Internal Medicine Alert – August 15, 2005
August 15, 2005
View Issues
-
Prescription Drug Treatment for Obesity
A review of 79 clinical trials involving diet plus medications for treating obesity with BMI > 27 found modest weight loss at 1 year with sibutramine, orlistat, phentermine, bupropion, and topiramate when compared to placebo pills, and probably also for diethylpropion and fluoxetine. -
ICU Patients’ Family Members Are at Risk for PTSD
When closest family members of critically ill patients were interviewed 90 days later, significant post-traumatic stress symptoms were present in one-third of them. Risks for PTSD were more prevalent if the patient had died in the ICU, especially after end-of-life decision-making in which the family member participated. -
Febrile Neutropenia: Identifying High-Risk Patients
Understanding of etiologies, management, and outcomes of febrile neutropenia has improved in recent years, and it is now possible to identify patients at high risk for morbidity and mortality using demographic, historical, and laboratory indicators. -
Pharmacology Update: Isosorbide Dinitrate and Hydralazine HCL Tablets (BiDilTM)
The FDA has approved the combination of isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine for the treatment of heart failure in the black (African decent) population. -
Clinical Briefs
Recent guidance from the United States Preventive Services Task Force has affirmed the evidence-based value of screening male current/ex-smokers older than age 65 for abdominal aortic aneurysm. -
ECG Review: RBBB and What Else?
The 12-lead ECG in the Figure was obtained from a 75-year-old woman who presented with shortness of breath but no chest pain. There is complete RBBB (right bundle branch block). What else do you see? In view of this clinical presentation, what should you be concerned about? -
Pharmacology Watch: Antibiotic Treatment of Acute Lower Respiratory Infection
A new study from England defines acute lower respiratory tract infection as an uncomplicated acute illness, with cough as the primary symptom and at least one symptom or sign localized to the lower respiratory tract including sputum, chest pain, dyspnea, or wheeze.