Table of Contents

With so many important clinical trials being published each year, it is easy to focus on the study methodology and conclusions, overlooking the years of careful clinical observaton that preceded the trial development.

Advances in computed tomography (CT) have made the diagnosis of acute aortic syndromes faster and easier.

Lewis Carroll’s poem of 1872 is a useful starting point for identifying issues resulting from confusion over the various acute aortic syndromes.

The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value is only one of the risk factors for prostate cancer, and no PSA value rules cancer in or out. Therefore, our laboratory reports will no longer list 4.0 μg/L as the upper limit of normal. Instead, we will estimate the patient’s actual risk.

In our management of prostate cancer, dogma often outweighs real data. Well-designed, randomized clinical trials are the answer.

This test is used if the diagnosis of asthma is in question, but it is currently not recommended for routine management of asthma.

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.

Sometimes pain in the neck or back is caused by a problem in the shoulder, hip, or extremities. Common mimics are rotator cuff tear, bursitis in the hip, peripheral nerve compression, and arthritis in the shoulder and hip.

This study found that depression can be treated successfully by primary care physicians under real-world conditions. The particular drug or drugs used are not as important as a rational plan.

Especially in frail, elderly patients, strict glycemic control should be emphasized less than avoiding malnutrition and hypoglycemia and achieving the best quality of life possible.