Internal Medicine Alert
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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. -
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. -
Low-Dose Aspirin in the Primary Prevention of Cancer
By Barbara A. Phillips, MD, MSPH Professor of Medicine, University of Kentucky; Director, Sleep Disorders Center, Samaritan Hospital, Lexington, KY Dr. Phillips serves on the speakers bureau of Cephalon, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck, ResMed, and GlaxoSmithKline and is a consultant for Boehringer Ingelheim, Wyeth-Ayerst, and ResMed. Synopsis: There was no overall effect of 100 mg aspirin every other day on total cancer among nearly 40,000 women randomized to aspirin or placebo and followed for an average of 10 years. -
Clinical Briefs
Vitamin E and Donepezil for the Treatment of Mild Cognitive Impairment Foot Small Muscle Atrophy Before the Detection of Clinical Neuropathy Statins and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer -
Etiology of Elevated Troponin Levels Other Than in Acute Coronary Syndromes
By Harold L. Karpman, MD Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine Dr. Karpman reports no financial relationship to this field of study. -
Autonomic Peripheral Neuropathy
By Norm Latov, MD Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience and Director of the Peripheral Neuropathy Center at Weill Medical College at Cornell University. Dr. Latov is a consultant for Quest Diagnostics and Talecris Inc., is a stockholder of Therapath LLC, and has royalties in Athena Diagnostics. Synopsis: The availability of sensitive and reproducible measures of autonomic function has improved physicians ability to diagnose these disorders. -
Pharmacology Update Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Injection (depo-subQ provera 104)
By William T. Elliott, MD, FACP, and James Chan, PhD, PharmD Dr. Elliott is Chair, Formulary Committee, Northern California Kaiser Permanente; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco; Dr. Chan is Pharmacy Quality and Outcomes Manager, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA. Drs. Chan and Elliott report no financial relationships to this field of study. -
Treatment of Tuberculosis and Latent Tuberculosis Infection
The treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis is divided into an initial phase of four drugs for two months.
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Treatment Alternatives for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
By Malcolm Robinson, MD, FACP, FACG Emeritus Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Oklahoma City, OK Dr. Robinson serves as a consultant for TAP, Pfizer, Janssen, Eisai, J&J-Merck, and Procter & Gamble, is on the speakers bureau of Janssen, Eli Lilly, Solvay, TAP, and Aventis, and does research for Forest Labs, Wyeth-Ayerst, AstraZeneca, and Centocor.