JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Expenditures for Medicare beneficiaries in the last year of life decrease with increasing age. The cause of this phenomenon is uncertain. ⋯ Medicare expenditures in the last year of life decrease with age, especially for those aged 85 years or older. This is in large part because the aggressiveness of medical care in the last year of life decreases with increasing age.
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Sarcopenia is associated with loss of strength and function, eventually leading to loss of independence. Some studies suggest that basal muscle protein turnover is reduced with aging, but other studies do not confirm this finding. ⋯ Differences in basal muscle protein turnover between older and younger men do not appear to explain muscle loss that occurs with age.
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Most sore throats are due to viral upper respiratory tract infections. Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS), the only common cause of sore throat warranting antibiotics, is cultured in 5% to 17% of adults with sore throat. The frequency of antibiotic use for pharyngitis has greatly exceeded the prevalence of GABHS, but less is known about specific classes of antibiotics used. Only penicillin and erythromycin are recommended as first-line antibiotics against GABHS. ⋯ More than half of adults are treated with antibiotics for sore throat by community primary care physicians. Use of nonrecommended, more expensive, broader-spectrum antibiotics is frequent.