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Findings from a just-published study indicate that women who use the contraceptive injection depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA, marketed as Depo-Provera, Pfizer, New York City) appear to have a threefold increased risk of acquiring chlamydia and gonorrhea when compared to women not using a hormonal contraceptive.
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Are more women at your family planning facility requesting information on intrauterine contraception? Chances are you are seeing an increase in interest: Almost 30% of respondents to the 2004 Contraceptive Technology Update Contraception Survey say they have performed six to 25 intrauterine device (IUD) insertions in the last year, up slightly from 2003s figures.
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When it comes to oral contraceptives (OCs), when should pills be prescribed, and when should they be withheld? Respondents to the 2004 Contraceptive Technology Update Contraception Survey take a cautious approach when it comes to providing pills for older women who smoke.
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The NIH has halted the estrogen-alone wing of the Womens Health Initiative a year before its scheduled end.
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The ECG shown in the Figure was obtained in the emergency department (ED) from a 61-year-old woman with a history of significant hypertension. She was alert, oriented, and not in acute distress at the time this tracing was recorded, although she was markedly hypertensive and experiencing some chest pain. No prior ECG was available. The patient was treated in the ED with several doses of Adenosine and eventually converted to sinus rhythm. Your thoughts on the rhythm and the management?
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The FDA has approved a combination product of amlodipine and atrovastatin for the treatment of patients with comorbid hypertension and hypercholesterolemia.
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Although regular aspirin use reduces the risk for colorectal adenoma formation as shown in previous randomized-controlled trials, the protective effect now seems to be greatest at substantially higher doses (> 14 standard tablets/week) than currently recommended for cardiovascular prophylaxis.
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B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a biomarker released by cardiac ventricular myocytes. Its usefulness is mainly in the emergency room for the evaluation of acute dyspnea, to evaluate for cardiac failure. BNP may have usefulness as a screening test for preclinical heart disease, for risk stratification and for guidance with therapy.
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In part II of this two-part series, the Antibiotic Therapy in Bacterial Sinusitis (ATBS) Clinical Consensus Panel outlines risk-directed strategies for management of patients with acute bacterial rhinosinusitis. Outlining specific symptomatic, historical, and host criteria that prompt empiric antibiotic therapy, and a sequencing strategy for antimicrobial drug selection, this review provides practical, evidence-based strategies for patient management.
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