American family physician
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American family physician · Sep 1999
ReviewDepression without sadness: alternative presentations of depression in late life.
Older adults often deny feeling sad while exhibiting other characteristics of depression. Elderly patients with depression who do not present with sadness often have unexplained somatic complaints and exhibit a sense of hopelessness. ⋯ A screening device, such as the Center for Epidemiologic Studies--Depression Scale, Revised (CES-D-R), may identify depression in suspicious cases. When this condition is identified, treatment should generally include the use of an antidepressant medication, usually a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.
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Diabetic ketoacidosis is an emergency medical condition that can be life-threatening if not treated properly. The incidence of this condition may be increasing, and a 1 to 2 percent mortality rate has stubbornly persisted since the 1970s. Diabetic ketoacidosis occurs most often in patients with type 1 diabetes (formerly called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus); however, its occurrence in patients with type 2 diabetes (formerly called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus), particularly obese black patients, is not as rare as was once thought. ⋯ Cerebral edema, one of the most dire complications of diabetic ketoacidosis, occurs more commonly in children and adolescents than in adults. Continuous follow-up of patients using treatment algorithms and flow sheets can help to minimize adverse outcomes. Preventive measures include patient education and instructions for the patient to contact the physician early during an illness.
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American family physician · Jul 1999
ReviewA rational approach to the treatment of hypertension in special populations.
Hypertension in blacks is usually characterized by low renin, expanded volume and sensitivity to salt. Diuretics are the preferred initial therapy, but response to calcium channel antagonists is also good. The blood pressure response to monotherapy with beta blockers or angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors is blunted, but this effect is abolished with concomitant use of diuretics. ⋯ Strong data support the treatment of combined hypertension in patients 60 to 79 years of age and isolated systolic hypertension in patients 60 to 96 years of age. Diuretics and long-acting dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonists are the recommended initial therapies for isolated systolic hypertension. More studies are necessary before recommendations can be made about the treatment of combined hypertension in patients 80 years of age and older.
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Screening programs relying primarily on physical examination techniques for the early detection and treatment of congenital hip abnormalities have not been as consistently successful as expected. Since the 1980s, increased attention has been given to ultrasound imaging of the hip in young infants (less than five months of age) as a possible tool for improving patient outcomes. Although ultrasound examination may not provide advantages over careful repeated physician examination for universal screening, a growing body of evidence indicates that ultrasound surveillance of mild abnormalities can reduce the need for bracing without worsening outcomes. Radiographic documentation of hip normality after the femoral nucleus of ossification has appeared (at three to five month of age) is still appropriate to rule out hip dysplasia.