Clinical inquiries. Which patients benefit from lowering LDL to <100 mg/dL?

Patients who have coronary heart disease (CHD) or are at high risk for CHD should aim for a low-density lipoprotein (LDL) target of <100 mg/dL. An LDL target of <70 mg/dL is an option for very-high-risk patients (strength of recommendation [SOR]: C, expert opinion). The evidence also indicates that high-risk patients benefit from a statin-preferably in high doses-regardless of their baseline LDL or degree of LDL reduction with treatment (SOR: A, a large randomized controlled trial [RCT] and meta-analyses).

How many problems do family physicians manage at each encounter? A WReN study.

Purpose: The number of problems managed concurrently by family physicians during patient encounters has not been fully explored despite the implications for quality assessment, guideline implementation, education, research, administration, and funding. Our study objective was to determine the number of problems physicians report managing at each visit and compare that with the number reflected in the chart and the bill.

Methods: Twenty-nine members of the Wisconsin Research Network reported on encounters with 572 patients using a physician problem log.