• Articles

    Primary Prevention of CHD: Nine Ways to Reduce Risk

    EDWARD P. HAVRANEK

    Control of hypertension, increased physical activity and smoking cessation should be goals for all patients. Patients who are at high risk for coronary heart disease should also undergo therapy aimed at reducing cholesterol levels.

    Pediatric Urinary Tract Infection and Reflux

    JONATHAN H. ROSS, ROBERT KAY

    Current recommendations for the diagnosis, evaluation and management of urinary tract infections and vesicoureteral reflux in children are reviewed.

    Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Lou Gehrig's Disease

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is an idiopathic, progressive neuromuscular disease that usually presents with minor problems in gait, dexterity, speech or swallowing.

    Evaluation and Treatment of Patients with Suicidal Ideation

    MICHAEL F. GLIATTO, ANIL K. RAI

    Although most patients with suicidal ideation do not ultimately commit suicide, the family physician must determine the extent of ideation, including the presence of a plan and the means to commit suicide.

    Adult Circumcision

    JOHN R. HOLMAN, KEITH A. STUESSI

    Adult circumcision is generally performed in an outpatient setting under local anesthesia. Two common techniques include the dorsal slit and the sleeve method.

    Taking a Nutrition History: A Practical Approach for Family Physicians

    LISA HARK, DARWIN DEEN, JR.

    Taking a nutrition history is essential for improving patients' dietary habits and offering nutritional guidance. The practical approach outlined here helps physicians incorporate nutrition into a standard medical history and raise their patients' awareness of the importance...

    Flexible Sigmoidoscopy: Screening for Colorectal Cancer

    BRETT ANDREW JOHNSON

    Flexible sigmoidoscopy is a valuable screening procedure that family physicians can perform in their practices.

    Vulvodynia and Vulvar Vestibulitis: Challenges in Diagnosis and Management

    JULIUS F. METTS

    Vulvodynia is a syndrome of unexplained vulvar pain frequently accompanied by physical disabilities, limitation of daily activities, sexual dysfunction and psychologic distress. The pain has an acute onset and usually becomes a chronic problem lasting months to years.

    Classification of Tremor and Update on Treatment

    P. DAVID CHARLES, GREGORY J. ESPER, THOMAS L. DAVIS, ROBERT J. MACIUNAS, DAVID ROBERTSON

    If drug therapy fails to control tremor, thalamic stimulation may be a consideration in patients with essential tremor, as well as patients with Parkinson's disease.

    Primary Prevention of Child Abuse

    LESA BETHEA

    Strategies to reduce the occurrence of child abuse that may be implemented by family physicians include helping parents meet their basic needs, identifying problems of substance abuse and spousal abuse, and educating parents about childhood behavior, discipline, safety and...

    Ambulatory Management of Common Forms of Anemia

    DAVID R. LITTLE

    Deficiencies of iron, vitamin B12 and folic acid are among the most common causes of anemia. Once a definitive diagnosis is made, patients with these forms of anemia can be readily managed in the ambulatory setting.

    Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin in Preventing and Treating DVT

    ERIC J. RYDBERG, JOHN M. WESTFALL, RICHARD A. NICHOLAS

    Low-molecular-weight heparin has been determined to be as effective as standard heparin or warfarin for prophylaxis and treatment of deep venous thrombosis. It does not require monitoring of the activated partial thromboplastin time or International Normalized Ratio and can...

    Inside AFP

    Getting Published in AFP

    JANIS WRIGHT

    Many potential authors ask how they should go about getting published in AFP. If you are thinking of writing a clinical review article, you might begin by doing a little groundwork. A good place to start is the “Information to Authors” section in each issue (see page 1698),...

    AAFP News Now: AFP Edition

    Newsletter

    Rosemarie Sweeney, Verna L. Rose

    Selected policy and health issues news briefs from AAFP News Now.

    Quantum Sufficit

    Quantum Sufficit

    Monica A. Preboth, Shyla Wright

    Most contact lens wearers have occasionally lost a lens, but it usually either turns up right away or is gone forever. However, one lost lens had a different twist of fate. Six years after one woman lost her contact lens, an ophthalmologist found it intact and uninfected,...

    Editorials

    End-of-Life Care and Family Practice

    WILLIAM REICHEL

    The June 1998 issue of FP Report contained a special section on end-of-life care that was essentially a plea for family physicians to fill the end-of-life care void.1 We increasingly hear that the process of dying is not optimal in America.2 As life expectancy increases, high...

    Diary from a Week in Practice

    Diary from a Week in Practice

    This morning, while diagnosing and treating a patient with acute bronchitis, JTL used the occasion to counsel this young father about the benefits of quitting smoking. “That sure would make my little boy happy, since he's been hounding me so much!” remarked the patient. After...

    Conference Highlights

    Conference Highlights

    Verna L. Rose

    (26th Annual Meeting of the North American Primary Care Research Group) An office-based program that offers collaborative care with a primary care physician, a nurse and a social worker to elderly patients with chronic conditions and functional deficits living in the...

