Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus genetic variability a management and diagnostic dilemma.

As genetic analysis becomes less expensive, more comprehensive diagnostics such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) will become available to the veterinary practitioner. The WGS elucidates more about porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) beyond the traditional analysis of open reading frame (ORF) 5 Sanger sequencing. The veterinary practitioner will require a more complete understanding of the mechanics and consequences of PRRSV genetic variability to interpret the WGS results.

Development and evaluation of the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS) among low-literacy patients with chronic disease.

Objectives: Patient literacy affects many aspects of medication use and may influence the measurement of adherence. The aim of the study is to design and evaluate a medication adherence scale suitable for use across levels of patient literacy.

Methods: The Adherence to Refills and Medications scale (ARMS) was developed, pilot tested, and administered to 435 patients with coronary heart disease in an inner-city primary care clinic.

Mortality of bullous skin disorders from 1979 through 2002 in the United States.

Objectives: To identify and analyze trends in bullous disease mortality from 1979 through 2002 in the United States.

Design: Retrospective population-based analysis.

Setting: Mortality records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mortality database.

Imipramine-induced hyperpigmentation: a case report and review of the literature.

Imipramine-induced hyperpigmentation is rare with only 13 cases reported in the literature to date. We report a 64-year-old female who presented with blue-gray discoloration on her face present for 4-5 years. The patient's medications included imipramine for depression for approximately 23 years.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Self-efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale (SEAMS) in low-literacy patients with chronic disease.

Medication nonadherence remains a significant obstacle to achieving improved health outcomes in patients with chronic disease. Self-efficacy, the confidence in one's ability to perform a given task such as taking one's medications, is an important determinant of medication adherence, indicating the need for reliable and valid tools for measuring this construct. This study sought to develop a self-efficacy scale for medication adherence in chronic disease management that can be used in patients with a broad range of literacy skills.

The impact of total body photography on biopsy rate in patients from a pigmented lesion clinic.

Background: Total body cutaneous photography is increasingly being used by dermatologists to monitor patients at risk for the development of melanoma, but limited evidence exists regarding the impact of such photography on melanoma and melanoma-related outcomes.

Objective: We sought to compare biopsy number in patients with multiple atypical nevi in their first year of care at our pigmented lesion clinic (PLC) between those who received total body skin examination alone and those who received total body skin examination and total body digital photography (TBDP). We sought to identify predictors of biopsy number and number of dysplastic nevi diagnosed in patients with multiple atypical nevi.

Melanoma outcomes for Medicare patients: association of stage and survival with detection by a dermatologist vs a nondermatologist.

Objective: To determine whether a difference in melanoma outcomes exists in the United States between tumors detected by dermatologists vs those detected by nondermatologists.

Design: Retrospective analysis of linked data from the Medicare enrollment and claims files from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program database from 1991 to 1996. The registries are from 12 US sites.