January 2009 Issue of Cortlandt Forum

Quick Digest

More colonoscopies in your future?

Primary-care physicians are performing colonoscopies as safely and effectively as specialists, a meta-analysis found. The American College of Gastroenterology disagrees.

Quick Takes

30

Percentage of people diagnosed with asthma who don't have the disease.

3.1

Annual percentage increase in new diagnoses of malignant melanoma from 1992 to 2004.

Drug Updates from MPR

Cleviprex

An IV calcium channel blocker to reduce BP from The Medicines Company

We’ve Got Answers

New agents for myeloma

What is the current role of interferon and rituximab in myeloma therapy?

Antibiotic-induced diarrhea

To reduce the risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, I recommend yogurt with live cultures. The yogurt also helps settle diarrhea after a bout of gastroenteritis....

Why does the prostate grow with age?

Since most tissues shrink with age, why does the prostate expand as men grow old?

Disappearing hydrocodone products

Why are Histussin HC and Histinex HC no longer available?

Administering B12

How should vitamin B12 be administered? I have read that injections are not necessary for administering vitamin B12—even in gastrectomy patients.

ARBs and ACE inhibitors for proteinuria

Can we prescribe the ARBs and the ACE inhibitors in insurance company formularies for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy, or must we push for specific ...

Cover Feature

Recognizing bacterial meningitis

Bacterial infection of the meninges is potentially treatable if diagnosed early, making rapid diagnostics essential and increasing pressure on the clinician.

Diagnostic Challenge: The Geriatric Patient

Transient severe breathing difficulty while shoveling snow

An elderly woman returns home from a balmy South Pacific vacation and finds very cold temperatures. While shoveling snow, she finds that she can't get ...

Dermatology Dx

Brown bumps that evolved into verrucous plaques

A 17-year-old black woman presented with a rash that had first appeared eight months earlier on her back and chest. The eruption, which had begun ...

Disfiguring violaceous papules on a woman's nose

A 47-year-old black woman presented with a several-month history of violaceous papules coalescing into plaques on her nose and cheeks. The lesions were either painful ...