Family Practice News back issues from January 2008:
Carotid stenosis screening nixed.(News)
Jan 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Adults without symptoms of carotid artery stenosis should not be screened with ultrasonography or other tests, according to a recommendation issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Carotid artery screening provides minimal benefit in ...
Adults who did not receive needed health care because they could not afford it.(VITAL SIGNS)(Table)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... <Pre> Age (years) 18-44 8.1% 45-64 7.7% [greater than or equal to]65 2.5% ...
New guidelines for osteoarthritis spell out the science: the strength of each modality is rated.(Musculoskeletel Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- New guidelines on the management of hip and knee osteoarthritis aim to provide a consensus on which modalities have been shown to be effective, according to presentations at the World Congress on Osteoarthritis. More than 2 years in the making, the 25 ...
Medicare's 10.1% fee cut averted for next 6 months.(News)
Jan 01, 2008; ... In what has become a year-end tradition, last-minute congressional action has staved off deep cuts to the Medicare physician fee schedule. The 2007 version means physicians won't feel the pinch of a 10.1% pay cut under Medicare; instead, they will get a 0.5% increase through ...
Eyelash product containing glaucoma drug seized.(News)
Jan 01, 2008; ... The Food and Drug Administration seized more than 12,000 tubes of a product claiming to increase eyelash growth because it was found to contain bimatoprost the active ingredient in a prescription glaucoma solution--that could potentially cause vision problems in users. The ...
Panel backs neuroleptic for Huntington's chorea.(News)
Jan 01, 2008; ... BELTSVILLE, MD. -- The neuroleptic tetrabenazine will likely become the first drug approved in the United States for the management of Huntington's disease, following a federal advisory panel's unanimous vote supporting approval of the drug to treat Huntington's chorea. ...
FDA panel wants modern evidence on phenylephrine dosages.(News)
Jan 01, 2008; ... SILVER SPRING, MD. -- Phenylephrine, a primary ingredient in hundreds of over-the-counter nasal decongestants, appears to be effective at the current dose, but further research is needed to determine whether higher doses might be more effective, according to a Food and Drug Administration ...
FDA requires warning labels for nonoxynol 9.(News)
Jan 01, 2008; ... The Food and Drug Administration is requiring manufacturers to include a warning label on all over-the-counter, stand-alone vaginal contraceptive and spermicide products containing nonoxynol 9 saying that the chemical does not protect against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. ...
SCHIP is extended until 2009 amid lingering concerns.(News)
Jan 01, 2008; ... After months of debate and two presidential vetoes, Congress has successfully voted to extend the State Children's Health Insurance Program to April 2009. At press time, President Bush was expected to sign the legislation. The SCHIP extension is included in a bill that also ...
FDA panel recommends against OTC lovastatin.(News)(Food and Drug Administration)(over the counter)
Jan 01, 2008; ... SILVER SPRING, MD. -- F or the third time since 2000, Merck & Co. failed to convince Food and Drug Administration advisory panelists that lovastatin should be made available over the counter. At a joint meeting, the FDA's Nonprescription Advisory Committee and Endocrinologic and ...
"Behind-the-counter' prescribing is problematic.(Guest Editorial)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Americans are desperate for ways to reduce the costs of health care and prove access to care. At the same time, physicians are frustrated with the status quo. After a 30-year campaign by the media to disparage physicians with negative stories about them; reductions in reimbursement by ...
CPT: Current Procedural Tyranny.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Am I the only physician who is stunned by the ready acceptance of coding by a once-proud profession? You may be the best MD in the U.S. and save lives daily, but if you don't enter the proper code number for your work, you don't get a penny. That sounds like a plot for a Ray ...
Retort on Edwards' tort reform.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
Jan 01, 2008; ... I find it incredible that Sen. John Edwards allows himself to comment on tort reform ("Edwards Outlines Plans for Tort, Universal Health Care," Nov. 1, 2007, p. 49). As you know, Sen. Edwards made his millions (allowing for $400 haircuts) from malpractice suits. Many of these ...
