More articles from Medical Grand Rounds
- What’s new in prostate cancer screening and prevention?
Two large trials of screening with prostate-specific antigen measurements came to seemingly opposite conclusions. Furthermore, a large trial of selenium and vitamin E found that neither has value in preventing prostate cancer.
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: Emerging concepts of pathogenesis and new treatmentsSome of the mystery of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease is starting to clear. As a result, some promising new treatments are in clinical trials.
- Lupus update: Perspective and clinical pearls
Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus have a markedly better survival rate today, but they face a greater risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis at early ages.
- Update in infectious disease treatment
Important studies in infectious disease over the last year cover Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, the safety of cefepime, acute sinusitis, Bell palsy, antifungal prophylaxis in patients undergoing chemotherapy, and invasive candidiasis.
- Update on infectious disease prevention: Human papillomavirus, hepatitis A
Vaccination against human papillomavirus prevents cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and genital warts and is likely cost-effective. Hepatitis A vaccine is as effective as hepatitis A immune globulin for postexposure prophylaxis against hepatitis A.
- Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: 2008 Update
This is one of the few hematologic emergencies. Untreated, most patients die, but prompt treatment allows most patients not only to survive but to recover.
- Staphylococcus aureus: The new adventures of a legendary pathogen
S aureus is rearing its ugly head in new and interesting ways, both in the hospital and in the community.
- A Perspective on the Fluids and Catheters Treatment Trial (FACTT)
Although most clinicians tend to manage acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome by giving more rather than less fluid, patients may actually fare better under a strategy of limited fluid intake and increased fluid excretion.
- Short-term prognosis after a TIA: A simple score predicts risk
This article discusses the defining features of transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), and their immediate evaluation and management.
- Hypertension from Framingham to ALLHAT: Translating clinical trials into practice
Most people with hypertension are still not being adequately treated. Newer drugs have not surpassed diuretics in efficacy and safety. Rather than trying to develop newer, more expensive agents, our priority should be to treat more patients and to treat them more aggressively.