    Family Practice International

    Family Practice International

    Anne D. Walling

    (Great Britain—The Practitioner, November 1998, p. 743.) Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis may present suddenly or may take years to develop into a full clinical picture. The distinction between rheumatoid arthritis and degenerative arthritis is based on the pattern of joint...

    Special Medical Reports

    New Guidelines Offer Recommendations for Women with Epilepsy

    Verna L. Rose

    New guidelines for women with epilepsy have been issued by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). A summary statement of the practice parameter was published in the October 1998 issue of Neurology. It is accompanied by a review of the literature referable to the management...

    CDC Calls for Tuberculosis Screening and Treatment for All Patients with HIV Infection

    Verna L. Rose

    New guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outline the proper evaluation and treatment of tuberculosis in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These guidelines update previous CDC recommendations for the diagnosis,...

    ACOG Releases a Statement on Identification and Treatment of Adolescent Victims of Sexual Assault

    Verna L. Rose

    In an educational bulletin published in the October 1998 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) discusses the management of adolescent victims of sexual assault (ACOG Educational Bulletin No. 252). The report covers...

    Clinical Briefs

    Clinical Briefs

    Verna L. Rose

    A technology assessment report from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) concludes that several testosterone-suppressing drugs used in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer have similar outcomes. The drugs, known as luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone ...

    Letters to the Editor

    Use of Breakfast Cereals for Constipation in Elderly Persons

    PAUL C. CREELMAN

    Increased Incidence of Prostate Cancer in Black Patients

    The Hospitalist Debate

    Tips from Other Journals

    Pharmacologic Stress Testing in Women with Chest Pain

    KARL MILLER

    Explaining Gout to Patients by Using an Analogy

    GRACE BROOKE HUFFMAN

    Which Antibiotic to Choose for Recurrent Otitis Media?

    GRACE BROOKE HUFFMAN

    Horse-Chestnut Seed Extract for Chronic Venous Insufficiency

    BARBARA APGAR

    Use of Tissue Adhesive Versus Suture Wound Repair

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Antidepressants Are Effective in Treatment of Adult ADHD

    GRACE BROOKE HUFFMAN

    Behavioral Treatment Effective for Urge Incontinence

    GRACE BROOKE HUFFMAN

    Use of Repaglinide Along with Metformin for Glycemic Control

    CLARISSA C. KRIPKE

    Novelty Enhances Success in Many Weight Loss Efforts

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Can Tube Feeding Cause Diarrhea from C. difficile?

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Does Weight Loss Plus Exercise Improve Insulin Sensitivity?

    BARBARA APGAR

    Varicella Vaccine: Alone or With MMR and DTP/HbOC?

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    New Developments in the Management of Chronic Pain

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Treatment of Lichen Planus: Evidence-Based Analysis

    BARBARA APGAR

    Once-Daily Amoxicillin for Streptococcal Pharyngitis

    GRACE BROOKE HUFFMAN

    Methotrexate vs. Salpingostomy for Ectopic Pregnancy

    BARBARA APGAR

    Clinical Practices for Assessing Serum Digoxin Toxicity

    BARBARA APGAR

    Superior Vena Caval Filters for Upper Extremity DVT

    BARBARA APGAR

    Diagnosing PID: Comparing Ultrasound, MRI, Laparoscopy

    BARBARA APGAR

    Benefit of Beta Blockers in Patients with Heart Failure

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Reduction in Mortality from CHD with Use of Pravastatin

    JEFFREY T. KIRCHNER

    Should Stress Test Be Routine in Patients with Chest Pain?

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Hyperlipidemia in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

    JIM NUOVO

    Can Lifestyle Changes Be an Option to Revascularization?

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Is Oral Treatment of Toenail Onychomycosis Effective?

    BARBARA APGAR

    Information from Your Family Doctor

    Reducing Your Risk of Coronary Heart Disease

    Coronary heart disease (also called CHD) is sometimes also called coronary artery disease. Arteries carry blood to your heart. When fatty material builds up in the arteries, it blocks or slows the flow of blood and oxygen. This can happen in any artery, but when it happens in...

    Urinary Tract Infections in Children

    A urinary tract infection (called “UTI” for short) refers to an infection anywhere in the urinary tract. The urinary tract is made up of the kidneys, the ureters (tubes that drain urine from the kidneys to the bladder), the bladder and the urethra. The kidneys remove waste...

    Tips for Improving Your Nutritional Health

    Good health comes from eating a well-balanced diet. This means making sure you regularly eat foods that have a lot of vitamins and minerals in them, as well as foods that are not high in fat. You should drink milk every day to give your bones the calcium that makes them...

    Vulvodynia

    Vulvodynia (say: vul-vo-din-ee-a) is the word for pain in the vulva. The vulva is the external genital area in women—the area around the vagina. The pain is usually described as a burning, stinging, itching, irritating or raw feeling. Sexual intercourse, walking, sitting or...

    Tips for Better Parenting

    Being a parent can be a joy, but it's also a tough job. No parent is perfect. We all make mistakes. Even loving parents sometimes do things they don't mean to do, like slap a child or call a child a bad name. But if you think you're having trouble controlling yourself, get...

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    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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