Correction.(Opinion)(Correction notice)
Jan 01, 2008 ... In an article that was published in FAMILY PRACTICE NEWS ("Atypical Antipsychotics Tied to Adrenal Issues," December 1, 2007, p. 16), a case described by Dr. Violeta Tan and Dr. Natalie ...
Pain relievers.(Opinion)(Cartoon)
Jan 01, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Lose some weight, ...
Expand CVD testing to close the detection gap: target for testing populations such as the high-risk elderly, the functionally impaired, and diabetics.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(cardiovascular disease)
Jan 01, 2008; ... SAN DIEGO -- Consider expanding subclinical cardiovascular disease testing to include asymptomatic high-risk patient populations, Leslee J. Shaw, Ph.D., advised attendees at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. Referring physicians should ask ...
Accuracy of noninvasive CT angiography supported by trial.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(computed tomography)
Jan 01, 2008; ... CHICAGO -- A second multicenter trial has shown that noninvasive CT angiography is highly accurate in assessing coronary artery disease when compared with conventional invasive angiography. The per-vessel negative predictive value of 64-slice coronary CT angiography (CCTA) was ...
Calcification predicts CHD, CVD risks in some women.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(coronary heart disease)(cardiovascular disease)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Women with a "low-risk" Framingham heart score who are found to have coronary artery calcification on chest CT have a sixfold greater risk of a coronary event and a fivefold greater risk of a cardiovascular event developing within 4 years than those with no calcification. In ...
Coronary artery bypass, stents tied to same cognitive changes.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
Jan 01, 2008; ... WASHINGTON -- There doesn't appear to be any difference in long-term cognitive function following coronary artery bypass graft or stenting. This finding comes from an assessment of cognitive function at 6 years in 152 patients whose coronary artery disease (CAD) was treated ...
Newer epilepsy drugs cut cholesterol, CRP levels.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
Jan 01, 2008; ... PHILADELPHIA -- Switching from an enzyme-inducing to noninducing antiepileptic drug led to a significant fall in serum levels of cholesterol and C-reactive protein in a review of 38 patients. The relatively high levels of serum cholesterol and C-reactive protein (CRP) in ...
Irregular menses linked to increased heart risk.(Cardiovascular Medicine)
Jan 01, 2008; ... ORLANDO -- Postmenopausal women with a history of irregular menstrual cycles had a twofold increased risk of myocardial infarction and angina, compared with women with a regular menstrual history in a study with almost 700 patients. "A history of menstrual cycling irregularity ...
Smoking tied to greater type 2 diabetes risk.(Metabolic Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, results of a meta-analysis suggest. "Active smokers had an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared with nonsmokers, with a pooled relative risk of 1.44," study investigators ...
Racial variations in thyroid Ca likely biological.(Metabolic Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... WASHINGTON -- A population difference in tumor biology probably accounts for most of the 50% lower rate of thyroid cancer in blacks, compared with whites, Dr. Luc Morris said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. Lack ...
Lifestyle changes key to metabolic syndrome.(Metabolic Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... COLUMBUS, OHIO -- For patients with metabolic syndrome, the focus should be on the two "L" words: lifestyle and LDL. That was the message from a talk given by former American Heart Association president Dr. Robert H. Eckel at a meeting on diabetes sponsored by Ohio State ...
Combat 'diabesity' with color-coded nutrition advice.(Metabolic Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... LA JOLLA, CALIF. -- "Diabesity," as Dr. David Heber calls type 2 diabetes, is a lifestyle disease, not a diagnosis that necessarily requires heavy lifting of the prescription pad. Too many physicians begin and end the conversation by saying, "You have diabetes and I have a drug ...
Honey more soothing than dextromethorphan: data show OTC remedies are not very effective for colds and are associated with serious adverse effects.(Infectious Diseases)(over the counter)
Jan 01, 2008; ... A bedtime dose of buckwheat honey as more effective than was dexomethorphan or no treatment at all for quieting cough and facilitating sleep in children aged 2-17 who had upper respiratory infection, reported Dr. Ian M. Paul and his associates at Pennsylvania State University, Hershey. ...
Antibiotics, topical steroids show no effect in acute bacterial sinusitis.(Infectious Diseases)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Neither an antibiotic nor a steroid nasal spray is effective against acute bacterial sinusitis, according to a randomized study of 240 adults in the United Kingdom. These findings add to the growing evidence that antibiotics do not yield useful clinical effects in this patient ...
