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Objective: To report on the proportion of individuals with alcohol-use disorders who take prescription medications that could interact with alcohol and on the proportion who recall advice to avoid alcohol with their medications., Design: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of telephone counseling., Setting: 18 primary care practices in south-central and southeastern Wisconsin., Patients: 897 adults with alcohol-use disorders as identified by systematic survey., Intervention: Telephone and mail survey., Main Outcome Measures: Patient-reported prescription medication use, potential for alcohol-drug interactions according to DrugDex, and patient-reported receipt of advice not to take alcohol with their medications., Results: Of the 869 patients who provided usable information on prescription medication use, 348 (40.0%) were taking medications with alcohol interactions or proscriptions; the most frequently reported were bupropion, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and various acetaminophen-containing compounds. Slightly more than 20% of patients were taking medications with moderate to severe alcohol interactions; over one-third of these 184 patients did not recall advice to avoid alcohol., Conclusion: Practitioners who prescribe or dispense medications may need to enhance their efforts to advise patients about alcohol-drug interactions. Prescribing and dispensing medications that interact with alcohol present opportunities to administer alcohol screens and interventions.

Objective: To review the laboratory and clinical evidence of the medicinal value of zinc for the treatment of the common cold., Data Sources: Published articles identified through Medline (1980-2003) using the search terms zinc, rhinovirus, and other pertinent subject headings. Additional sources were identified from the bibliographies of the retrieved articles., Study Selection: By the author., Data Extraction: By the author., Data Synthesis: Human rhinoviruses, by attaching to the nasal epithelium via the intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) receptor, cause most colds. Ionic zinc, based on its electrical charge, also has an affinity for ICAM-1 receptor sites and may exert an antiviral effect by attaching to the ICAM-1 receptors in the rhinovirus structure and nasal epithelial cells. Clinical tests of zinc for treatment of common colds have been inconsistent, primarily because of study design, blinding, and lozenge contents. Early formulations of lozenges also were unpalatable. In three trials with similar study designs, methodologies, and efficacy assessments, zinc effectively and significantly shortened the duration of the common cold when it was administered within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms. Recent reports of trials with zinc gluconate administered as a nasal gel have supported these findings; in addition, they have shown that treatment with zinc nasal gel is effective in reducing the duration and severity of common cold symptoms in patients with established illness., Conclusion: Clinical trial data support the value of zinc in reducing the duration and severity of symptoms of the common cold when administered within 24 hours of the onset of common cold symptoms. Additional clinical and laboratory evaluations are warranted to further define the role of ionic zinc for the prevention and treatment of the common cold and to elucidate the biochemical mechanisms through which zinc exerts its symptom-relieving effects.