Clinically Relevant Drug-Drug Interactions in Primary Care.

Drug interactions are common in the primary care setting and are usually predictable. Identifying the most important and clinically relevant drug interactions in primary care is essential to patient safety. Strategies for reducing the risk of drug-drug interactions include minimizing the number of drugs prescribed, re-evaluating therapy on a regular basis, considering nonpharmacologic options, monitoring for signs and symptoms of toxicity or effectiveness, adjusting dosages of medications when indicated, and adjusting administration times.

Vision Loss in Older Adults.

Vision loss affects 37 million Americans older than 50 years and one in four who are older than 80 years. The U.S.

Introversion and medical student education: challenges for both students and educators.

Issue: Introversion is one of the personality factors that has been shown to be associated with performance in medical school. Prior cross-sectional studies highlight performance evaluation differences between introverted and extraverted medical students, though the mechanisms and implications of these differences remain relatively unexplained and understudied. This gap in the literature has become more salient as medical schools are employing more interactive learning strategies into their curricula which may disproportionately challenge introverted learners.

When to Order a Contrast-Enhanced CT.

Family physicians often must determine the most appropriate diagnostic tests to order for their patients. It is essential to know the types of contrast agents, their risks, contraindications, and common clinical scenarios in which contrast-enhanced computed tomography is appropriate. Many types of contrast agents can be used in computed tomography: oral, intravenous, rectal, and intrathecal.

Vision loss in older persons.

Family physicians have an essential role in assessing, identifying, treating, and preventing or delaying vision loss in the aging population. Approximately one in 28 U.S.

Patients' understanding and use of snack food package nutrition labels.

Purpose: Little information exists on how patients in medical practice use food package nutrition labels. We theorized that patients in a general medical practice might not make the distinction between serving size and total package nutrition information, and this might lead to obesity.

Methods: Ninety patients between ages of 18 and 65 attending the St.

Rosacea: a common, yet commonly overlooked, condition.

Rosacea is a common, but often overlooked, skin condition of uncertain etiology that can lead to significant facial disfigurement, ocular complications, and severe emotional distress. The progression of rosacea is variable; however, typical stages include: (1) facial flushing, (2) erythema and/or edema and ocular symptoms, (3) papules and pustules, and (4) rhinophyma. A history of exacerbation by sun exposure, stress, cold weather, hot beverages, alcohol consumption, or certain foods helps determine the diagnosis; the first line of treatment is avoidance of these triggering or exacerbating factors.