China reports on first human cases of avian flu in 6 months.(Infectious Diseases)
Jan 01, 2008; ... China has confirmed the first human cases of the highly pathogenic H5N 1 avian influenza virus in 6 months, international public health officials have reported. The two cases are a father and son in the Jiangsu province, according to the World Health Organization, citing the ...
Technique, weight should dictate needle length.(Infectious Diseases)
Jan 01, 2008; ... CHICAGO -- When immunizing adolescents, body weight and injection technique should guide the choice of needle length, according to a poster study presented at the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. "We looked at the performance of a 5 / ...
Watchful waiting reduced antibiotic use for acute otitis media in the ED.(Infectious Diseases)(Medical condition overview)
Jan 01, 2008; ... TORONTO -- A strategy of watchful waiting reduced antibiotic use and was well accepted by parents of children diagnosed with acute otitis media in the emergency department in a randomized trial of 223 children. Previous trials have evaluated a management strategy for otitis ...
Pneumonia burden eased with introduction of PCV7.(Infectious Diseases)(pneumococcal conjugate vaccine)
Jan 01, 2008; ... The pneumococcal vaccine appears to have markedly reduced the overall burden of pediatric pneumonia, results of a large retrospective study suggest. Rates of hospitalization and ambulatory medical visits for all-cause and pneumococcal pneumonia fell dramatically by 2004, 4 years ...
Age determines management of pediatric acne.(Skin Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... SAN FRANCISCO -- Children can get acne at any age, but what many parents think is ache might actually be something else, Dr. Rebecca L. Smith said at a meeting sponsored by Skin Disease Education Foundation. A good example is "neonatal acne." That's what this imposter used to be ...
Top 5 skin diagnoses vary by ethnicity in study.(Skin Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... MIAMI -- Unique structural and functional differences between the skin of black and white patients might help explain differences in the top five dermatology diagnoses for each ethnicity, according to study data presented at an international symposium sponsored by L'Oreal Institute for ...
Few seek medical advice for problems linked to hair care.(Skin Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MIAMI -- Many black women experience adverse events-and dissatisfaction stemming from their hair care practices, but few seek medical advice, results of a survey presented at an international symposium sponsored by L'Oreal Institute for Ethnic Hair and ...
Specific symptoms flag endometriosis diagnosis.(Women's Health)
Jan 01, 2008; ... WASHINGTON -- The constellation of symptoms characterizing endometriosis may be more specific than currently thought, Karen D. Ballard, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the AAGL. There is often a long delay in the diagnosis of endometriosis, in large part because the ...
Diagnose and treat interstitial cystitis, painful bladder early.(Women's Health)(Disease/Disorder overview)
Jan 01, 2008; ... MINNEAPOLIS -- Early recognition of interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome by the primary care physician can prevent this common and debilitating condition from becoming refractory, Dr. Robert Moldwin said at the annual meeting of the Association of Reproductive Health ...
Iodine-contrast screen snags missed breast lesions.(Women's Health)
Jan 01, 2008; ... CHICAGO -- Iodine contrast-enhanced digital mammography may be a useful and inexpensive alternative to follow-up magnetic resonance imaging in women with suspicious lesions on mammography, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. ...
Hormone combo eased vasomotor symptoms.(Women's Health)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008; ... WASHINGTON -- Postmenopausal women who took a low-dose estrogen/ progestin medication reported significant improvements in vasomotor symptoms and quality of life after 6 months, according to findings from an open-label efficacy study. The therapy caused a significant increase in ...
Antihypertensive's antidepressant effects explored.(Mental Health)
Jan 01, 2008; ... VIENNA -- Mecamylamine, an old, rarely prescribed, truly obscure antihypertensive agent, may be favorably reincarnated as an antidepressant with a completely novel mechanism of action--and vastly greater potential use. The drug displayed favorable safety and efficacy as ...
Parent-completed tool IDs development issues.(Mental Health)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Incorporating a parent-completed developmental screening tool into 12and 24-month well-child office visits in a busy practice increased referrals for further evaluation by 224% in a recent study. The finding underscores the need for increased attention to providing developmental ...
