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June 1, 2006  Vol. 354 No. 22

Audio Summary of this Issue

Perspective
2309-2311

    Drs. Robert Myerburg, David Feigal, and Bruce Lindsay write that industry should work collaboratively with physicians, professional societies, patient representatives, and regulatory agencies to establish reasonable standards and guidelines for the device ...

    2312-2314

    January 1 marked the beginning of prescription-drug coverage under Medicare. Drs. Peter Bach and Mark McClellan write that competition is providing better coverage options and is leading to lower costs than expected for beneficiaries and taxpayers.

    2314-2315

    Most Americans agree that affordable drug coverage under Medicare has been needed for some time. Rep. Louise Slaughter writes that instead of a solution to a growing problem, Congress gave the country a prescription-drug plan that achieves few of its ...

    Original Articles
    2317-2327

    Multidetector computed tomographic angiography (CTA) was evaluated alone and with imaging of the pelvic and thigh veins (CTA–CTV). As compared with a reference standard for the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism, CTA–CTV had a higher sensitivity than CTA alone, with similar specificity.

    2328-2339

    In victims of in-hospital pediatric cardiac arrest, the cause of the arrest was ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia in only about one quarter of the children, and the others had nonshockable rhythms. The outcome was best when ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia was the initial rhythm and worst if ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia developed later during the resuscitation.

    2340-2348
    • Free Full Text

    Obesity is a known risk factor for gastroesophageal reflux disease. Among more than 10,000 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study, body-mass index was associated with symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux in both normal-weight and overweight women. Weight gain was associated with symptoms of reflux, even in women with a normal body-mass index at baseline.

    Special Article
    2349-2359

    In this study of Medicare patients enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente managed-care program in 2003, patients had either individual insurance with a $1,000 annual cap on drug coverage or employer-supplemented insurance with no cap. The drug cap was associated with lower pharmacy costs, higher hospital costs, and similar overall costs. Drug adherence and control of blood pressure, blood lipid levels, and blood glucose levels were poorer among patients with the $1,000 cap.

    Clinical Practice
    2360-2367

      A 30-year-old woman, recently divorced, presents with daily episodes of chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, and palpitations. She feels very anxious when these episodes occur and worries about having a heart attack. She reports increasing avoidance of social activities, moodiness, poor sleep, and a low level of energy. She takes no medications and reports no drug or alcohol use. Her physical examination is normal. How should this case be managed?

      Review Article
      2368-2374

        Blood pressure is inherently variable, and ambulatory measurements of blood pressure predict clinical outcomes better than do conventional, clinic-based measurements. Ambulatory monitoring can help identify “white-coat” hypertension, as well as patients whose blood pressure does not decrease the normal amount during the night. Ambulatory blood-pressure monitoring is practical, can lead to a reduction in health care costs, and can provide improved estimates of true blood pressures to guide decisions about treatment.

        Images in Clinical Medicine
        2375
        • Free Full Text

        This 51-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis presented with swelling of the right shoulder.

        Clinical Problem-Solving
        2376-2381
        • Video

        A 35-year-old man with advanced AIDS presented to the emergency department after a witnessed syncopal event. He felt light-headed after walking from the bathroom to his chair. While speaking to his partner, he suddenly became unresponsive and lost motor tone, and his breathing appeared shallow and labored, prompting his partner to call 911. He regained consciousness after approximately two minutes and had no recollection of the event. There was no evidence of tonic–clonic seizure activity or postictal confusion.

        Editorials
        2383-2385

        Sixteen years ago, the results of the Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis (PIOPED) study1 were published. That large-scale, multicenter trial definitively established the diagnostic characteristics of ventilation–perfusion ...

        2385-2386

        Crafting effective policy solutions to the high and rising costs of health care requires a clear understanding of the underlying problem. First, more than 75 percent of health care spending is traced back to patients with a chronic illness.1 Patients who ...

        Correspondence
        2387-2389

        To the Editor: As Ropper pointed out in his editorial (March 2 issue),1 the three articles on the use of natalizumab in that issue of the Journal are pivotal, but his conclusion that natalizumab is “a potent treatment for multiple sclerosis” may be too ...

        2389-2390

        To the Editor: Barlogie et al. (March 9 issue)1 report an increased response rate of multiple myeloma to thalidomide plus high-dose chemotherapy and transplantation. However, there was no difference in overall survival between the group that received ...

        2390-2391

        To the Editor: McClung et al. (Feb. 23 issue)1 do not adequately report adverse events in their article on denosumab in postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density. They state that no significant differences in adverse events were observed among ...

        2392

        To the Editor: We have three questions for Holtmann et al. (Feb. 23 issue).1 First, could they clarify the methods used to determine Helicobacter pylori status — that is, was the gold-standard combination of histologic analysis, culture, and rapid urease ...

        2393

        To the Editor: Steinbrook (Jan. 5 issue)1 discusses the extent to which people now use the Internet to look for medical information. However, the article includes incomplete data on the proportion of referrals from PubMed to journals hosted by HighWire. ...

        2393-2394

        To the Editor: The Medical Mystery in the April 6 issue1 involved a 62-year-old man who presented with a one-month history of digital gangrene in the right hand (Figure 1A). The skin of his arms and legs had mottled discolorations with palpable cutaneous ...

        2394-2396

        To the Editor: Reflex sympathetic dystrophy is a painful, disabling disorder of unknown pathophysiological origin that usually commences after trauma to or surgery on a limb. In chronic cases, the syndrome leads to extreme pain, disability, and an ...

        Book Reviews
        2397-2398

        For the curious uninitiated, or for people like me who grew up in a household in which the battles of the Civil War and the prominent figures who commanded the vast armies during it were topics of constant conversation and interest, Bleeding Blue and Gray ...

        2398-2399

        A complication is an unwelcome problem that, like an inebriated ex-spouse at a wedding party, is not an essential part of a disease or its treatment. Some complications of disease — and even of treatment — may be the unavoidable consequences of variations ...

        2399-2400

        In the past few years, several books on thromboembolic diseases have been published. They either focus on the mechanisms of thrombosis or offer the reader practical guidelines for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic diseases. In Thrombosis in ...

        2400

        The study of endocrine responses to exercise is a rapidly expanding field. In the past decade, the number of published research studies in this area has increased substantially. This rapid and extensive growth has made it a challenge for physicians and ...

        Corrections
        2400-2401

        Sildenafil Citrate Therapy for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Original Article, N Engl J Med 2005:353;2148-2157.. The appendix listing principal investigators and locations of centers participating in the Sildenafil Use in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension ...

        2401

        Patent Foramen Ovale in Young Adults with Unexplained Stroke Clinical Practice, N Engl J Med 2005:353;2361-2372.. On page 2365, lines 18 through 21 of the left-hand column should have read, “In another study, pelvic-vein thrombi were documented by ...

        2401

        Oral Contraceptives in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus — A Tough Pill to Swallow? Editorial, N Engl J Med 2005:353;2602-2604.. On page 2603, in the left-hand column, lines 14 through 16 of the first full paragraph should have read, “Patients were excluded if ...

        2401

        Normal Fasting Plasma Glucose Levels and Type 2 Diabetes in Young Men Original Article, N Engl J Med 2005:353;1454-1462.. On page 1460, lines 1 through 3 of the last partial paragraph should have read, “More than half of the entire cohort of career ...