• Articles

    Geriatric Assessment: An Office-Based Approach

    Paul E. Tatum, III, Shaida Talebreza, Jeanette S. Ross

    The geriatric assessment evaluates medical, social, and environmental factors that influence overall well-being in older patients. Assessments should be tailored to the individual's goals of care and life expectancy, and should target patients who can most benefit. A...

    Recurrent Abdominal Pain in Children

    Carin E. Reust, Amy Williams

    Recurrent abdominal pain in children is episodes of pain, occurring over at least three months, that affect the child's ability to perform normal activities. Although it is most often considered functional or nonorganic, organic causes are sometimes found. Further workup is...

    Localized Prostate Cancer: Treatment Options

    Stephen Brawley, Ravinder Mohan, Christopher D. Nein

    Because prostate cancer is often slow-growing, with only one in 39 men dying from the disease, and treatment can cause adverse effects, some patients may choose active surveillance over curative treatment. Curative treatment options include radiation therapy and surgery. Each...

    AAFP News Now: AFP Edition

    AAFP News: AFP Edition

    CMS Strategy Aims to Benefit Rural America | Medical Groups Decry Attempt to Alter State Laws for APRNs | AAFP Unveils Principles for Fair Measurement in Alternative Payment Models | AAFP Fights for Patient Access to Covered Medicaid Services

    Editorials

    AFP 2018: How We're Doing

    Jay Siwek, Sumi M. Sexton

    This editorial updates and adds to previous reports on statistics for American Family Physician (AFP),1,2 including our print circulation, website visits, social media engagement, AFP Community Blog views, podcast downloads, video views, social media followers, continuing...

    STEPS

    Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride 1% Cream (Rhofade) for Persistent Facial Erythema Associated with Rosacea

    Christina Garcia, Michele Birch

    Oxymetazoline cream has been shown to be safe and effective at reducing erythema in a small portion of treated patients, but research showing its effectiveness relative to other options is lacking.

    Point-of-Care Guides

    Identifying Patients with Newly Diagnosed Acute Pulmonary Embolism Who Are at Low Risk of Death

    Pete Yunyongying

    Standard management of acute PE includes five days of inpatient treatment with parenteral anticoagulation, followed by long-term oral anticoagulation as an outpatient. However, guidelines from the American College of Chest Physicians state that early discharge before five...

    Putting Prevention Into Practice

    Screening for Ovarian Cancer

    Tina Fan, Colby Uptegraft

    A 61-year-old woman presents to your office for a well-woman examination. She had a normal Papanicolaou (Pap) test last year and has no medical problems. She quit smoking 10 years ago, reports a family history significant only for cardiovascular disease, and is sexually...

    Photo Quiz

    Progressive Rash Involving the Hands and Feet

    Kelly L. Hughes, Andy Chern

    A man presented in late fall with a progressive rash on his hands, arms, back, chest, and feet after a hiking trip.

    POEMs

    FIT More Acceptable with Better Detection Rate Than gFOBT for Colorectal Cancer Screening

    Mark H. Ebell

    FIT is more sensitive and specific than the older guaiac-based fecal occult blood tests (gFOBTs) when screening for colorectal cancer. We now know that it is also more acceptable to patients and increases uptake in a centrally administered screening program.

    Injectable Extended-Release Naltrexone Effective for Opioid Use Disorder

    David C. Slawson

    Injectable extended-release naltrexone administered every four weeks is similar in efficacy to daily oral buprenorphine/naloxone for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Patients using extended-release naltrexone reported higher satisfaction with treatment and were more...

    Drugs for Chronic Idiopathic Constipation Are Similarly Effective

    Mark H. Ebell

    If nondrug measures are unsuccessful for chronic idiopathic constipation, the choice of a pharmacologic agent should be based on cost, tolerability, and long-term adherence rather than efficacy, because the efficacy is similar among drugs and drug classes.

    Practice Guidelines

    Corticosteroids for Sore Throat: BMJ Rapid Recommendation

    Carrie Armstrong

    The BMJ Rapid Recommendations team, a collaboration between BMJ and the MAGIC group, issued a weak recommendation to give a single dose of oral corticosteroids to most patients with acute sore throat.

    U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

    Screening for Ovarian Cancer: Recommendation Statement

    The USPSTF recommends against screening for ovarian cancer in asymptomatic women.

    FPIN's Help Desk Answers

    Treatments for de Quervain Tenosynovitis

    Suzan Skef, Kenya Ie, Sandra Sauereisen, Gretchen Shelesky, Amy Haugh

    Corticosteroid injections are no better than thumb spica orthoses for decreasing pain in patients with de Quervain tenosynovitis. When combined with orthoses, corticosteroid injections and acupuncture are equally effective for improving function and decreasing pain.

    Medicine by the Numbers

    Antibiotics for Otitis Media in Children

    Maurice Selby, Sigrid Wolfram

    This meta-analysis concludes that the risk of a prolonged course of antibiotics was twice as high for children younger than two years with bilateral acute otitis media than for children two years and older with unilateral acute otitis media, indicating that antibiotics might...

    Letters to the Editor

    Assessing Patients' Health Literacy Skills Not Necessary in Clinical Practice

    Information from Your Family Doctor

    Prostate Cancer: Making Decisions About Treatment

    Prostate cancer is usually found early in the disease, when it can be cured. Some men have more aggressive (or faster-spreading) cancer. In these men, treatment can be lifesaving. However, treatment can also cause side effects, like urinary, sexual, and bowel problems.



    Disclosure

    All editors in a position to control content for this activity, AFP journal, are required to disclose any relevant financial relationships. View disclosures.


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