Schizophrenia patients respond to over-the-counter supplement.(Mental Health)(Medical condition overview)
Jan 01, 2008; ... VIENNA -- N-acetylcysteine, an inexpensive supplement widely available over the counter in health food stores, proved safe and effective as adjunctive therapy for chronic schizophrenia in a 6-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, Dr. Michael Berk said at the annual congress of the ...
Lack of awareness differentiates types of nighttime eating disorders.(Mental Health)
Jan 01, 2008; ... MONTREAL -- When night eating becomes pathological, with harmful effects on sleep and body weight, it is important to differentiate between sleep-related eating disorder and night-eating syndrome, said Dr. Jonathan Fleming, a psychiatrist at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. ...
Abdominal height accurately gauges adiposity.(Obesity)
Jan 01, 2008; ... NEW ORLEANS -- In a patient with a body mass index of 40 kg/[m.sup.2] or more, measuring the height of the abdomen while the patient is lying down is a better indicator of visceral adiposity than is measuring waist circumference, according to a poster presentation at the annual meeting of ...
BMI's association with mortality varies by cause.(Obesity)
Jan 01, 2008; ... A study using national health survey data has found varying associations between body mass index and mortality, depending on the cause. Using data on cause-specific relative risks of mortality from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1971-2002, ...
Long-term weight loss aids arterial flow, function.(Obesity)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008; ... NEW ORLEANS -- Extremely obese individuals who lost weight and kept it off for at least 1 year significantly improved their vascular endothelial function, Dr. Noyan Gokce reported in a poster at the annual meeting of NAASO, the Obesity Society Arterial flow-mediated dilation ...
Bacterial gastroenteritis ups intussusception risk.(Digestive Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... SALT LAKE CITY -- A young child who has a bacterial gastrointestinal infection may have a 30 times higher risk of intussusception in the following 6 months, according to a study of cases from a large military database. "There is a significant increased risk of intussusception in ...
CBT eases psychiatric aspects of irritable bowel syndrome.(Digestive Disorders)(cognitive-behavioral therapy)
Jan 01, 2008; ... VIENNA -- Irritable bowel syndrome can be seen as an anxiety disorder--and, as such, responsive to cognitive-behavioral therapy. "Core symptomatology of IBS is clearly physiological, but the cause of suffering and severe loss of function affecting many patients is better ...
Ultrasound classification aids diagnosis of appendicitis in kids.(Digestive Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... CHICAGO -- A new ultrasound classification that elevates the importance of secondary signs in acute appendicitis facilitates surgical decision making in the diagnosis or exclusion of appendicitis in children. "[It] improves sensitivity in children with suspected acute ...
Meniscal damage shown to lead to radiographic knee arthritis.(Musculoskeletel Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... BOSTON -- Preventing meniscal damage should be a top therapeutic priority in the fight against knee osteoarthritis, Dr. Martin Englund said at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology. Dr. Englund of Boston University and his colleagues in the Multicenter ...
Addressing insomnia may help reduce OA-related pain.(Musculoskeletel Disorders)(Medical condition overview)(Clinical report)
Jan 01, 2008; ... SAN FRANCISCO -- Cognitive-behavioral therapy for comorbid insomnia in patients with osteoarthritis not only improved sleep but also reduced self-reported pain in a randomized, controlled pilot study of 51 patients, reported Michael V. Vitiello, Ph.D. The improvements in both ...
Guidelines to take broader view of fracture risk.(Musculoskeletel Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... LA JOLLA, CALIF. -- Management of osteoporosis is about to undergo some radical changes, including a new international focus on assessing fracture risk in clinical practice and an emphasis on higher doses of vitamin D, said Dr. Stuart L. Silverman at Perspectives in Women's Health ...
New biologic might help treatment of patients with severe, refractory gout.(Musculoskeletel Disorders)(Clinical report)
Jan 01, 2008; ... BOSTON -- A new, long-acting interleukin-1 inhibitor being tested for multiple inflammatory conditions substantially decreased disease activity and pain associated with chronic active gout in a placebo-controlled pilot study. If the findings are validated in larger ...
