Articles related to Family Medicine/General Practice

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.

The lipid metabolism plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. However, little has been known about the molecular relationships. But now, a set of lipids have been statistically associated with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

CVD is the leading cause of death in the US, accounting for more than one in four deaths. Following a systematic review, the US Preventive Services Task Force has provided an update on the effectiveness of aspirin to reduce the risk of CVD events.

A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine looked at the association between cardiovascular outcomes and the coprescription of nitrates with PDE5 inhibitors in more than 42,000 men over a 10-year period. Two composite outcomes were measured: 1) cardiac arrest, shock, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or acute coronary arteriography; and 2) syncope, angina pectoris, or drug-related adverse event. The authors found no statistically significant increase in measured cardiovascular AEs.