Table of Contents
From the Editor
- Guidelines or a plea for help?
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently published a guideline on the use of calcium and vitamin D supplements to prevent fractures in adults. I agree with two-thirds of their recommendations.
Review
- Medication-assisted treatment of opiate dependence is gaining favor
Recovering addicts are more likely to avoid returning to the use of opiates if they participate in a program that includes taking maintenance doses of methadone or buprenorphine.
Evaluation and management of premature ventricular complexesThe diagnostic evaluation should include an assessment for structural heart disease and ambulatory Holter monitoring.
Medical Grand Rounds
- Managing severe acute pancreatitis
Progress in managing this disease has been disappointing, but clinicians are learning to recognize it and treat it supportively better than in the past.
The Clinical Picture
- Stiff, numb hands
A 45-year-old woman presents to the emergency room with cramps and paresthesias in her hands and feet. What is going on?
Im Board Review
- A 74-year-old man with abdominal pain
The patient has colon cancer, a repaired abdominal aortic aneurysm, and now, worsening abdominal pain.
1-Minute Consult
- Which patients may benefit from coronary artery calcification scoring?
Although no randomized trial has yet shown that the test improves outcomes, it is best used in asymptomatic patients at intermediate risk.
Editorial
- Does coronary artery calcification scoring still have a role in practice?
Despite more than 2 decades of use and data from hundreds of thousands of patients, the test remains poorly understood.
Departments
- Sleep-disordered breathing and resistant hypertension (February 2013)
Readers comment on the role of sleep apnea in resistant hypertension (February 2013).
Commentary
The USPSTF recently threw cold water on the use of these supplements, but the findings need to be put in context.