Table of Contents

August 19, 2008; 149 (4)

Articles

  • Appropriateness Criteria for Coronary Angiography in Angina: Reliability and Validity

    • Harry Hemingway,
    • Ruoling Chen,
    • Cornelia Junghans,
    • Adam Timmis,
    • Sandra Eldridge,
    • Nick Black,
    • Paul Shekelle,
    • and Gene Feder
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:221-231

    Can patient-specific appropriateness criteria developed by experts identify which patients with suspected angina should undergo coronary angiography? In Hemingway and colleagues' study, expert panels scored hundreds of patient-specific scenarios as inappropriate, uncertain, or appropriate indications for coronary angiography. Researchers matched these appropriateness indications to 9356 clinic patients with recent-onset chest pain. Many patients judged as appropriate candidates did not undergo angiography and more had subsequent coronary events than did patients who “appropriately” had angiography.

  • Prognosis after West Nile Virus Infection

    • Mark Loeb,
    • Steven Hanna,
    • Lindsay Nicolle,
    • John Eyles,
    • Susan Elliott,
    • Michel Rathbone,
    • Michael Drebot,
    • Binod Neupane,
    • Margaret Fearon,
    • and James Mahony
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:232-241

    In this longitudinal study, Loeb and associates examined the patterns of physical and mental function after infection with West Nile virus and determined factors associated with recovery. Among 156 patients with West Nile virus infection in 4 Canadian provinces, physical and cognitive function, as well as mood and fatigue, seemed to return to population norms within about 1 year.

  • Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations and Risk for Hip Fractures

    • Jane A. Cauley,
    • Andrea Z. LaCroix,
    • LieLing Wu,
    • Mara Horwitz,
    • Michelle E. Danielson,
    • Doug C. Bauer,
    • Jennifer S. Lee,
    • Rebecca D. Jackson,
    • John A. Robbins,
    • Chunyuan Wu,
    • Frank Z. Stanczyk,
    • Meryl S. LeBoff,
    • Jean Wactawski-Wende,
    • Gloria Sarto,
    • Judith Ockene,
    • and Steven R. Cummings
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:242-250

    Vitamin D supplementation may help prevent fractures, but it is not clear whether blood vitamin D concentrations predict fracture risk. In Cauley and colleagues' case–control study, women with lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations had a higher hip fracture risk. The association was independent of frailty, body mass index, physical function, and falls.

  • The ADVANTAGE Seeding Trial: A Review of Internal Documents

    • Kevin P. Hill,
    • Joseph S. Ross,
    • David S. Egilman,
    • and Harlan M. Krumholz
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:251-258

    The public has lacked strong documentary evidence of a long-suspected practice: drug company sponsorship of randomized trials to promote a new drug by getting physicians accustomed to using it while following the trial protocol (seeding trials). Hill and coworkers obtained court-ordered documents that showed that Merck & Co.'s marketing division conducted the ADVANTAGE (Assessment of Differences between Vioxx and Naproxen To Ascertain Gastrointestinal Tolerability and Effectiveness) randomized trial to promote the use of Vioxx (rofecoxib)—the drug prescribed to the trial participants. The company did not tell institutional review boards, physicians, or patients the true purpose of the trial.

Academia and Clinic

  • Navigating Language Barriers under Difficult Circumstances

    • Yael Schenker,
    • Bernard Lo,
    • Katharine M. Ettinger,
    • and Alicia Fernandez
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:264-269

    Physicians often find themselves caring for patients with limited English proficiency in settings with limited language services. Schenker and associates describe 4 factors that should inform the decision to call an interpreter (the clinical situation, degree of language gap, available interpretive resources, and patient preference), discuss who may be an appropriate interpreter, and offer coping strategies for when a professional interpreter is not available.

Review

  • Narrative Review: Furosemide for Hypercalcemia: An Unproven yet Common Practice

    • Susan B. LeGrand,
    • Dona Leskuski,
    • and Ivan Zama
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:259-263

    First-line therapy with saline and furosemide continues to be the standard of care for acute management of hypercalcemia. LeGrand and colleagues sought evidence on this practice and found none that supported the common practice of using furosemide for hypercalcemia of any cause.

Perspectives

  • Hereditary Hemochromatosis: Time for Targeted Screening

    • Pradyumna D. Phatak,
    • Herbert L. Bonkovsky,
    • and Kris V. Kowdley
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:270-272

    Hereditary hemochromatosis, an inherited disease characterized by excessive absorption of dietary iron, may lead to progressive tissue iron accumulation, organ damage, and premature death. Some evidence-based guideline groups have recommended against screening asymptomatic individuals for hereditary hemochromatosis. Phatak and colleagues discuss hereditary hemochromatosis as a cause of preventable organ dysfunction and propose targeted case finding for Caucasian men of Northern European ancestry.

