Primary Care Reports articles from September 2004

Primary Care Reports archives from September 2004

Making sense of thyroid disease: a primary care approach.
September 1, 2004... Thyroid disease is commonly encountered in primary care practices because it occurs" in a significant proportion of the general population. (See Table 1.) Routine thyroid disease usually is managed by the primary care provider. An understanding...

Physician CME questions.(questions on thyroid diseases)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... 15. Which of the following thyroid malignancies has the worst prognosis? a. Papillary carcinoma b. Medullary carcinoma c. Anaplastic carcinoma d. Follicular carcinoma 16. Which of the following is not commonly a cause of...

Prostate cancer among men with a prostate-specific antigen level < 4.0 ng/mL.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... THE PROSTRATE CANCER PREVENTION trial enrolled 18,882 men to evaluate whether an alpha-reductase inhibitor, finasteride, could prevent incident prostate cancer in men with normal PSA levels( The end-of-study prostate biopsy identified...

Mirtazapine for reducing nocturnal itch in patients with chronic pruritus.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... PRURITUS IS A COMMONPLACE COMplaint of persons with dermatological disorders like psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and chronic urticaria. Nocturnal itch interrupts sleep and compromises quality of life. Traditional antihistamines offer some...

Interventions for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... AS MANY AS I OUT OF 3 FOST-SURGIcal patients suffer nausea and vomitng (N&V), unless prophylaxed with antiemetic pharmacotherapy. Worldwide, 75 million persons per year undergo a surgical procedure requiring anesthesia, hence optimizing N&V...

Multivitamin supplements and HIV disease progression and mortality.
September 1, 2004... THE GREATEST BURDEN OF THE HIV epidemic resides outside the United States. Especially in economically lesser-privileged nations, not all individuals who might benefit from antiretroviral (ARV) treatment can obtain it. Observational studies have...

The long-term outcomes of sibutramine effectiveness on weight (LOSE Weight) study.
September 1, 2004... CLINICAL TRIALS IN RESEARCH SETtings may not reflect accurately what clinicians in a non-academic milieu may anticipate, despite using the same fundamental pharmacologic tools. Drug efficacy is sometimes distinguished from drug effectiveness by...

Trial of atorvastatin in rheumatoid Arthritis (TARA).
September 1, 2004... MODULATION OF LIPID LEVELS appears to be the primary mechanism for beneficial effects of statins upon cardiovascular disease. At the same time, statins have been demonstrated in-vitro to impact on numerous aspects of inflammatory pathways, such...

New clinical guidelines on cholesterol management.
September 1, 2004... The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), a product of a collaboration of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association, has updated its clinical practice...

Hypothyroidism and pregnancy.
September 1, 2004... A new study clarifies thyroid replacement therapy during pregnancy. Researchers at Harvard followed 19 women with hypothyroidism through 20 pregnancies, of which 17 resulted in full-term births. Thyroid function, HCG levels, and estradiol were...

Anti-depressants and the risk of suicide.
September 1, 2004... The risk of suicidal behavior is relatively high after starting anti-depressants, however, there is no statistical difference between anti-depressants used, according to a new study. Researchers reviewed data from the UK General Practice...

FDA actions.(United States. Food and Drug Administration)
September 1, 2004... The FDA has approved acamprosate (CampralMerck) for the maintenance of abstinence in patients in alcohol recovery programs. The drug, which has been available in Europe for several years, may not work if patients are still drinking or abusing...

Brief notes.(effectiveness of over-the-counter cough medications)(phytoestrogen use rises)(ginseng effects on warfarin)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The over-the-counter cough medications, dextromethorphan and diphenhydramine, are no better than placebo in suppressing cough in children (Pediatrics. 2004;114:e85-e90). Many women are turning to phytoestrogens in lieu of hormone...