Mycoplasma Genitalium Among Women With Nongonococcal, Nonchlamydial Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
February 20th 2006Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a frequent condition of young women, often resulting in reproductive morbidity. Although Neisseria gonorrhoeae and/or Chlamydia trachomatis are/is recovered from approximately a third to a half of women with PID, the etiologic agent is often unidentified.
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT "IN THE TRENCHES": PART 1 - Fundamentals of practice finance
February 1st 2006You may not have been trained as a CEO, but unless you sharpen your business skills, your clinical skills may be all for naught. In the first of our 3-part series, a seasoned physician executive outlines the tools needed to manage people, profits, and policies.
Scorecards compare soloists with peer specialty groups
February 1st 2006In an attempt to improve quality of care and reduce costs, Blue Shield of California recently devised a pilot program that compares the practice patterns of solo practitioners against that of peer specialty groups in their region.
Paroxetine causes birth defects
February 1st 2006The FDA recently issued an alert based on early findings of two new studies suggesting that paroxetine (Paxil, GlaxoSmithKline [GSK]) increases the risk for congenital malformations, particularly those of a cardiac nature, when it is taken by women during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Figuring out why black women with breast cancer don't live as long as whites
February 1st 2006While the reasons for the shorter survival of black women with breast cancer compared to their white counterparts are still not completely understood, new research indicates that most of these women die of causes other than breast cancer and that diabetes and hypertension play important roles.
Postpartum is the time to worry about venous thromboembolism
February 1st 2006While the risks for a first-time venous thromboembolism (VTE) or pulmonary embolism (PE) increase with each trimester of pregnancy, they peak during the postpartum period when they are five and 15 times greater, respectively, than during pregnancy, according to the findings of a 30-year population-based study of 50,000 women.
New guidelines for breast biopsies
February 1st 2006In an effort to improve the diagnosis of breast cancer, an international panel of 23 expert surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, and oncologists recently recommended expanding the roles of minimally invasive needle and sentinel node biopsies and severely limiting the role of open surgical biopsies, citing that almost one third of the 1.7 million breast biopsies performed in the United States are still done surgically.
Pelvic Floor Electromyography in Men with Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome
January 24th 2006The objectives of this study were 1. To identify differences between men with Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS), compared with pain-free men, in surface electromyography (sEMG)/Biofeedback (BFB) readings of pelvic floor muscles and 2.
Grand Rounds: Lessons from the cockpit: How team training can reduce errors on L&D
January 1st 2006Although many ob/gyns believe they already work on an interdisciplinary team, most don't really apply the principles of teamwork on labor and delivery. This Harvard team has discovered that applying the concepts used by military and commercial flight teams—an approach called Crew Resource Management—can improve patient safety and reduce the epidemic of lawsuits plaguing the specialty.