Prevent the Event: A Case Discussion of Atherothrombosis. Rates of death from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases have been steadily declining over the past few decades. In spite of these declines, atherothrombotic disease continues to be a worldwide challenge in terms of morbidity, premature death, and disability with tremendous costs to patients, healthcare systems, and society.

Optimizing Pain Management in the Primary Care Setting. Chronic pain is a serious medical problem in the United States, affecting millions of Americans and costing the healthcare system billions of dollars. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, more than 25% or 1 in 4 Americans reported pain persisting for more than 24 hours with 1 in 3 Americans indicating their pain was “disabling.”

Red Eye Emergencies Not to Miss in Primary Care. In our current healthcare environment, primary care clinicians are often at the frontline of caring for a myriad of acute care issues including diagnosing and managing eye disease. The red eye is the most common ocular disorder and accounts for almost 2% of all primary care patient visits. The term “red eye” describes a large number of diseases that exhibit conjunctival or scleral vascular injection. Although most red eye conditions are benign, some can represent medical emergencies. A recent survey showed considerable variability in how primary care cli-nicians manage the red eye.

Getting Better Is Not Good Enough: Assessing and Addressing Treatment Response in Major Depressive Disorder. Up to 40% of primary care patients will seek treatment for depression at some time in their lives; 14.4% of Americans will have major depressive disorder. The economic impact of depression is significant, with annual direct costs of treatment and indirect costs due to loss of productivity estimated at $83 billion.

Front-line Issues in the Management of Gout. Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis, with metabolic sequelae, triggered by the deposition of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals within the joints and tissues. This can lead to tophus formation in and around the joints and uric acid urolithiasis, and is associated with hyperuricemia. The deposition of the MSU crystals acts as a catalyst for the inflammatory reaction that is recognized as acute gout.

Managing the Common Complications of Type 2 Diabetes in Primary Care Patients. According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 24 million people in the United States, or 7.8% of the population, have been diagnosed with diabetes, while an additional 6 million people remain undiagnosed. Type 2 diabetes accounts for approximately 90% to 95% of all diagnosed diabetes cases. Within the United States, the prevalence of diabetes varies from state to state, with higher rates generally observed in the southern and eastern states.

Avoiding Clinical Inertia When Treating Patients With Type 2 Diabetes. In 2007, diabetes was estimated to affect 24.1 million people in the United States, an increase of more than 3 million in approximately 2 years. Of these individuals, up to one-third may not know they have the disease.