Uses and limitations of bone mineral density measurements in the management of osteoporosis.

Context: Bone mineral density (BMD) is used to diagnose osteoporosis, and often to measure efficacy in osteoporosis treatment trials; however, there is a poor correlation between lumbar spine BMD increases and vertebral fracture risk reduction in patients receiving treatment for osteoporosis.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to review the uses and limitations of BMD measurements and the relationship between BMD and bone strength. DATA SOURCE/STUDY SELECTION: A MEDLINE literature search was conducted with the terms bone mineral density , fracture , osteoporosis , and bone strength as well as the generic names of osteoporosis therapies (alendronate, risedronate, raloxifene, teriparatide, and calcitonin).

Clinical use of methadone.

Methadone hydrochloride is a mu-opioid agonist that has been used for the treatment of pain and for the management and maintenance of opioid withdrawal for over 50 years. Several characteristics make methadone a useful drug. However, these same characteristics and wide interpatient variability can make methadone difficult to use safely.

Smoking cessation: pharmacists helping patients kick the habit.

Nicotine is just as habit forming as "harder" drugs, and more deaths occur due to tobacco than other substances of abuse. Several treatments are available for pharmacists to recommend or dispense to patients attempting to stop smoking. The health benefits of quitting tobacco far outweigh the potential obstacles when beginning a smoking-cessation program.

Optimizing outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis.

A chronic systemic inflammatory disease, rheumatoid arthritis can cause progressive joint destruction, deformity, disability, and premature death. Pain management is an important component of patient care, and short-term opioid analgesics should be considered in those with severe arthritis pain. Treatment with DMARDs should be initiated early in the course of the disease to control synovitis and disease progression.

Modeling the cost-effectiveness of a smoking-cessation program in a community pharmacy practice.

Objectives: To describe some of the costs of providing a smoking-cessation program in a community pharmacy practice, and to model the program's cost-effectiveness compared with that of a self-directed quit attempt.

Design And Setting: Data used were based primarily on results from a pharmacist-directed smoking-cessation program in a community pharmacy chain practice that achieved continuous abstinence for at least 1 year in 25% of patients. Baseline assumptions were formulated from a MEDLINE literature review and were varied in the sensitivity analysis.

Intranasal corticosteroids for allergic rhinitis.

Intranasal corticosteroids are accepted as safe and effective first-line therapy for allergic rhinitis. Several intranasal corticosteroids are available: beclomethasone dipropionate, budesonide, flunisolide, fluticasone propionate, mometasone furoate, and triamcinolone acetonide. All are efficacious in treating seasonal allergic rhinitis and as prophylaxis for perennial allergic rhinitis.

Cost of treating hypertension in the elderly.

Hypertension is a common disease among the elderly, a population that will continue to grow over the next decade. Untreated hypertension can lead to cardiovascular events and mortality. Given the seriousness of this disease and the increase in the number of elderly with hypertension, this review focuses on the cost of treating hypertension in the elderly as described in recent publications.

Development and implementation of a smoking cessation clinic in community pharmacy practice.

Objective: To describe a pharmacist-operated program to help people stop smoking.

Setting: Community chain (mass-merchandise) pharmacy practice sites in Virginia.

Participants: Faculty at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy (VCU) and 15 practicing pharmacists.

Results of a smoking cessation clinic in community pharmacy practice.

Objectives: To describe and assess the effectiveness of a smoking cessation clinic.

Design: Single group, unblinded study.

Setting: Seven chain (mass-merchandise) community pharmacies in Virginia.