To compare the efficacy and tolerability of fluconazole and oral amphotericin B in preventing fungal infection in neutropenic patients with acute leukemia.

To determine if low-dose involved field radiation after complete remission induction with chemotherapy is effective in preventing relapse and improving survival in patients with stage III or IV Hodgkin disease.

To compare piperacillin and tobramycin with ceftazidime alone for the empiric treatment of fever in the neutropenic patient without evidence of skin infections or anaerobic infections.

To determine whether asymptomatic bacteriuria in elderly ambulatory women is a marker of increased mortality and, if so, whether it is because of an association with other determinants of mortality or because asymptomatic bacteriuria is itself an independent cause, the removal of which might improve longevity.

To determine the effect on renal function of postoperative low-dose dopamine in volume-replete patients after elective, major vascular abdominal surgery.

To evaluate the efficacy of a physician-directed, nurse-managed, home-based case-management system for coronary risk factor modification.

To assess three anti-stress ulcer prophylaxis regimens in mechanically ventilated patients for bacterial colonization, early- and late-onset nosocomial pneumonia, and gastrointestinal bleeding.

To assess differences in morbidity and mortality between men and women with acute myocardial infarction treated with thrombolytic therapy and the relation of differences to baseline patient characteristics and clinical features.

To determine whether cervical bruits, alone or combined with other clinical characteristics, can distinguish high-grade (70% to 99%) carotid artery stenoses from less severe stenoses in patients with symptoms of cerebrovascular disease.

To test whether intermittent treatment with slow-release sodium fluoride and continuous calcium citrate supplementation inhibits vertebral fractures without causing fluoride complications.

To evaluate the relation between skeletal muscle disease (myopathy) and degenerative changes in cardiac muscle (cardiomyopathy) in patients with chronic alcoholism.

To compare the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol-lowering efficacy of low-dose combinations of cholestyramine and fluvastatin.

To determine the effect on health and functional status outcomes of enrollment of noninstitutionalized elderly Medicaid recipients in prepaid plans compared with traditional fee-for-service Medicaid.

To examine the association between cigarette smoking and the risk for stroke in men.

To assess selective digestive decontamination for preventing nosocomial pneumonia and mortality in mechanically ventilated patients.

To assess the efficacy of high-dose oral acyclovir therapy compared with preemptive, short-course ganciclovir therapy (administered only if cytomegalovirus [CMV] shedding occurred) to prevent CMV disease in liver transplant recipients.

To determine whether isosorbide-5-mononitrate (IS-5-MN), an active metabolite of isosorbide dinitrate, when given twice daily (in the morning and 7 hours later), prevents development of tolerance and reduction in exercise performance or is associated with a rebound increase in anginal attacks in patients with stable angina pectoris.

To determine the benefits of switching to didanosine compared with continuing zidovudine among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who have previously used zidovudine and have signs of clinical deterioration.

Recently published 7-year results from the Canadian National Breast Screening Study (NBSS) generated much controversy and criticism. In women aged 40 to 49 years at entry, no reduction in breast cancer mortality was observed when screened women were compared with virtually unscreened women. In women aged 50 to 59 years, breast cancer mortality was similar when annual screening with mammography and physical examination was compared with annual screening with physical examination alone. Although NBSS results in 40- to 49-year-old women are similar to those from previously published screening studies, critics have attacked the study's design, randomization, execution, mammography, follow-up procedures, contamination of controls, and analysis. The absence of benefit observed in mammographically screened women who were 50 to 59 years old has been used to support criticism of mammography. Important facts have been ignored. The NBSS controls, aged 50 to 59 years, unlike in other studies, received thorough annual physical examinations. Cancer detection rates in both age groups were higher in the mammography than the comparison groups. Screen and interval cancer detection rates, sensitivity and specificity estimates, and prevalence to incidence ratios at first screen met or exceeded standards established by other screening studies. Claims that randomization was flawed, in particular, that more symptomatic women were assigned to mammography, are not supported by the distribution of descriptive variables collected before randomization was done. As for the "contamination" of 26% of controls aged 40 to 49 years, who reported receiving mammography, it is improbable that single or occasional diagnostic mammograms in one quarter of the control group could obliterate the benefit of four or five annual mammograms in almost 100% of the mammography group. Much remains unknown about the efficacy of breast screening.

To determine whether doxycycline, 100 mg administered as a single daily oral dose, is effective as a causal prophylactic agent, an agent active against the pre-erythrocytic liver stage of Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites, in healthy nonimmune persons. If effective, the recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that doxycycline be continued for 4 weeks after returning from malaria-endemic areas could be shortened to 1 week.