For severe constipation in hospitalized patients who do not have bowel obstruction or stool impaction and who have not responded to routine oral laxatives, suppositories, or sodium phosphate enemas, try a lactulose enema.

It can be difficult to tell whether a vaguely palpable abdominal mass is intra-abdominal, in the abdominal wall, or extra-abdominal. To differentiate among these 3 types, ask the patient, while lying on the examination table, to lift either the head or legs; then palpate the mass again.

PHILADELPHIA -- The iPod generation of medical students is swaying to the beat of mitral-valve regurgitation and aortic stenoses.

NEW ORLEANS -- When patients are being evaluated for antithrombin therapy in association with percutaneous coronary interventions, doctors have multiple choices that make it possible to tailor therapy, said a Cleveland Clinic investigator,

NEW ORLEANS -- Cardiovascular risk is not static and intermediate risk patients may be on their way toward high risk, although that migration might be avoided or slowed by aggressive management.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA announced today that Novartis has agreed to withdraw Zelnorm (tegaserod), the only approved drug for irritable bowel syndrome (constipation), after a pooled analysis of 29 placebo-controlled, short-term trials found a small but statistically significant increase in ischemic events, including angina and stroke. The analysis identifed 13 such events, including one death, in more than 11,600 patients treated with tegaserod versus one event among a placebo group.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- FDA advisers have recommended that the agency approve a therapeutic personalized vaccine for treatment of metastatic prostate cancer that may increase survival by several months.

BALTIMORE -- Some cases of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis may be the result of genetic flaws rather than autoimmune disease, according to researchers here.

NEW ORLEANS -- Succinobucol (AGI-1067), a novel potent antioxidant for acute coronary syndrome, missed the primary endpoint in a phase III trial, researchers reported here. But it outperformed placebo in secondary endpoints.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA today withdrew the Parkinson's drug pergolide -- a dopamine agonist sold as Permax and as a generic -- because of an increased risk of valvular heart disease.

NEW ORLEANS -- Office-based use of the biomarker pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (proBNP) to help diagnose the cause of dyspnea in the general population may be feasible, Danish researchers said here.

SEATTLE -- Three percent of new breast cancer patients also have mammographically occult malignant tumors in the contralateral breast that can be detected only by magnetic resonance imaging, researchers reported.

MANCHESTER, England -- PET scans suggest that arthritis pain and fear go hand in hand, investigators here said.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Consumption of beef by women during pregnancy may alter a male's in utero testicular development and compromise his future reproductive capacity, researchers here reported. The reason could be residual anabolic steroids in the meat.

WASHINGTON -- Presidential spokesman Tony Snow, who was treated two years ago for colon cancer, had surgery yesterday for metastatic liver cancer, the White House announced today.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Radiofrequency ablation is a safe and effective option for treating patients with early-stage but inoperable non-small cell lung cancer, according to researchers here.

BOSTON -- Women who put off regular pelvic exams have a nearly fourfold increase in the risk of ovarian cancer, according to researchers here.

NEW ORLEANS -- The first trial of a stent coated with two drugs -- estradiol and rapamycin -- showed no benefit over a stent eluting rapamycin alone.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Health-plan patients who take advantage of periodic routine physicals are more likely to be screened for colorectal cancer, and for breast or prostate cancer, researchers here reported.

BOSTON -- Healthy women who took low-to-moderate doses of aspirin for at least five years had a reduced risk of death from any cause but especially cardiovascular disease, according to a large observational study.