More articles from Review
Raising an isolated low HDL-C level: Why, how, and when?No current therapy is optimal, but many can modestly increase HDL-C. The decision to treat depends on the patient’s risk for coronary disease.
- Clopidogrel and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura: No clear case for causality
Current evidence neither establishes nor refutes a causal relationship between the drug and this potentially fatal disorder.
- New guidelines for occupational exposure to blood-borne viruses
New guidelines from the US Public Health Service deal with exposure to hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.
- Fecal incontinence in elderly patients: Common, treatable, yet often undiagnosed
We should take this problem seriously. Many times it is treatable.
- When to wean from a ventilator: An evidence-based strategy
Our algorithm for determining when and how to wean a patient from ventilation.
- Physician cultural competence: Cross-cultural communication improves care
Your patients culture makes a difference in his or her care—and so does your own.
DXA scanning to diagnose osteoporosis: Do you know what the results mean?Behind the numbers on the report lurk many opportunities for error, and the results depend on the operator and scanner used.
- Chemoprevention of colorectal cancer: Slow, steady progress
We are learning how to use aspirin and other drugs to prevent colorectal cancer, or at least reduce its incidence.
- Penicillin allergy: Consider trying penicillin again
With skin testing and, in some cases, desensitization, most patients with a history of penicillin allergy can safely receive drug.
- Preventing kidney failure: Primary care physicians must intervene earlier
Five simple questions can help one to intervene early and effectively, using just a few minutes of an office visit.