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Live, from Las Vegas!
It's state-of-the-art medicine
AAPA's annual conference highlights
state-of-the-art sessions
The AAPA's 32nd Annual Physician Assistant Conference in Las Vegas, held June
1-6, 2004, offered a new educational opportunity for PAs in all specialties,
with the additional benefit that these valuable CME opportunities were captured
live and are now available for CME credit through the AAPA Web site.
Sponsored through the AAPA's Knowledge PArtner Program, the conference highlighted
seven state-of-the-art presentations on a variety of clinical topics from among
the hundreds of sessions available to attendees. In addition to providing practical
management information, these sessions delved into the latest science behind
therapeutic advances. Experts from multiple disciplines presented the sessions,
and the topics included asthma, diabetes, antibiotic therapy, pain management,
osteoporosis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and dyslipidemia.
If you could not attend the sessions at the annual conference, log on to the
CME page of the AAPA Web site ( www.aapa.org/cme/hs-progs.html ) and view the
presentations to earn up to 7 hours of Category I CME credit. This online CME
is free and is available only to Academy members.
On the attack against LDL cholesterol levels
Despite growing evidence that aggressive lowering of low-density lipoprotein
(LDL) cholesterol can prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD), treatment practices
in this country have not kept pace with the evidence, and CVD remains the leading
cause of death in both men and women. This session describes how following current
guidelines and remaining attentive to emerging data can lead to optimal treatment
and achieve national guideline goals. The presenter also discusses the evolution
of guideline goals, including the new American Heart Association/American College
of Cardiology guidelines for women. Participants will be able to discuss recent
data that use surrogate markers of cardiovascular risk reduction, such as intravascular
ultrasonography and carotid ultrasonography, and identify emerging and novel
risk factors in CVD.
Session title: Hot topics in lipids
The presenter is Sandra J. Lewis, MD, FACC, Clinical Associate Professor of
Medicine, Portland Cardiovascular Institute, Oregon Health Sciences University,
Portland.
The appropriate uses of opioid therapy
This session reviews guidelines for prescribing opioids for pain management,
illuminating the new, more liberal federal and state laws affecting this practice.
As recently as 15 years ago, a clinician who prescribed an opioid in a dosage
commonly used today could face disciplinary action from a state licensing board.
This fear of treating patients in pain with appropriate drugs at effective dosages
often caused unnecessary patient suffering. This session gives PAs a better
understanding of the complex legal and medical issues surrounding these tightly
controlled drugs.
Session title: The changing environment of prescribing opioids
The presenter is William Vilensky, RPh, DO, Clinical Associate Professor of
Psychiatry and Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine, University of
Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark. Dr.
Vilensky is also Executive Director of Forensic and Educational Consultants
in Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Margate, NJ.
After HRT, what to do about osteoporosis
More than 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, and more than 30 million
are at risk for fractures secondary to low bone mass—figures that are expected
to increase as the population ages and women's use of hormone replacement therapy
diminishes. This presentation illustrates that osteoporosis is both preventable
and treatable by putting the problem in perspective, and it provides PAs with
crucial skills for a quick and easy assessment of a patient's risk factors.
Critical to assessing risk and to evaluating existing osteoporosis is accurate
interpretation of results from dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).
Session title: Osteoporosis
The presenter is Richard S. Pope, PA-C, a specialist in rheumatology, osteoporosis,
and pain management at the Arthritis Center of Connecticut and director of the
rheumatology section of the PA program at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn.
Fighting antimicrobial resistance in respiratory infection
What is the best approach to prescribing antibiotics for respiratory tract
infections in an age when Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae,
and Moraxella catarrhalis—three important pathogens in community-acquired
disease—have developed resistance to commonly used agents? In the United
States, for example, one third of clinical isolates of H influenzae produce
ß-lactamase, resulting in resistance to ampicillin and amoxicillin, with
a comparable rate of resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Resistance
to fluoroquinolones is also emerging, with overall resistance rates of at least
5%. Participants will learn which pathogens are frequently associated with community-acquired
respiratory tract infections and review current resistance trends for common
antimicrobials. Complementing the review of resistance is a discussion of current
strategies to optimize the clinical outcomes for patients with such respiratory
tract infections.
Session title: Strategic selection of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections
The presenter is David Nicolau, PharmD, from the Center for Anti-infective
Research and Development, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Conn.
Managing the full spectrum of asthma
This review provides PAs with the knowledge and tools they need to suspect
and recognize different presentations of asthma and to develop sound, evidence-based
strategies for managing the disease based on the updated National Institutes
of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Expert Panel Guidelines.
The presenter reviews the epidemiology and pathophysiology of asthma, along
with its role as a cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States.
Session title: Strategies for active living—managing asthma variability
The presenter is Todd A. Mahr, MD, Director of Pediatric Allergy at Gundersen
Clinic, LaCrosse, Wis.
Forestalling a diabetes epidemic
The recent explosive rise in the prevalence of diabetes and the worrisomeness
of its earlier onset have resulted in an urgent need for the prevention, early
detection, and aggressive treatment of this disease. The providers responsible
for the initial care and follow-up of patients at risk for diabetes and for
the treatment of those patients who have it are facing an increasing burden.
Because the PA's role in diabetes management will likely increase in the coming
years, the ability to stay current on all aspects of this disease is critical
to recommending and implementing state-of-the-art diabetes care. This session
reviews the epidemiology of diabetes in the United States and explores the underlying
causes of the diabetes explosion, particularly among children and high-risk
populations. It reviews strategies for prevention and discusses treatments that
address the underlying pathophysiology and natural history of the disease. Participants
will also learn how to design comprehensive strategies to achieve and maintain
glycemic goals while reducing the risk of cardiovascular events related to diabetes.
Session title: The diabetes epidemic—new strategies for prevention and
treatment
The presenter is James R. Gavin III, MD, PhD, President, Morehouse School
of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga. Dr. Gavin is Chair of the National Diabetes Education
Program and a past president of the American Diabetes Association.
The latest word on GERD
With more than 20% of Americans reporting weekly symptoms of gastroesophageal
reflux disease (GERD), the PA's ability to manage this condition is critical
to a large population of patients. Clinicians must be able to determine appropriate
treatment based on the frequency and severity of a patient's symptoms and the
underlying pathophysiology and to help patients understand the appropriate use
of the various therapies. Participants will review the various clinical presentations
of GERD to determine which patients need further evaluation of reflux symptoms
and will compare the available medical treatments. Indications for surgical
and endoscopic treatments are also discussed.
Session title: Navigating the treatment options—GERD 2004
The presenter is Rick Davis, PA-C, Senior Physician Assistant in the Division
of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, University of Florida, Gainesville.
Julia Russell. Live, from Las Vegas! JAAPA June 2004;17:18-20.
Copyright © 2004, Advanstar Medical Economics Healthcare Communications at Montvale, NJ 07645-1742. All rights reserved.
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