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March 1, 2007  Vol. 356 No. 9

Audio Summary of this Issue

Perspective
885-888
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Drs. Jeffrey Ecker and Fredric Frigoletto write that, as practicing obstetricians, they find that the risk that women are now willing to assume in exchange for a measure of potential benefit, especially for the neonate, has changed. For many, the level of ...

889-890

Many medical students find they rarely get an opportunity to perform a pelvic examination. Dr. Adam Wolfberg writes that, as a consequence, medical students today may begin their careers less prepared to evaluate gynecologic problems.

891-893

Dr. Theodore Warkentin discusses three distinct drug-induced immune-mediated thrombocytopenic syndromes and how they differ from one another with respect to pathogenesis, severity of thrombocytopenia, clinical manifestations, diagnostic laboratory tests, ...

Original Articles
895-903
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Seroprevalence studies suggest that one third of the world's population has been infected with hepatitis E virus (HEV). Infection, especially during pregnancy, is associated with substantial rates of death and complications. No vaccine or specific therapy has been available for the treatment of HEV infection. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 2000 subjects in Nepal, the administration of three doses of a novel recombinant HEV vaccine had 95.5% efficacy.

904-910
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This report describes the serologic and clinical findings in 29 patients in whom thrombocytopenia developed during treatment with vancomycin. Vancomycin-dependent antiplatelet antibodies were detected in these patients. The platelet counts returned to normal within days after discontinuation of the antibiotic.

911-920
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Epidemiologic data suggest a possible link between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disorders. In this study, patients with severe periodontitis who were treated with intensive periodontal therapy, as compared with standard community-based therapy, had improvement in flow-mediated dilatation, a measure of vascular endothelial function. The findings suggest that severe periodontal inflammation may promote vascular endothelial dysfunction.

Special Article
921-934

This study assessed the effectiveness of the Health Disparities Collaboratives, which were designed to improve care for patients with chronic disease at community health centers, where many patients in minority groups and uninsured patients receive treatment. The collaboratives improved care for diabetes and asthma but not for hypertension. There were significant improvements in many of the processes of care, such as the monitoring of glycated hemoglobin levels, but not in any of the clinical outcomes measured, such as the control of glycated hemoglobin levels.

Clinical Therapeutics
935-941

A 73-year-old man with coronary artery disease, hypertension, and renal insufficiency presents with recurrent, symptomatic atrial fibrillation despite a well-controlled ventricular rate. Amiodarone is recommended for rhythm control. Amiodarone is among the most effective antiarrhythmic agents, but its use is associated with potentially serious toxic effects — is it right for this patient?

Images in Clinical Medicine
942
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A 51-year-old woman with a history of hypertension and chronic constipation presented with abdominal pain of 2 weeks' duration. The pain was continuous, worsened with eating, was associated with nausea, and radiated to her back. She reported no vomiting, ...

e8
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This 69-year-old man with osteoarthritis had applied a heating pad repeatedly to his left knee to relieve discomfort.

Clinical Problem-Solving
943-947

    A 79-year-old woman presented with a 1-month history of dyspnea and cough productive of yellow sputum. She reported no chest pain, hemoptysis, night sweats, or fever. She was receiving 40 mg of oral prednisone daily for giant-cell arteritis.

    Editorials
    949-951

    Large outbreaks of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection were first recognized as a distinct clinical entity in the early 1980s.1,2 Outbreaks continue and involve thousands of patients in certain geographic regions of the world, including the Indian ...

    951-953

    In this issue of the Journal, Landon and colleagues report on a Herculean undertaking — a study of quality-improvement interventions conducted at 44 community health centers.1 This study showed a modest improvement in some process measures and no ...

    Clinical Implications of Basic Research
    954-955

    A bacterial protein enhances the antitumor effect of doxorubicin delivered by liposomes.

    Correspondence
    956-959

    To the Editor: In their report on the Correction of Hemoglobin and Outcomes in Renal Insufficiency (CHOIR) trial, which evaluated the use of recombinant erythropoietin (epoetin alfa) to treat anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease, Singh et al. (...

    959-961

    To the Editor: Evidence-based medicine assimilates available data to direct decisions regarding the care of patients. Extrapolations from epidemiologic observations and laboratory or clinical markers of disease severity have supported new treatments that ...

    961-963

    To the Editor: Schrier and colleagues (Nov. 16 issue)1 report the overall efficacy and safety of tolvaptan in raising and maintaining serum sodium concentrations in patients with hyponatremia due to various causes. However, they do not report whether the ...

    963-965
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    To the Editor: Shapiro et al. (Sept. 28 issue)1 report that in patients with type 1 diabetes who have refractory hypoglycemia, islet transplantation using the Edmonton protocol most often provides endogenous insulin secretion (basal C-peptide secretion, ≥...

    965

    To the Editor: Campbell et al. (Nov. 30 issue)1 provide valuable data on financial conflicts of interest of members of institutional review boards (IRBs). However, they do not address potentially more problematic conflicts of interest inherent in the IRB ...

    966
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    To the Editor: With regard to the editorial on professionalism by Hafferty (Nov. 16 issue),1 fueling the “hidden curriculum” is the day-to-day disconnect between academic leaders, who establish standards, and trainees, who are expected to meet them. In ...

    966-968

    To the Editor: The Case Record discussion by Klibanski et al. (Nov. 23 issue),1 concerning a woman with hypertension due to a cortisol-producing adrenal adenoma, illustrates that serious forms of secondary hypertension (e.g., pheochromocytoma and Cushing'...

    Book Reviews
    969-970

    The epidemic of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS has become the Rorschach epidemic. Popular accounts often reveal more about their authors than about HIV and AIDS, which are relegated to supporting roles in service of some broader agenda. ...

    970-971

    In 1992, the Institute of Medicine published its seminal report entitled Emerging Infections: Microbial Threats to Health in the United States (Washington, DC: National Academy Press). This document outlined reasons for the emergence of new infectious ...

    971-972

    This 544-page book is a successor to a smaller volume, Meningococcal Disease, edited by Keith Cartwright in 1995 (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons). It is remarkable how far our understanding of the genetics and biology of the meningococcus has advanced ...

    972-973

    The relationship between urban residence and health is highly complex, and it is becoming increasingly so: 80% of us who live in developed countries are located in cities, whereas in developing countries the crowding of people into cities — whether or not ...

    Correction
    973

    Obesity and Diabetes in the Developing World — A Growing Challenge Perspective, N Engl J Med 2007:356;213-215.. The second sentence of the article (page 213) should have read “About 18 million people die every year from cardiovascular disease,” rather ...