JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Vaginal symptoms are one of the most common reasons for gynecological consultation. Clinicians have traditionally diagnosed vaginal candidiasis, bacterial vaginosis, and vaginal trichomoniasis using some combination of physical examination, pH, the wet mount, and the whiff test. ⋯ The cause of vaginal complaints may be easily diagnosed when typical findings appear in microscopy. However, the poor performance of individual symptoms, signs, and office laboratory tests often makes it problematic to identify the cause of vaginal symptoms.
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Comparative Study
Cardiovascular prognosis of "masked hypertension" detected by blood pressure self-measurement in elderly treated hypertensive patients.
Blood pressure (BP) measurement in clinicians' offices with a mercury sphygmomanometer has numerous drawbacks. In contrast, the use of home BP measurement improves measurement precision and reproducibility. However, data about its prognostic value are lacking. ⋯ Our findings suggest that home BP measurement has a better prognostic accuracy than office BP measurement. Blood pressure should systematically be measured at home in patients receiving treatment for hypertension.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Patient-controlled transdermal fentanyl hydrochloride vs intravenous morphine pump for postoperative pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with morphine is commonly used to provide acute postoperative pain control after major surgery. The fentanyl hydrochloride patient-controlled transdermal system eliminates the need for venous access and complicated programming of pumps. ⋯ An investigational PCA transdermal system using iontophoresis to deliver fentanyl provided postsurgical pain control equivalent to that of a standard intravenous morphine regimen delivered by a PCA pump.