In a controversial decision, the emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step—administered as a single tablet containing levonorgestrel 1.5 mg—will remain a dual-status product, available on a nonprescription basis to women 17 years of age and older but by prescription only to women 16 years of age and younger.
Two articles in the December 20, 2011, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine examine the role of vitamin D deficiency and supplementation in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and fracture prevention.
In the single-center study HEROES (Helicobacter Eradication Relief of Dyspeptic Symptoms) study conducted in Brazil, eradication of H. pylori infection improved symptoms of functional dyspepsia in primary care patients, with a number needed to treat of 8.
A review in the December 2011 issue of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology celebrates the “storied past and promising future” of antihistamines.
An analysis of data from two community-based studies indicates a marked recent increase in the prevalence of knee pain and an increase in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, suggesting a bigger burden of knee pain in our society than previously thought.
A large, single-center cohort study conducted in the United Kingdom found that patients who ingested two or more supratherapeutic doses of acetaminophen over a time interval greater than 8 hours (resulting in a cumulative dose >4 g/day) had reduced survival compared with patients who had taken a single intentional overdose.