• Articles

    Diagnosis and Initial Management of Kidney Stones

    ANDREW J. PORTIS, CHANDRU P. SUNDARAM

    Renal colic may be suspected based on the history and physical examination, but diagnostic imaging is essential to confirm or exclude the presence of urinary calculi. The cornerstones of ambulatory management are adequate analgesia, timely urologic consultation and close...

    Management of Asthma in Children

    JAMES P. KEMP, JUDITH A. KEMP

    Asthma affects as many as 5 million children in this country and is associated with considerable morbidity. The four components of asthma management in children include regular assessment and monitoring, control of symptoms, pharmacologic therapy and patient education

    Diagnosis and Management of Malignant Melanoma

    BETH G. GOLDSTEIN, ADAM O. GOLDSTEIN

    Melanoma should be suspected when a mole is asymmetric and has an irregular border, variable color and increasing diameter. All suspected melanomas require excisional biopsy because tumor thickness is a primary factor in determining prognosis.

    Flexible Sigmoidoscopy

    THOMAS J. ZUBER

    Flexible sigmoidoscopy is valuable for the periodic screening of patients for colorectal cancer. Extensive training in endoscopic maneuvering, colorectal anatomy and pathologic recognition is required.

    Coronary Artery Disease Prevention: What's Different for Women?

    JOAN BEDINGHAUS, LOREN LESHAN, SABINA DIEHR

    Measures for the primary prevention of coronary artery disease in women include exercise, hypertension treatment, smoking cessation and aspirin therapy. The roles of lipid-lowering agents and hormone replacement therapy in primary prevention are not well established.

    Inside AFP

    Putting the Finishing Touches on AFP's Latest CD

    Janis Wright

    AFP is putting the finishing touches on a new CD-ROM product that is going to surpass every previous version in terms of giving readers what they want most—a repository of six years of AFP with enhanced search tools that locate information in short order. The CD contains...

    Newsletter

    Newsletter

    Rosemarie Sweeney, Toni Lapp

    Funds for NIH Research, Health Professions at Issue in Budget | Physicians with Heart Airlift Returns from Vietnam | Physician Organizations Favor IOM's Call for Action | AAFP Hails Bill to Allow FDA Regulation of Tobacco | HRSA Announces $40 Million in CAP Grants |...

    Quantum Sufficit

    Quantum Sufficit

    Sarah Morgan, Lori Parry

    Humans have a difficult time walking or even standing after prolonged bed rest. Not so the bears, who wake up from a lengthy hibernation (about 130 days) with the ability to stand, walk and climb immediately. According to an article in The Lancet, bears maintain their muscle...

    Editorials

    Cardiovascular Disease and Differences Between the Sexes

    BRUCE E. JOHNSON, CYNDA ANN JOHNSON

    New therapies, new diagnostic tools and even new diseases threaten to overwhelm busy family physicians. Keeping up is hard work. Compounding the task is the fact that physicians have to learn some diseases twice—once for women and once for men.

    Diary from a Week in Practice

    Diary from a Week in Practice

    JTL has always enjoyed the challenge of caring for patients with chronic pain syndromes. Yet, every so often, a patient presents whose level of dysfunction exceeds JTL's ability to provide a satisfactory therapeutic plan. JTL recently met a long-time sufferer of migraine...

    Photo Quiz

    Blue-Gray Centrofacial Hyperpigmentation

    PIETRO RUBEGNI, GIOVAMBATTISTA DE ALOE, ERIKA MARITATI, SERGIO MONDILLO

    Photo Quiz presents readers with a clinical challenge based on a photograph or other image.

    Family Practice International

    Family Practice International

    Anne D. Walling

    (Canada—Canadian Family Physician, September 2000, p. 1759.) The radial head can be fractured by a direct blow, but is more commonly injured by a fall on the outstretched hand with the forearm in supination. The resulting force probably causes damage by impact of the radial...

    Practice Guidelines

    NIH Consensus Statement on Phenylketonuria

    KAREN L. HELLEKSON

    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released a statement on the screening and management of phenylketonuria (PKU). PKU, a form of hyperphenylalaninemia, is a rare metabolic disorder that is caused by a deficiency of the liver enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase.

    Clinical Briefs

    Clinical Briefs

    Monica Preboth

    Safe Transportation of Children in Pickup Trucks | FDA Approves Tacrolimus for the Treatment of Eczema | FDA Approval of Visicol for Colonoscopy | AAP Statement on the Hazards of Snowmobiles | ACS Booklet on U.S. Cancer Facts and Figures | FDA Approval of Ramipril for...

    Curbside Consultation

    What Should Physicians Tell About Themselves to Patients?

    LUCY M. CANDIB

    This physician's questions fall under the broad category of what physicians should tell about themselves to patients and, in this case, what physicians should tell patients about their own illnesses.

    Letters to the Editor

    No-Needle Anesthetic for No-Scalpel Vasectomy

    CHARLES L. WILSON

    Family Physicians as Specialists

    JOSEPH J. BAUM

    Tips from Other Journals

    Maximizing Facial Recovery in Patients with Bell's Palsy

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Needle Length and Frequency of Local Reaction to Immunization

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Risk Score Identifies Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding

    ANNE D. WALLING

    The Role of CT and MRI in the Evaluation of Dementia

    GRACE BROOKE HUFFMAN

    Use of Automated External Defibrillators in Aircraft

    JEFFREY T. KIRCHNER

    Colonoscopy Is Cost-Efficient as Screening for Colon Cancer

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Nonoccupational HIV Postexposure Prophylaxis

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Lorazepam vs. Dimenhydrinate in Treating Vertigo

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Treatment of Otorrhea in Infants and Children

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Information from Your Family Doctor

    Take Control of Your Asthma

    Asthma is a long-term disease. If you have asthma, there are times when your airways, or the air passages of your lungs, become inflamed (see picture). When this happens, your airways get red and swollen. They become narrow, making it harder for you to breathe. You may also...

    Melanoma

    Melanoma is a kind of skin cancer. Most other skin cancers don't spread, but melanoma can spread through the whole body. If it is found early, it can be cured. If it is found late, it may be fatal.

    Flexible Sigmoidoscopy

    Flexible sigmoidoscopy is a way to look at the colon (the large bowel) using a flexible, lighted tube to see the inside of the bowel for any abnormal growths or inflammation of the colon wall. The anal canal also is examined with a short tube as part of this exam for colon...

    Preventing Heart Attacks: What Women Need to Know

    Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States. American women are four to six times more likely to die of heart disease than of breast cancer. Here are some ways you can lower your risk of having a heart attack.

    Corrections

    Correction

    The article “Use of Systemic Agents in the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris” (October 15, 2000, page 1823) contained an error in the dosage information for isotretinoin.



    Disclosure

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


    Tag Legend

    Legend

    CME Continuing Medical Education Credit
    POC Point-of-Care Resource
    FREE Free Access
    Alg Algorithm
    DDx Differential Diagnosis
    PtEd Patient Education