In Western countries, each year 2 to 4 persons per 1000 require anticoagulant therapy for symptomatic deep-vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism.¹–³ Although deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism were previously regarded as separate clinical ...

Low-molecular-weight heparins are an important new class of antithrombotic agents. They differ from standard, unfractionated heparin in having a higher ratio of anti–factor Xa to anti–factor IIa activity, greater bioavailability, a longer half-life, and a ...

Inadequate intake of calcium and vitamin D leads to reduced calcium absorption, increased serum parathyroid hormone concentrations, and bone loss. Low bone mass is a strong predictor of fracture.¹ Supplemental calcium reduces bone loss in middle-aged, ...

Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of plague, a zoonotic disease transmitted to humans through flea bites and typically characterized by the appearance of a tender and swollen lymph node, the bubo. Human-to-human transmission can occur, through either ...

Figure 1. An obese 46-year-old man came to the emergency room with the acute onset of numbness and a cold feeling in both hands; he had had shortness of breath and chest pain for the preceding 48 hours. Physical examination showed that he had no radial ...

Legionnaires' disease was first recognized during an outbreak of pneumonia involving delegates to the 1976 American Legion convention at a Philadelphia hotel. Full appreciation of its role other than as an exotic pathogen has only come in the past several ...

After almost two decades of intensive research, low-molecular-weight heparins have established their niche as an important class of antithrombotic compounds. The demonstration that these compounds are safe and effective for the prevention and treatment of ...

The National Hardware Show was the site chosen for a joint news conference between a spokesperson for the American Medical Association (AMA) and the chief executive officer of the Sunbeam Corporation of Delray Beach, Florida. In their first-ever such ...

One of the striking demographic features of all countries in the late 20th century is the increasing longevity of both men and women. Unfortunately, this extension of life expectancy has not been associated with a similar increase in disability-free years ...

Untreated, human plague is often fulminant and fatal,¹ which reinforces its historical reputation as a devastating disease. Plague is a zoonosis of rodents and their fleas caused by Yersinia pestis, a member of the family Enterobacteriaceae. People are ...

On August 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Although it does not affect the ability of low-income citizens to obtain Medicaid health coverage, the act does prohibit such coverage ...

To the Editor: We wish to underscore Dr. McTiernan's cautionary comments in her editorial on the potential bias in the study of physical activity and the risk of breast cancer by Thune et al. (May 1 issue),¹,² since we find serious flaws in the analysis ...

To the Editor: Bernard et al. (March 27 issue)¹ report the results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of intravenous ibuprofen in patients with sepsis. They conclude that treatment with ibuprofen is safe in these patients and has a ...

To the Editor: The report by Gianni et al. (May 1 issue)¹ concludes that high-dose sequential therapy is superior to a regimen of methotrexate, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone, and bleomycin (MACOP-B) in a selected group of ...

To the Editor: Gaucher's disease is caused by deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme acid β-glucocerebrosidase that leads to an accumulation of glucocerebroside in the cells of the reticuloendothelial system.¹ The disease is classified into three types ...

To the Editor: The review article by Forni and Hilton on continuous hemofiltration for the treatment of acute renal failure (May 1 issue)¹ suggests that this therapy should be used more widely. That may prove to be the case. However, as the article notes,...

To the Editor: In discussing the limitations of their study, Lehmann et al. (April 17 issue)¹ omit an important one — the very premise of the study. Bedside and conference-room presentations are not mutually exclusive and are but two components of an ...

The first edition of this book, published in 1982, provided a comprehensive review of the work of a generation of cancer epidemiologists and the application of their findings to the prevention and early detection of cancer. Before the publication of the ...

Medical oncology is a relatively new field of medicine in Europe. I remember going on rounds in a large Dutch hospital in the late 1970s with an attending physician from the United States, who suggested obtaining a consultation with a medical oncologist; ...

Human mortality is a subject we are all very much concerned about, but most people are loath to talk, read, or write about it. Until now, the chief causes of death have been natural calamities, nutritional insufficiency, disease, and national conflicts. ...

Expansion Plans

Under Oregon's 1989 legislative package, the Medicaid portion of the Oregon Health Plan was only one of its two critical pieces. The other was the requirement that employers provide insurance to employees, with the prioritized list as the ...