Annals of internal medicine
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Long-term opioid therapy for chronic noncancer pain is becoming increasingly common in community practice. Concomitant with this change in practice, rates of fatal opioid overdose have increased. The extent to which overdose risks are elevated among patients receiving medically prescribed long-term opioid therapy is unknown. ⋯ National Institute of Drug Abuse.
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Practice Guideline
International consensus recommendations on the management of patients with nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
A multidisciplinary group of 34 experts from 15 countries developed this update and expansion of the recommendations on the management of acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) from 2003. ⋯ Recommendations emphasize early risk stratification, by using validated prognostic scales, and early endoscopy (within 24 hours). Endoscopic hemostasis remains indicated for high-risk lesions, whereas data support attempts to dislodge clots with hemostatic, pharmacologic, or combination treatment of the underlying stigmata. Clips or thermocoagulation, alone or with epinephrine injection, are effective methods; epinephrine injection alone is not recommended. Second-look endoscopy may be useful in selected high-risk patients but is not routinely recommended. Preendoscopy proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy may downstage the lesion; intravenous high-dose PPI therapy after successful endoscopic hemostasis decreases both rebleeding and mortality in patients with high-risk stigmata. Although selected patients can be discharged promptly after endoscopy, high-risk patients should be hospitalized for at least 72 hours after endoscopic hemostasis. For patients with UGIB who require a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, a PPI with a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor is preferred to reduce rebleeding. Patients with UGIB who require secondary cardiovascular prophylaxis should start receiving acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) again as soon as cardiovascular risks outweigh gastrointestinal risks (usually within 7 days); ASA plus PPI therapy is preferred over clopidogrel alone to reduce rebleeding.
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Leptin is a hormone secreted by adipose tissue in direct proportion to amount of body fat. The circulating leptin levels serve as a gauge of energy stores, thereby directing the regulation of energy homeostasis, neuroendocrine function, and metabolism. Persons with congenital deficiency are obese, and treatment with leptin results in dramatic weight loss through decreased food intake and possible increased energy expenditure. ⋯ Leptin deficiency is also evident in patients with diet- or exercise-induced hypothalamic amenorrhea and lipoatrophy. Replacement of leptin in physiologic doses restores ovulatory menstruation in women with hypothalamic amenorrhea and improves metabolic dysfunction in patients with lipoatrophy, including lipoatrophy associated with HIV or highly active antiretroviral therapy. The applications of leptin continue to grow and will hopefully soon be used therapeutically.