Antidepressant medication management and Health Plan Employer Data Information Set (HEDIS) criteria: reasons for nonadherence.

Background: While nationwide data have found that many patients do not meet the National Committee for Quality Assurance uniform standards for successful antidepressant treatment, reasons for this failure are not well understood. We examined the reasons for this failure through a systematic chart review.

Method: A chart review was conducted on a random sample of 249 health maintenance organization patients who failed 1 or more of the 3 Health Plan Employer Data Information Set criteria (i.

The prevalence and determinants of nutritional changes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Sixty outpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease underwent nutritional, physiologic, and psychologic evaluation to determine the prevalence of nutritional depletion and the relationship to physiologic and psychologic factors. Weight loss was reported in 27 percent. Triceps skinfolds (TSF) were less than 60 percent of standard in 33 percent, none had mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC) less than 60 percent of standard, and 5 percent had body weight (BW) less than 60 percent of ideal.

Effect of strenuous exercise on serum lithium level in man.

The authors examined the effect of strenuous exercise on the serum lithium levels of four healthy, conditioned athletes who were stabilized on lithium carbonate for 7 days and who ran a 20-km race under hot, humid conditions. The subjects became substantially dehydrated during the race, and their serum lithium levels decreased, suggesting that sweat lithium loss may be substantial. (The sweat-to-serum ratio for lithium exceeded that for sodium by a factor of 4.