
August 1, 2003... Synopsis: The data in this case-control study of combined estrogen plus progestin therapy revealed an increased risk of breast cancer, particularly invasive lobular tumor, regardless of whether the progestin component was taken sequentially or...

Perinatal outcomes in twins: the effect of placental Abruption.(Abstract & Commentary)
August 1, 2003... Synopsis: Birth weight discordancy of [greater than or equal to] 15% for same sex and [greater than or equal to] 30% for different sex confer greatest risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in the absence of abruption. In the presence of placental...

Radiation therapy with or without extrafascial hysterectomy for bulky stage IB cervical carcinoma.(Abstract & Commentary)
August 1, 2003... Synopsis: Following radiation therapy, adjuvant extrafascial hysterectomy decreased the risk of relapse for patients with "bulky" stage IB cervical cancer without improving survival. Source: Keys HM, et al. Gynecol Oncol. 2003;89: 343-353....

Alternatives for hot flushing.(Special Feature)
August 1, 2003... THE VASOMOTOR FLUSH IS VIEWED AS THE HALLMARK of the female climacteric, experienced to some degree by most postmenopausal women. In the Massachusetts Women's Health Study, the incidence of hot flushes increased from 10% during the...

CME Questions.
August 1, 2003... 3. The recent report on breast cancer differs from the original WHI report by all of the following except: a. The diagnoses were adjudicated by a central facility; b. Data on stage of disease are presented, indicating a later stage in...

Nasally administered flu vaccine comes to United States.
August 1, 2003... The FDA has approved the first nasally administered flu vaccine to be marketed in this country. Medimmune's "FluMist" is also the first influenza vaccine to use live virus. This year's version of the vaccine contains 3 attenuated viruses...

Increase in blood glucose concentration during antihypertensive treatment as a predictor of myocardial infarction.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Source: Dunder, K, et. al. BMJ. 2003, 326: 681-684. RELEASE OF THE ALL THAT TRIAL, THE largest antihypertensive trial ever performed has suggested that chlorthalidone, amlodipine, and lisinopril all provide favorable cardiovascular risk...

Adverse drug events in ambulatory care.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Source: Gandhi TK, et al. N Engl J Med. 2003; 348: 1556-1564. ADVERSE EVENTS (AE) FROM Medications have been well studied among hospital inpatients. It has been reported that as many as 6.5% of hospitalized patients have one or more AE, of...

Prevention of hip fracture by external hip protectors.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Source: Van Schoor NM, et al. JAMA. 2003; 289-1957-1962. IN THE YEAR FOLLOWING A HIP Fracture (HIP), as many as one-third of persons die, and an equal number suffer inability to walk, or severe disability. One of the interventions intended...

Rapid MRI vs radiographs for patients with low back pain.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Source: Jarvik JG, et al. JAMA. 2003; 289: 2810-2818. THE ROLE OF RADIOLOGIC Evaluation for acute low back pain (LBP) has been plagued with uncertainty, since as many as one-third of asymptomatic persons examined by MRI have signs...

Effectiveness of anticholinergic drugs compared with placebo in the treatment of overactive bladder.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Source: Herbison P, et al. BMJ. 2003; 326: 841-844. OVERACTIVE BLADDER (OAB) COMPRISES a syndrome that may include urgency, urge incontinence, frequency and/or nocturia. Incontinence troubles as many as one-third of all overactive bladder...

A randomized trial of a low carbohydrate diet for obesity.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Source: Foster GD, et al. N Engl J Med. 2003; 348: 2082-2090. AT THE CURRENT TIME IN AMERICA, almost half of women and a substantial minority of men (30%) are dieting to lose weight. Unfortunately, diet interventions have had surprisingly...