Primary Care Reports articles from June 2003

Primary Care Reports archives from June 2003

West Nile virus in the United States.
June 1, 2003... Editor's Note--West Nile virus was of no concern to residents of North America until the summer of 1999, when it seemingly inexplicably struck in Queens, NY. (1) The cases of encephalitis were thought to be due to a pathogen well known in the...

Physician CME questions.
June 1, 2003... 33. Which of the following is correct? a. West Nile virus (WNV) has been endemic in North America for 2 decades. b. The normal WNV transmission cycle requires only mosquitoes and birds. c. WNV, like the viruses that cause dengue...

Pneumococcal vaccine ineffective at CAP prevention.(community-acquired pneumonia)
June 1, 2003... Pneumococcal vaccine protects older adults from developing pneumococcal bacteremia but does not prevent community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), according to a new study from Group Health Cooperative in Seattle. The study reviewed records of more...

Detection of Alzheimer's disease and dementia in the preclinical phase.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Source: Palmer K, et al. BMJ. 2003; 326:245-247. ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS THE most common form of dementia in America, but often escapes clinical attention until symptoms compromise quality of life, activities of daily living, or safety....

Shoe design and plantar pressures in neuropathic feet.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Source: Praet S, et al. Diabetes Care. 2003;26:441-445. CLINICIANS HAVE TRIED A VARIETY OF maneuvers to reduce the incidence and effect of neuropathic foot ulcers in an attempt to reduce their subsequent morbidity. Since a substantial...

TSH in assessment of hypothyroidism.(thyroid stimulating hormone)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Source: Meier C, et al. BMJ. 2003; 326:311-312. ALTHOUGH THERE IS GOOD AGREEment that thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is the most appropriate indicator of hypothyroidism, it is little understood whether absolute levels of TSH correlate...

Oral Vitamin D3 supplementation on fractures and mortality.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Source: Trivedi DP, et al. BMJ. 2003;326:469-472. DESPITE RECENT ENHANCED CLINIcian and public awareness, prevention and treatment goals for osteoporosis (OSPS) remain inadequately fulfilled. A variety of lifestyle and pharmacologic tools...

Oral opioid therapy for chronic peripheral and central neuropathic pain.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Source: Rowbotham M, et al. N Engl J Med. 2003;348:1223-1232. NEUROPATHIC PAIN (NPP) IS OFTEN described as "opioid resistant," based upon some limited human and animal studies. On the other hand, parenteral opioid analgesia has produced...

Tacrolimus ointment vs. topical corticosteroids in atopic dermatitis.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Source: Ellis C, et al. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2003;48:553-563. FOR SEVERAL DECADES THE MAINSTAY of management of atopic dermatitis (AD) has been corticosteroids (CSD), usually administered topically. When AD is mild-moderate, low, and...