• Articles

    Guidelines for Managing Alzheimer's Disease: Part I. Assessment

    JEFFREY L. CUMMINGS, JANET C. FRANK, DEBRA CHERRY, NEAL D. KOHATSU, BRYAN KEMP, LINDA HEWETT, BRIAN MITTMAN

    Once the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease has been made, the family physician may be responsible for coordinating periodic assessments of patient function, cognition, comorbid medical conditions, disorders of mood and emotion, and caregiver status.

    Corns and Calluses Resulting from Mechanical Hyperkeratosis

    DENISE B. FREEMAN

    Corns and calluses result from hyperkeratosis, which is a normal physiologic response of the skin to chronic excessive pressure or friction.

    Evaluation of Constipation

    DAISY A. ARCE, CARLOS A. ERMOCILLA, HILDEGARDO COSTA

    Constipation is frequently defined differently by physicians and patients. The differential diagnosis and diagnostic evaluation of this symptom differ in adults and children.

    Neuroimaging in Low Back Pain

    S. CRAIG HUMPHREYS, JASON C. ECK, SCOTT D. HODGES

    Patients presenting with low back pain are common in family medicine practices. To effectively treat these patients, family physicians must fully understand the attributes and limitations of the various imaging modalities used to evaluate low back pain.

    Evaluation and Treatment of Heat-Related Illnesses

    RANDELL K. WEXLER

    Heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heatstroke should be treated promptly because they can lead to significant morbidity and mortality.

    Inside AFP

    And the Evidence Is?

    Janis Wright

    By now you've probably noticed that AFP has taken on additional components incorporating an evidence-based approach. We've added several new departments and revised author guidelines to incorporate a structured approach to identifying the evidence behind clinical...

    Newsletter

    Newsletter

    Matthew Neff

    HHS Launches Campaign to Raise Women's Awareness of Diabetes | Guidebook on Infant Care Released for New Parents | Deadline Approaching for AAFP Constituent Chapter Grant Proposals | AAPA Members Present Data on Physician Assistant Work Force | Women of Color Conference...

    Quantum Sufficit

    Quantum Sufficit

    Heather McNeill, Sarah Morgan

    Are you getting a full eight hours of sleep every night? If you're not, don't keep yourself up worrying about it. A study of over 1.1 million people published in the Archives of General Psychiatry finds that persons who report having insomnia do not seem to have an increased...

    Editorials

    The Care of Low Back Problems: Less Is More

    JEFF SUSMAN

    In this issue of American Family Physician, Humphreys and colleagues1 review the role of neuroimaging in the evaluation of low back pain. They conclude that “since the majority of patients fully or partially recover within six weeks, imaging studies are generally not...

    Diary from a Week in Practice

    Diary from a Week in Practice

    The man had a gentle smile and visage that belied his advanced age. He had come to the mobile clinic tonight for the relief of nasal congestion and cough and because he could not afford to buy the antihypertensive medication prescribed for him by another physician. JOH...

    Cochrane for Clinicians

    Which Interventions Help to Prevent Falls in the Elderly?

    JASMINE CHEN GATTI

    Beneficial interventions include individually prescribed programs of muscle strengthening, balance retraining, tai chi exercise, and home hazard assessment, limiting use of psychotropic medications, and team-approach multiple health and environmental risk factor reduction...

    Clinical Evidence Handbook

    Peripheral Arterial Disease

    SONIA S. ANAND, MARK A. CREAGER

    What are the effects of treatments for chronic peripheral arterial disease?

    Photo Quiz

    Foot Bumps: Now You See Them, Now You Don't

    MICHAEL J. HOVAN

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

    Practice Guidelines

    Significant FDA Approvals in 2001

    THOMAS J. MCGINNIS, null R.PH.

    In 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched numerous initiatives to assure the availability of medical products for the treatment of injuries that could be caused by terrorists using biologic, chemical, or nuclear agents.

    Clinical Briefs

    Clinical Briefs

    Monica Preboth

    Potential for Medication Errors in Hospitals | Infliximab for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis | Evaluation and Management of ‘Incidentalomas’ | Use of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography | FDA Approves Surgical Device to Treat Farsightedness | CFH/FDA...

    Curbside Consultation

    Can Friends Become Patients?

    KATHY COLE-KELLY

    The negotiation of boundaries in patient care can be a difficult process in many circumstances. Perhaps the thorniest negotiation is the one alluded to in this case scenario—how does a physician decide if a friend should be accepted as a patient?

    Letters to the Editor

    Use of Capsaicin Cream for Abdominal Wall Scar Pain

    When To Begin Treatment in Patients with Elevated TSH Levels?

    Letters to the Editor

    Tips from Other Journals

    Western Dietary Patterns and Increased Diabetes Risk in Men

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Preventing Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

    GRACE BROOKE HUFFMAN

    Lifestyle Changes Most Effective in Preventing Diabetes

    BILL ZEPF

    Does Immunity of Varicella Vaccination Diminish?

    BILL ZEPF

    Should Intranasal Steroids Be Used to Treat Sinusitis?

    GRACE BROOKE HUFFMAN

    Valve Replacement in Patients with Aortic Stenosis

    BILL ZEPF

    Techniques for Investigating Causes of UTI in Men

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Glycemic Control and Retinopathy in Type 2 Diabetes

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Women Frequently Misdiagnose Vulvovaginal Infections

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Hyaluronic Acid Cuts Pain, Improves Knee Osteoarthritis

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Antihypertensive Agents and Cytochrome P450 Interactions

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Implanted Defibrillators After Myocardial Infarction

    BILL ZEPF

    A Discussion of the Antiphospholipid Syndrome

    BILL ZEPF

    Erythromycin in Pregnancy and Infant Pyloric Stenosis

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Few Patients with Hepatitis C Benefit from Interferon

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Surgical Treatment of Severe Diverticular Disease

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Recognizing and Managing Deliberate Self-Harm

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Strategies for Antidepressant-Resistant Depression

    KARL E. MILLER

    Do Side Rails Prevent or Reduce Bed-Related Falls?

    GRACE BROOKE HUFFMAN

    Rapid Influenza Testing in Febrile Infants and Toddlers

    KARL E. MILLER

    Stent or Platelet Inhibitor to Improve PTCA Outcomes

    BILL ZEPF

    Information from Your Family Doctor

    Constipation in Adults

    People with constipation may not have “regular” bowel movements. They may have hard stools, have pain during bowel movements, or be unable to pass stools at all.

    Constipation in Your Child

    Children with constipation may not have “regular” bowel movements. They may have hard stools or pain during bowel movements, or they may be unable to pass stools at all.

    How to Prevent Heat-Related Illnesses

    There are three kinds of heat illnesses. They are heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke. You might get one if your body gets too hot and you can't get cool. These illnesses can be severe or mild. Heat cramps are a mild form of heat-related illness. Heat exhaustion is a...

    Corrections

    Correction

    The article “Spironolactone in Left-Sided Heart Failure: How Does It Fit In?” (October 15, 2001, page 1393) contained an error in Table 4 on page 1397. In the column titled “Comments on specific drug,” the entry “Increases concentration of digoxin” pertains to telmisartan ...



    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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