Internal Medicine Alert – February 15, 2006
February 15, 2006
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Pharmacology Watch
Letrozole for Postmenopausal Women with Breast Cancer; Do Antidepressants Increase Risk of Suicide?; Can Viagra Improve Heart Function?; Can Tamoxifen Increase Your Height?; A Dramatic Increase of Clostridium difficile; FDA Actions -
Is LDL Cholesterol the Best CHD Lipid Marker?
Illnesses produced by vascular diseases are far and away the most common cause of death in the developed world and, amazingly enough, will become the leading cause of death even in the developing world by 2020.1 Identifying individuals at increased risk of coronary artery heart disease (CHD) is critical in preventing CHD and, in 2002, the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III)2 reaffirmed its previous position by concluding that low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) would remain the cornerstone of lipid management. -
Shaky Evidence for an Old Technique
The use of a steroid ointment following a 20-minute soak may relieve chronic skin conditions. -
Forgotten Hazards of Sedatives
This case series and prospective observational study describe propylene glycol toxicity in patients receiving IV benzodiazepines. The authors estimate the incidence of this important but unrecognized complication to be 19%. -
Pharmacology Update: Conivaptan Injection (Vaprisol®)
The FDA has approved the first of a new class of agents, the vaptans. Conivaptan, the first arginine vasopressin receptor antagonist, is approved for the management of serious sodium/water imbalance. It will be marketed by Astellas Pharma US, Inc as Vaprisol®. -
Clinical Briefs By Louis Kuritzky, MD
Efficacy and Safety of Benazepril for Advanced Chronic Renal Insufficiency; Prognostic Value of Thyroid Hormone Levels in Acute MI: Just an Epiphenomenon?; Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs and the Risk of Actinic Keratoses and Squamous Cell Cancers of the Skin -
ECG Review: A 73-Year-Old Man with Dyspnea
The 12-lead ECG in the Figure was obtained from a 73-year-old man with dyspnea. What ECG findings do you see that may account for his symptoms?