In his "Consultations & Comments" response to a reader’scomments about statins and cancer risk in elderly patients(CONSULTANT, October 2003, page 1389), Dr David Nashnotes that the increased number of deaths from cancer thatoccurred in the second year of the Pravastatin in Elderly Individualsat Risk of Vascular Disease (PROSPER) study canprobably be attributed to disease that was already present beforethe start of the trial.
In his Hypertension Q&A, “When Snoring Has More OminousConsequences Than a Sleepless Spouse” (CONSULTANT,October 2003, page 1410), Dr Donald Vidt suggestsseveral questions that a physician can ask patients to screenfor obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
A 74-year-old man comes to your office because his wife and childrenhave noticed that his memory has become mildly impaired. He continuesto work part time in the family business. Recently, however, his daughter has found thathe is making significant errors with clients. For example, he has failed to show up for appointmentsthat he had scheduled, and has set up appointments with clients whom he has already served.Because of errors he has made in client billing, he has turned over the company’s bookkeepingresponsibilities to his daughter.
A 59-year-old woman complainsof progressively worsening bloatingand right upper quadrant pain thatbegan 1 day earlier. She denies feverand trauma. Her medical history includescholecystectomy for cholelithiasisand several emergency departmentvisits for treatment of woundssustained in falls. She has a history ofalcohol abuse, for which she now receivescounseling. However, she admitsthat she occasionally has boutsof heavy drinking.
A 59-year-old woman presents with generalized facialswelling and dyspnea that has progressed graduallyover the past month. The patient also reports a sensationof pressure in her neck and ears and swelling of the lowereyelids, neck, upper chest, and upper limbs. The bloodvessels on her upper chest are prominent. A dry, irritatingcough has worsened.
Patients on a low-fat diet who dislikethe color, taste, or consistency of fatfreemilk can try adding nonfat milkpowder.
A 51-year-old man presents with aseverely infected leg and 1- to 2-cmlesions on all of his extremities andtrunk; the bases of the lesions aredepressed, atrophic, and scarred.According to the patient, the lesionstypically appear as tender nodulesor pustules, which spontaneouslyburst, drain purulent material, andeventually heal as pictured.
When should children who have a family history of either type 1 or type 2 diabetesbe screened for prediabetes?
Good nutritional care can improve the short-and longtermcourses of many illnesses that are common in olderadults. The experts who have contributed to this handbookdiscuss the disorders that can seriously affect andbe affected by nutrition, and they present specific recommendationsfor secondary prevention and management.
A46-year-old white man is hospitalized with increasing dyspnea of 3weeks’ duration. He has a history of stable chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease secondary to heavy smoking (2 packs of cigarettes a day for 27years, discontinued 6 years previously) and uses inhaled bronchodilators.
A 38-year-old overweight woman presents with an asymptomatic rash ofat least 2 months’ duration that had not responded to a combinationcorticosteroid/antifungal agent. She has mild hypertension and type 2 diabetesmellitus that is being managed with diet and exercise. She is otherwisehealthy.
My patient is a 10-year-old boy with asthma. After an exacerbation of his asthmawas treated with albuterol and solumedrol, his blood glucose level was 250 mg/dLwith 1+ glucosuria (no ketones).
A 64-year-old woman complainsof neck fullness that has increased inthe last few months. She has occasionaldyspnea but denies fever, cough, andhemoptysis. Hypertension is well-controlledwith propranolol.
Is there evidence that treating elevated fasting glucose levels or impairedglucose tolerance, from early in pregnancy until term, improves outcomes(ie, fewer cesarean deliveries, fewer macrosomic babies, fewer patients in whompreeclampsia develops, fewer mothers who subsequently require insulin)?
A 75-year-old man with coronaryartery disease presents to the emergencydepartment with abdominalpain and light-headedness. The painbegan as a dull ache 4 days earlierand recently became considerablyworse. The patient denies recenttrauma, fever, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
A 75-year-old man with a 120-pack-year smoking history has dyspnea on exertion(eg, when he walks more than 3 blocks or climbs 1 flight of stairs) butnot when he is at rest or asleep. His symptoms have progressively worsenedover the past 3 to 4 years and have been accompanied by a 20-lb weight loss.
A 67-year-old woman has had an ulcer on her left heel for at least several weeks.She applied a homemade dressing and cut her shoes to try to relieve pressureon the ulcer; however, in the past week, areas around the ulcer have becomepainful. These areas, as well as the dorsum of the foot, are red and swollen.
A 72-year-old man complains that he has been losing weightfor the last 2 months. Colon cancer was diagnosed 2 yearsearlier, and the lesion was resected; he did not receive anyadditional therapy at that time. Except for hypertension,which is well controlled with propranolol, the remainder ofthe medical history is unremarkable.
This 40-year-old woman has had multiple lesions on her facefor several months. She also reports occasional fevers, slight weight loss, andintermittent fatigue.
A70-year-old African American man, who is a retiredelectrician, presents with increasing fatigue anddull back pain of 4 months’ duration. Although he usuallywalks about 2 miles a day, he now becomes exhaustedafter half a block. He reports exertional dyspnea but noparoxysmal nocturnal dyspnea or orthopnea. Recently, henoticed ankle edema.
Over the past 6 months, a 76-year-old African American woman has had increasingdifficulty in swallowing solid food and has lost 40 lb. She can now tolerateonly liquids and foods with a pudding-like consistency. Ingestion of moresolid food produces the sensation that it is “sticking in her chest,” and shesubsequently regurgitates it undigested. She denies heartburn, reflux, nausea,hematemesis, abdominal pain, and melena.
For several weeks, a 29-year-old woman has had worsening left lower backpain that is aggravated by sitting and walking. The pain is most severe aboveher left buttock; it radiates into the buttock and very slightly into the leg. Overthe-counter analgesics have been ineffective. Assuming a supine position providessome relief, but the pain still occasionally awakens her at night. She deniesweakness, other neurologic symptoms, and any symptoms of bowel orbladder dysfunction.
Highlights:Unique features of depression in the elderly.Keys to picking up the diagnosis.Pharmacologic treatment.When to recommend referral.
A 23-year-old woman has had 2 episodesof syncope during the past month.Her mother witnessed 1 episode inwhich the patient collapsed and lostconsciousness for a few minutes. Sheexperienced tonic-clonic seizure activitybut no subsequent confusion.
A 45-year-old woman is admitted for evaluation of intermittentmidsternal chest pain that began 48 hours earlier.The pain is intense and radiates down both arms to theelbows; it has been accompanied by several episodes ofnausea and diaphoresis. She denies classic angina pectorisbut reports that she has experienced episodes of chestdiscomfort that is similar to her current pain-but muchless severe and without radiation-for about 3 months.She has no history of dyspnea on exertion, orthopnea, orparoxysmal nocturnal dyspnea.
