Primary Care Reports articles from February 2003

Primary Care Reports archives from February 2003

Heart failure.
February 1, 2003... Editor's Note--Heart failure is on the rise and reaching epidemic proportions. (1-2) Approximately 5 million Americans have heart failure (2% of the population), and the number is expected to increase during the next 30 years. Hospital...

CME questions.
February 1, 2003... Effective with this testing period, Primary Care Reports is changing its testing procedure. You will no longer need to return a Scantron answer sheet to earn credit for the activity. Please review the text, answer the following questions, check...

FDA issues `Black Box' warning based on WHI study.(Women's Health Initiative)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The FDA has mandated a "Black Box" warning for all estrogen and estrogen/progestin products for use by postmenopausal women. The new warnings are based on analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study that was published July...

ALLHAT: thiazide for hypertension treatment.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Thiazide diuretics should be considered first-line therapy for hypertension, according to the authors of the ALLHAT study published in December. In a finding that surprised nearly everyone (especially the sponsors of the study) in patients with...

Candesartan effective against migraines.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The angiotensin II receptor blocker candesartan is effective in preventing migraine headaches, according to a new study. Norwegian researchers looked at 60 patients age 18-65 with 2-6 migraines per month. Patients were randomized in a...

Cough! No cold relief from Echinacea.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Echinacea offers no benefit in treating the common cold according to a study from the University of Wisconsin. A total of 148 college students with recent onset colds were randomized to an encapsulated mixture of unrefined Echinacea (E purpurea...

COX-2 inhibitors and GI benefits could be overrated.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Could the GI benefits of COX-2 inhibitors be overrated? A new study suggests that the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib is no safer than a combination of diclofenac plus omeprazole with regard to ulcer risk in patients with a history of peptic ulcer...

FDA actions.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Pfizer's new anti-migraine drug, eletriptan (Relpax) has been approved by the FDA for marketing. The drug that is available in 20-mg and 40-mg tablets has been shown to be effective in aborting migraine headaches within 2 hours. The company is...

Stroke reduction in older hypertensives with abnormal nocturnal blood pressure dipping.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN adverse cardiovascular events and blood pressure (BP) is direct and linear. Numerous prospective randomized trials indicate that reduction of BP produces a substantial reduction in stroke, with less impressive benefits...

Primary prevention of hypertension.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... ACCORDING TO JNC VI REPORTING, AS many as 43 million adults in America have hypertension (HTN), defined as blood pressure > 140/90. Although treatment with a variety of agents has been shown to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality,...

Effect of aggressive screening and treatment on prostate cancer mortality.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... THERE REMAINS A GREAT DEAL OF heated debate about the appropriate use of PSA screening amongst asymptomatic men. Although mortality for prostate cancer has declined since the mid-1990s, it remains uncertain whether this favorable outcome is...

Diuretics, mortality, and nonrecovery of renal function in acute renal failure.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... DIURETICS ARE COMMONLY USED IN the setting of acute renal failure (ARF), based upon premises that they will reduce volume in extracellular volume overload and may convert oliguric ARF to nonoliguric ARF. To date, no randomized clinical trials...

Nut and peanut butter consumption and risk of DM-2 in women.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... RECENT TRIALS HAVE CONFIRMED hat both pharmacologic treatment (acarbose or metformin) and lifestyle intervention (weight loss and exercise) may prevent onset of type 2 diabetes (DM-2) in high-risk individuals. Recent data suggest that it is the...

Optimal diets for prevention of CHD.(coronary heart disease )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... THE CLASSIC DIET-HEART HYPOTHESIS postulates that dietary saturated fat and cholesterol are causally associated with coronary heart disease (CHD). Though the evidence for this hypothesis is sufficiently compelling that few clinicians debate its...

Recognition of pediatric CHF.(congestive heart failure)
February 1, 2003... Introduction Cardiac shock is the pathophysiological state in which an abnormality of cardiac function is responsible for failure to maintain adequate tissue oxygenation. (1,2) The final common pathway is depressed cardiac output, which in...