Sarah Inés Ramírez
Well-coordinated prenatal care that follows an evidence-based, informed process results in fewer hospital admissions, improved education, greater patient satisfaction, and lower pregnancy-associated morbidity and mortality.
Julie A. Creech-Organ, Sarah E. Szybist, Jacqueline L. Yurgil
Musculoskeletal conditions are reported by 48% of the population and are a significant component of primary care visits. A patient's understanding of risks, benefits, and alternatives to injection promotes patient-oriented outcomes.
Dellyse M. Bright, Holly Leigh Stegall, David C. Slawson
The diagnosis of food allergies starts with a detailed, allergy-focused history. Primary treatment is eliminating the offending food from the diet. No medications are effective for preventing allergic reactions to food. Infants with early exposure to allergenic foods are less...
Adam J. Visconti, Orlando I. Sola, Priya V. Raghavan
Pressure injuries are localized damage to skin or soft tissue. Prevention should focus on nutritional status, repositioning, and appropriate support surfaces. Skin assessments are crucial for evaluation, and treatment should involve pressure off-loading, appropriate bandage...
D. Jason Frasca, Caitlyn E. Jarrio, Justin Perdue
Signs and symptoms of acute pelvic pain in women are often nonspecific. The differential diagnosis is broad, based on the patient's age and pregnancy status and gynecologic vs. nongynecologic etiology. History findings can guide the physical examination, laboratory studies,...
Jedda Rupert, Pamela Hughes, Daniel Schoenherr
Family physicians are integral in the identification and initial evaluation of childhood speech and language delays. Parental observations and milestone assessment aid in the identification of abnormalities.
Stephen A. Martin
Since 2015, hypertension care has been contentious because of a single study: SPRINT. The results surprised myself and others in primary care, as did differing specialty interpretations about how—or whether—these results should influence hypertension management.
Kevin Sherin, Sulekho Egal, Rocio Silva Sanchez
Given the negative effects of diabetes on patients, families, and communities, family physicians should counsel patients with a recent diagnosis about the benefits of a structured weight loss intervention, including diabetes remission.
Leah A. Stem, Sean P. Haley
The 2019 American Urological Association guidelines for treatment of nonneurogenic overactive bladder in adults recommend behavior therapy as first-line treatment, with anticholinergics as second-line treatment or used in conjunction with behavior therapies.
Alison Huffstetler, Grace Walter, Kendal Orgera
In 2023, the number of senior medical students applying for family medicine residencies declined by 7.4% in states with abortion bans compared with a 3.6% decrease in states where abortion is legal.
Key clinical questions and their evidence-based answers directly from the journal’s content, written by and for family physicians.
Stephanie Algenio Anciro, Anna Milliren
Inspiratory muscle training improves symptoms, physical fitness, and quality of life in patients with COPD. When combined with pulmonary rehabilitation, inspiratory muscle training makes no difference compared with pulmonary rehabilitation alone.
Tyler Rogers, Gregory Altman, Paige Williams, Patient Perspective by Helen Haskell
In this Cochrane review, patients with mild to moderate persistent asthma and symptoms consistent with an acute asthma exacerbation who are treated with increased doses of ICSs show no reduction in the need for further intervention with primarily systemic corticosteroids vs....
The USPSTF recommends screening for LTBI in populations at increased risk.
Nick F. Bennett, Ashley L. Bissaillon
The BioFire RP2.1 is a rapid and accurate test that can assist with timely antiviral therapy and infection control measures, but evidence is mixed over its clinical benefit in decreasing the length of antibiotic use in adults.
Fasih Hameed, Hannah Maxfield
First-person accounts from the front lines of family medicine.
Brigham Merrell, Robert Gauer
The definition of discharge against medical advice is when a patient decides to leave the hospital or other health care setting (i.e., emergency department, outpatient clinics) before the medical team recommends discharge or disposition.
Viviane de Souza Santos Sachs, Simone Bigelow, Jennifer Weakley, Livia Maruoka Nishi, Helga Skaftason
Open glottis pushing during the second stage of labor is a prolonged exhalation while contracting the stomach muscles. There is conflicting evidence about whether maintaining an open glottis during delivery prevents perineal trauma.
Julie A. Creech-Organ, Reid Rivers
A woman presented with lower lip swelling.
Diana Trang, Shauna Norman, Michelle L. Lawson
An infant presented with several small lesions on the mucosal surface of his lower lip.
Mark H. Ebell
Linda Speer
Linda Speer
Mark H. Ebell
Ellie Mentler, Robert Vietor, John Maddox
The World Society of Emergency Surgery published guidelines for identifying and treating bowel injuries.
Anne L. du Breuil
The American College of Chest Physicians published updated guidelines on perioperative management of antithrombotic medications for elective procedures based on a systematic review of primarily low-quality evidence.
Akshay Pendyal
Robert J. Flaherty
Cynthia G. Olsen
Reply: Joel Herness, Matthew J. Snyder, Raquelle Suzanne Newman
A joint injection is a shot with a needle into a joint (where two or more bones meet to allow movement, such as the knee). A soft tissue injection is a shot into a soft tissue space (such as the space between a muscle and a bone). Doctors can use the needle to remove fluid or...
Food allergies happen when your body has a bad reaction to something you eat. This is not food poisoning. Babies and children are more likely to be allergic to peanuts, cow's milk, tree nuts (like pecans and walnuts), eggs, soy, and wheat. You can develop food allergies at...
It is pain or discomfort in your lower stomach or pelvic region (area below your stomach and between your thighs) that has been happening for less than three months.
Speech and language delay can cause your child to have problems saying words and phrases, understanding what is being said, or putting feelings, thoughts, and ideas into words.
Incorrect symbol. In the article “Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome: Outpatient Management” (September 2021, p. 253), Table 4 incorrectly used the > symbol instead of the ≥ symbol in the next-to-last row (p. 259). It should have read, “Severe and complicated withdrawal symptoms ...
Vaccination recommendation. In the Practice Guideline “ACIP Approves 2023 Child/Adolescent and Adult Immunization Schedules” (March 2023, p. 319), the recommended schedule for pneumococcal vaccination for adults younger than 65 years was not clearly stated. The first sentence...
Incorrect recommendation. In the article “Tuberculosis: Common Questions and Answers” (September 2022, p. 308), the recommended cutoff age for interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) testing was listed incorrectly. In the first paragraph of the “What Are the Advantages and...
All editors in a position to control content for this activity, AFP journal, are required to disclose any relevant financial relationships. View disclosures.
Continuing Medical Education Credit | |
Point-of-Care Resource | |
Free Access | |
Algorithm | |
Differential Diagnosis | |
Patient Education |