History of Medicine

  • The Nomogram Epidemic: Resurgence of a Medical Relic

    • David A. Grimes
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:273-275

    Popular in medicine from about 1925 to 1975, a nomogram is a graphical means for solving an equation by placing a straightedge across several scales. Today, most reported nomograms are inconsistent with established definitions and clinical use. Grimes discusses nomograms, reviews their history as crude calculators, documents the current epidemic, gives examples of good and bad medical nomograms, and recommends a better approach to contemporary medical calculations.

Editorials

  • Assessing Appropriateness of Coronary Angiography: Another Step in Improving Quality

    • David P. Faxon
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:276-278

    In this issue, Hemingway and associates assessed the reliability and validity of patient-specific appropriateness criteria for coronary angiography in patients with suspected stable angina pectoris. The study provides valuable new insights into the validity and potential application of appropriateness ratings.

  • Seeding Trials: Just Say “No”

    • Harold C. Sox and
    • Drummond Rennie
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:279-280

    A seeding trial is marketing in the guise of science. In 2003, Annals published a seeding trial sponsored by Merck & Co. No one told Annals the true purpose of the trial until the Editor received a letter from a consultant who was involved in the civil suits against Merck and had access to publicly accessible trial documents that disclosed the trial's true intent. These documents are the focus of Hill and colleagues' article in this issue about seeding trials.

On Being a Doctor

  • The Death of a Clinician-Educator

    • Kimberly D. Manning
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:281-282

    My colleague-speaker-friend recently announced that he was leaving our division for an in-town private practice job. He would be the third person that month to make such an announcement. I knew he wasn't dying, but it was a death of sorts. In my heart, I knew it was the death of another clinician-educator.

Letters

  • The Prevalence of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus in Women with Different Types of Cervical Cancer

    • Masaharu Tsubokura,
    • Tsunehiko Komatsu,
    • and Masahiro Kami
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:283

  • The Prevalence of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus in Women with Different Types of Cervical Cancer

    • S. Deblina Datta and
    • Hillard Weinstock
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:283

  • Why Choose Serum Cystatin C Levels over Serum Creatinine Levels as a Serologic Marker of Kidney Function?

    • Iddo Z. Ben-Dov
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:284

  • Why Choose Serum Cystatin C Levels over Serum Creatinine Levels as a Serologic Marker of Kidney Function?

    • Bryan Kestenbaum
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:284

  • Resistant Behçet Disease Responsive to Anakinra

    • Costantino Botsios,
    • Paolo Sfriso,
    • Antonio Furlan,
    • Leonardo Punzi,
    • and Charles A. Dinarello
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:284-286

  • The Effect of Green Tea on Simvastatin Tolerability

    • José Pablo Werba,
    • Monica Giroli,
    • Viviana Cavalca,
    • Maria Cristina Nava,
    • Elena Tremoli,
    • and Lorenzo Dal Bo
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:286-287

Medical Writings: Book Notes

  • Rx for Health Care Reform

    • Nancy Berkman
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:288

  • Explaining “Unexplained Illnesses”: Disease Paradigm for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Fibromyalgia, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Gulf War Syndrome

    • Dan A. Henry
    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:288

Medical Notices

  • Medical Notices

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:0

Summaries for Patients

ACP Journal Club

  • Editorial: Why A-level evidence does not make it to clinicians' A-lists: the case of thromboprophylaxis in medical patients

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-2

  • A targeted, multifactorial intervention reduced mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes and microalbuminuria

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-4

  • Metformin plus a lifestyle intervention was more effective than either alone for antipsychotic-induced weight gain

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-5

  • Nondiabetic maternal hyperglycemia was associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-6

  • Metformin (alone or with insulin) was as effective as insulin for preventing perinatal complications in gestational diabetes

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-7

  • Review: Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents increase mortality and venous thromboembolism in cancer-associated anemia

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-8

  • An automated external defibrillator in the home did not reduce mortality in patients at risk for cardiac arrest

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-9

  • Antihypertensive therapy with indapamide and perindopril reduced mortality in patients  80 years

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-10

  • Risk for cancer was still increased over 2 years after stopping hormone therapy

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-11

  • Review: Limited evidence suggests that statins are safe in patients with liver disease

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-12

  • Review: Systemic corticosteroids, antibiotics, and noninvasive positive pressure ventilation are effective in acute COPD

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-13

  • Rapid screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) did not reduce MRSA acquisition rate

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-14

  • Melanoma of the scalp and neck had greater risk for melanoma-specific mortality than melanoma of the extremities

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-15

  • Glossary

    Ann Intern Med August 19, 2008 149:JC2-16
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This Issue

August 19, 2008; 149 (4)
  1. Articles
  2. Academia and Clinic
  3. Review
  4. Perspectives
  5. History of Medicine
  6. Editorials
  7. On Being a Doctor
  8. Letters
  9. Medical Writings: Book Notes
  10. Medical Notices
  11. Summaries for Patients
  12. ACP Journal Club

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