http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research.html en-us Copyright 2008 American Academy of Family Physicians http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080507tobacco-guide.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080507tobacco-guide.html Evidence from the U.S. Public Health Service's 2008 update of the Clinical Practice Guideline: Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence indicates that both counseling and medication for tobacco dependence in adults are effective, especially when combined. Moreover, suggests the AAFP-endorsed guideline update, health systems, insurers and purchasers should help clinicians make such treatments available. ann@aafp.org Wed, 07 May 2008 16:10:00 CDT Clinical Care & Research http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080430cefixime.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080430cefixime.html Beginning this month, the only oral agent recommended by the CDC for treatment of uncomplicated urogenital or rectal gonococcal infection is again readily available in the United States. According to a notice in the April 25 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Baltimore-based Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has begun manufacturing cefixime 400-mg tablets for distribution in the United States. ann@aafp.org Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:10:00 CDT Clinical Care & Research http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080422nrnsleep-alcohol.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080422nrnsleep-alcohol.html The AAFP National Research Network, or NRN, is renewing its call for participants for its Patient Sleep Problems and Alcohol Consumption Study. To date, the study has enrolled more than 70 clinicians and 1,200 patients. Researchers on the project are hoping to enroll a total of 100 clinicians by May 2008. ann@aafp.org Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:10:00 CDT Clinical Care & Research http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080416rotarix.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080416rotarix.html FDA officials recently gave the nod to a second live, oral vaccine designed to protect infants and young children from rotavirus gastroenteritis caused by the G1, G3, G4 and G9 viral strains. Rotarix, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is a liquid that is given as a two-dose series to infants between ages 6 and 24 weeks. cborgmey@aafp.org Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:35:00 CDT Clinical Care & Research http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080402rhinostudy.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080402rhinostudy.html It's a familiar scenario to most family physicians: A patient presents with symptoms of rhinosinusitis, but there is no way to know from that presentation whether the infection is viral or bacterial. Recently published guidelines on prescribing antibiotics for this condition are more stringent than those presented in the past, but many physicians continue to prescribe these antimicrobials in the absence of definitive evidence of the infection's etiology. ann@aafp.org Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:50:00 CDT Clinical Care & Research http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080402newflurec.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080402newflurec.html The AAFP, together with the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, or AAP, recently moved one step closer to realizing a joint goal of universal immunization against seasonal influenza. On March 13, AAFP Board Chair Rick Kellerman, M.D., of Wichita, Kan., gave an official thumbs-up to a recommendation from the three groups that calls for expanding annual influenza immunizations to include all children ages 6 months to 18 years beginning no later than the 2009-2010 influenza season. cborgmey@aafp.org Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:40:00 CDT Clinical Care & Research http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080402annptcareprior.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080402annptcareprior.html Primary care physicians, like all health care professionals, are encouraged to deliver patient-centered services that respond to what patients want and need. But what attributes do patients value most in primary care consultations? Researchers in the United Kingdom's National Primary Care Research and Development Centre at the University of Manchester and University of York explored that question in a study reported on in the March/April Annals of Family Medicine. ann@aafp.org Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:25:00 CDT Clinical Care & Research http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080320diabetes-gender.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080320diabetes-gender.html Finding better ways to educate patients with diabetes and manage their disease could prove beneficial to family physicians, who often are the first line of defense against the disease. A recently published study that suggests diabetes counseling, management and patient education should be presented differently to men and women could help FPs in their efforts. ann@aafp.org Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:40:00 CDT Clinical Care & Research http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080320whi-hrtstudy.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080320whi-hrtstudy.html A follow-up study from the Women’s Health Initiative, or WHI, combination hormone therapy trial has found that women who use estrogen plus progestin on a long-term basis can incur multiple risks that persist even after the therapy has been stopped. Specifically, the researchers found that nearly three years after combination therapy was halted, many of the adverse health effects seen during the intervention, such as increased cardiovascular risks, dissipated. Other effects, however, such as the increased risk of developing breast cancer, persisted well after treatment was stopped. ann@aafp.org Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:05:00 CDT Clinical Care & Research http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080312calciumsupp.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080312calciumsupp.html A study recently published in BMJ raises questions about the overall safety of calcium supplementation in healthy postmenopausal women. The results of the study, titled "Vascular events in healthy older women receiving calcium supplementation: randomized controlled trial," suggest a link between calcium supplementation and increased rates of adverse cardiovascular events in postmenopausal women. ann@aafp.org Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:05:00 CDT Clinical Care & Research http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080305dementiaguide.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080305dementiaguide.html If you're considering pharmacological therapy for a patient with dementia, be aware that there's only modest evidence of clinically meaningful benefit for the average patient. Therefore, conduct an individualized assessment of your patient and his or her situation, in consultation with caregivers, to determine if a trial of drug therapy is appropriate. If you decide to prescribe, choose one of the five FDA-approved drugs for dementia based on cost, ease of use, tolerability and side effects, because currently there's no convincing evidence that any one of the drugs is more effective than another. ann@aafp.org Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:25:00 CST Clinical Care & Research http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080305hibvaccreminder.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20080305hibvaccreminder.html For a typical family medicine practice, administering immunizations is part and parcel of the everyday routine -- especially when it comes to youngsters who've come in for their well-child visits. So, deciding to forgo a key piece of the recommended childhood immunization schedule may seem counterintuitive. In the face of an ongoing shortage of Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, conjugate vaccine, however, the CDC is reminding vaccine providers about an interim recommendation that urges temporary deferral of the Hib vaccine booster usually given to healthy children at the 12- or 15-month visit except for certain high-risk children. cborgmey@aafp.org Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:30:00 CST Clinical Care & Research