Articles related to Family Medicine/General Practice

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has issued guidance on managing drug interactions with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid). Specifically, the IDSA recommends clinicians take six steps to minimize the risk of drug interactions for patients with COVID-19 who are eligible for nirmatrelvir/ritonavir.

Among adults aged 35 years or older with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 kg/m2, the prevalence of diabetes in Asian, Black, and Hispanic Americans was significantly higher than that in White Americans. Using screening thresholds specific to race and ethnicity has the potential to reduce disparities in diabetes diagnosis.

There haven’t been any national guidelines developed for managing patients with stage 1 hypertension who don’t respond to lifestyle modification. This population represents an important guideline gap: most patients with stage 1 hypertension progress to stage 2 hypertension, which increases the risk for cardiovascular events. The AHA has published a scientific statement to fill the gap – if lifestyle modification fails to reduce blood pressure, consider pharmacotherapy.

Although vaccinations to the arm can still prevent serious illness, their ability to ward off infection completely has been diminished. And part of the reason may be the location of the vaccines, which some scientists now want to change by delivering inoculations to the site where the virus first makes contact: the nose. Three separate nasal sprays, now in advanced trials, could trigger stronger immune responses in people who have COVID-19.

How does the diagnostic performance of home antigen tests change during the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection? Symptomatic individuals with an initial negative home antigen test result for SARS-CoV-2 infection should test again one to two days later because test sensitivity seems to peak several days after illness onset.

Cannabis use increases the likelihood that patients will develop several negative health conditions, such as insomnia, anxiety, psychosis, and depression. As such, cannabis use should be prescribed carefully by physicians.