Guideline twelve: guidelines for long-term monitoring for epilepsy. American Electroencephalographic Society.
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RA is a chronic progressive polyarthritis (with varying systemic features) associated with substantial disability and economic losses. Successful treatment to limit joint damage and functional loss requires early diagnosis and timely initiation of disease-modifying agents. The goal of treatment is to arrest the disease and to achieve remission. Although remission rarely occurs, patients may still benefit from pharmacologic, nonpharmacologic, and if necessary, surgical interventions. Optimal longitudinal treatment requires comprehensive coordinated care and the expertise of a number of providers. Essential components of management include 1) establishment of the diagnosis of RA (versus other forms of polyarthritis), 2) systematic and regular evaluation of disease activity, 3) patient education/rehabilitation interventions, and initial treatment with NSAIDs, 4) use of DMARDs, 5) possible use of local or low-dose oral glucocorticoids, 6) minimization of the impact on the individual's function, 7) assessment of the adequacy of the treatment program, and 8) general health maintenance.
Drugs used to treat RA may cause death, disability, and diseases, especially if the treatment continues in the setting of undetected toxicity. Prevention of toxicity may be enhanced by pretreatment assessment of individual risk factors for toxicity and by careful patient and physician education about safe use of the drug. Patients and their physicians must be alert to the signs and symptoms of toxicity that should prompt discontinuation of the drug and physician reassessment. Some drug toxicity may be discovered by appropriate laboratory monitoring before serious problems become clinically apparent. The 3 major drug categories for the treatment of RA are the NSAIDs, DMARDs, and glucocorticoids. Most NSAIDs have common GI and renal toxicity that may be averted by careful patient selection and administration of the drug. The individual DMARDs have specific toxicities for which monitoring protocols have been developed. The serious side effects of systemic glucocorticoids are largely related to dose and duration of treatment. The recommendations summarized in Table 1 are for basic monitoring in patients with uncomplicated RA. Additional monitoring may be appropriate for patients with comorbid disease, concurrent medication, or other risk factors.
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Low back pain (LBP) is a common problem in primary care, the successful management of which poses special challenges for patients and practitioners alike. It has been estimated that all adults will suffer LBP sometime during their lifetimes. It is one of the most frequent reasons for visiting a primary care physician, yet practitioners often find it difficult and frustrating to treat. This medical protocol is concerned with the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of low back pain in adults. It was developed for community-based, primary care physicians (general practitioners, family physicians, and internists) to serve as a general outline, to be adjusted in accord with the individual's circumstances. The protocol provides a "Ten Commandments" for the care of LBP, outlines the background of the problem, presents an overall algorithm and deals with issues of diagnosis, imaging, and treatment. In general, LBP in primary care is conceived of as a benign ailment, and emphasis is placed on reducing pain, resuming functioning and returning to work. The main task of the physician is to distinguish the less than 10% of cases with serious, specific causes of LBP from the more than 90% with nonspecific etiologies. In the great majority of patients, imaging studies such as X-ray, CT, MRI, and bone scan, and also EEG are unnecessary.
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Only incomplete data are available to guide decision on anti-HIV treatment. A British HIV Association consensus is that guidance must draw on other evidence besides the randomised trial. Marker studies, work on disease pathogenesis and viral dynamics, and expanding knowledge of resistance patterns mean that the approach to therapy is constantly evolving. There is a need for well-informed dialogue between HIV-infected patient and physician to achieve rational, individualized treatment. However, the following broad principles have a wide consensus amongst HIV-treating physicians in the UK: (1) treatment should be offered before substantial immunodeficiency ensues; (2) initial treatment should include combinations of at least two drugs; (3) switches in therapy should involve substitution or addition of at least two new agents; (4) viral load and CD4 measurements are essential; (5) reduction in viral load to below the detection level of a sensitive assay represents the optimal treatment response and failure to achieve or sustain this control should prompt consideration of therapy modification. This response seems to be achieved most reliably with combinations of two nucleoside analogues plus a third agent (a protease inhibitor, a non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor, or a third nucleoside analogue) or of two protease inhibitors.
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