Table of Contents
Editorial
- Medical McCarthyism: Medicare, teaching hospitals, and charges of health care fraud
Real fraud cannot be tolerated, but spurious fraud charges are equally intolerable.
Internal Medicine Board Review
- A 52-year-old woman with skin lesions and liver function abnormalities
The patient presents to her doctor with a pruritic rash of 6 weeks’ duration. What is the diagnosis and treatment?
Clinical Decision Making
- The uncertain role of immunosuppressive agents in Sjögren’s syndrome
Although Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disorder, immunosuppressive agents have yielded disappointing results in clinical trials.
Clinical Review
- Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: An emerging public health threat
Three reported cases of S aureus with intermediate susceptibility to vancomycin raise fears that high-level vancomycin resistance may soon be seen. Physicians need to limit their use of vancomycin, and hospitals need to intensify their infection-control efforts.
- Stress ulcer prophylaxis: The case for a selective approach
Although stress-related mucosal damage is common in critically ill patients, the risk of significant gastrointestinal bleeding appears to be confined to patients with certain risk factors. A full-color illustration explaining the pathogenesis of stress-related mucosal damage accompanies this article.
- Homocysteine: Update on a new risk factor
A high fasting plasma homocysteine level is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and venous thrombosis.
Cancer Diagnosis and Management
- Stereotactic breast biopsy: A less-invasive option
Percutaneous core needle biopsy, guided by digital three-dimensional x-ray imaging, offers a reasonable alternative to standard surgical biopsy.