Height loss over 3 years predicts osteoporosis in patients over age 50 years.(Musculoskeletel Disorders)
Jan 01, 2008; ... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Measuring a patient's height during routine primary care visits may be one of the simplest and least expensive ways to predict osteoporosis risk and to guide screening, according to a study at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond. Height loss of 1.5 ...
Lung damage from secondhand smoke exposed.(Pulmonary Medicine)
Jan 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CHICAGO -- A novel magnetic resonance imaging technique may have provided the proverbial smoking gun in the secondhand smoking debate. Using helium-3 diffusion MRI, researchers at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and the Children's ...
Older adults receptive to try lifestyle changes.(Geriatric Medicine)
Jan 01, 2008; ... SAN FRANCISCO -- A surprisingly high 85% of older adults with hypertension, hyperglycemia, or hyperlipidemia reported engaging in lifestyle modifications, such as diet change or exercise, in a longitudinal study of 666 people, Eleanor M. Simonsick, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the ...
Tai Chi improved cognitive function in older, healthy adults.(Geriatric Medicine)
Jan 01, 2008; ... SAN FRANCISCO -- The Eastern exercise, tai chi, improved a measure of cognitive function in a year-long, randomized, controlled study of 132 healthy older adults. This is the first study to document mental improvements resulting from tai chi, Ruth E. Taylor-Piliae, Ph.D., said ...
Age-related loss of peripheral vision increases risk of falls.(Geriatric Medicine)
Jan 01, 2008; ... Peripheral visual field loss significantly increased the risk of falling in older adults, according to data from 2,375 community-dwelling adults aged 65 to 84 years. Poor vision has been implicated in falls in previous studies, and many interventions to prevent falls in the ...
PCPs, specialists failing in care for CKD patients.(Clinical Rounds)
Jan 01, 2008; ... SAN FRANCISCO -- A recent study indicates that about 41% of patients with chronic kidney disease receive their treatment solely from nonnephrologists, and about a third of these patients were not diagnosed, judging from the fact that their physicians never coded for the disorder. ...
Kidney disease is associated with an increased risk of ICD infection.(Clinical Rounds)
Jan 01, 2008 ... SAN FRANCISCO -- Patients with chronic kidney disease are at increased risk of infections associated with cardiac pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators, according to a study that Dr. Patrick H. Pun presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology. ...
Loss of kidney function flags SCD risk in heart disease.(Clinical Rounds)
Jan 01, 2008 ... SAN FRANCISCO -- A declining glomerular filtration rate is a strong and independent predictor of sudden cardiac death in patients with significant coronary artery disease, Dr. Thomas R. Smarz reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology. For every 10-unit ...
Mediterranean diet found protective.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... The more closely people in America adhere to a Mediterranean diet, the more they decrease their mortality risk, according to Dr. Panagiota N. Mitrou of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md., and her associates. To date, no U.S. study has investigated the diet's effect on ...
Fiber helps black women fight diabetes.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Black women can cut their risk of type 2 diabetes by increasing their intake of cereal fiber, a study of 40,000 women suggests. Cereal fiber has been inversely related to diabetes risk in several studies, but the issue had never been studied in a large sample of black women, who ...
Hypertension and cognitive impairment.(Clinical Capsules)(Brief article)
Jan 01, 2008 ... Hypertension increases the risk for nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment in the elderly, according to Dr. Christiane Reitz of the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center at Columbia University, New York. Dr. Reitz and her colleagues assessed the development of mild cognitive impairment ...
TransforMED's growing pains deemed worth it.(Practice Trends)
Jan 01, 2008; ... VICTORIA, B.C. -- More than midway through the family medicine TransforMED National Demonstration Project, organizers have learned to focus on relationships, systems, and technology in converting offices into places where teams deliver efficient, patient-centered, prevention-focused care. ...
FPs carry disproportionate load of indigent care.(Practice Trends)
Jan 01, 2008; ... VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Family physicians provide ambulatory care to a higher proportion of disadvantaged adults than do other specialists, including general internists, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the North American Primary Care Research Group. Dr. Robert ...