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Articles

Molluscum Contagiosum and Warts

DANIEL L. STULBERG, ANNE GALBRAITH HUTCHINSON

Armed with clinical experience and a few surgical tools and medicines, family physicians can treat most cases of molluscum contagiosum and warts.

Counseling for Physical Activity in Overweight and Obese Patients

KYLE J. MCINNIS, BARRY A. FRANKLIN, JAMES M. RIPPE

Physician advice about physical activity is beneficial but may be overlooked. Physician guidance on exercise is particularly timely, given the epidemic of obesity in the United States.

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Injection of the Shoulder Region

ALFRED F. TALLIA, DENNIS A. CARDONE

Joint injection should be considered only after other interventions such as nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, physical therapy, and rest have been tried. Indications and techniques for joint injection are discussed.

Saw Palmetto for Prostate Disorders

ANDREA E. GORDON, ALLEN F. SHAUGHNESSY

Saw palmetto is an herbal product that has proved effective in the treatment of symptoms related to benign prostatic hyperplasia. It is better tolerated, less expensive, and as effective as finasteride.

Counseling Issues in Tubal Sterilization

I. CORI BAILL, VANESSA E. CULLINS, SANGEETA PATI

Tubal sterilization is the most commonly used contraceptive among women in the United States. Physicians should ensure that women understand the permanence of the procedure, the possibility of future regret, and the possible complications.

Inside AFP

POEMs: New Companions for Tips

Janis Wright

Cover photographs provided by Utah Valley Family Practice Residency Program, a division of Intermountain Health Care.

Graham Center Policy One-Pager

Family Physicians' Solutions to Common Medical Errors

In two U.S. studies about medical errors in 2000 and 2001, family physicians offered their ideas on how to prevent, avoid, or remedy the five most often reported medical errors. Almost all reports (94 percent) included at least one idea on how to overcome the reported error....

Newsletter

Matthew Neff

AHRQ Launches New Web-Based Quality Measures Resource | CDC Report Shows Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Stroke Mortality | FDA Initiative to Improve Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Practices | HHS to Improve Quality of Care by Providing Home Health Quality Information

Quantum Sufficit

Sarah Evans, Heather McNeill

Here is some calming news. Researchers have found a way to simulate the brain's “all-clear” signal that turns off fear, shows a study published in Nature. Rats that had been conditioned to freeze with fear when a tone was followed by an electric shock no longer froze when the...

Editorials

Introducing POEMs

ALLEN F. SHAUGHNESSY, JAY SIWEK

In this issue of American Family Physician, we are pleased to introduce an ongoing feature called POEMs, a series that may already be familiar to many of our readers. The acronym POEMs, which stands for Patient-Oriented Evidence that Matters, refers to summaries of valid...

Promoting Physical Activity in the Family Practice Setting

LORRAINE S. WALLACE, EDWIN S. ROGERS, KENNETH BIELAK

It is a daily and unfortunate scene in the family physician's office: a succession of patients for whom the best prescription is a lifestyle modification. One such modification could be an increase in physical activity. The preventive health benefits of regular physical...

Diary from a Week in Practice

Lately, I'm fielding questions about the smallpox vaccine. Misinformation abounds. Some believe that they retain immunity to smallpox no matter how long it has been since they were originally vaccinated. Others fear that the rate of serious adverse reactions from the vaccine...

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Chemoprevention of Breast Cancer: Recommendations and Rationale

Using Apolipoprotein B Levels to Assess Cardiac Risk

RICHARD SADOVSKY

Appropriate Use of Antibiotics in Respiratory Tract Infections

KARL E. MILLER

Practice Guidelines

AAP Releases Clinical Report on Head Lice

Genevieve W. Ressel

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released a statement clarifying issues of diagnosis and treatment of head lice and making recommendations for dealing with it in the school setting.

AAFP/ACP-ASIM Release Guidelines on the Management and Prevention of Migraines

Barrett M. Schroeder

Guidelines for primary care physicians on the pharmacologic management of acute migraine attacks and the prevention of migraines are available from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine ...

Clinical Briefs

Carrie Morantz, Brian Torrey

Letters to the Editor

DEEPA VASUDEVAN

Information from Your Family Doctor

Warts

Warts are hard bumps on your skin. They can be as small as a pinhead or as large as a penny. You may have just one wart or many. Warts can develop anywhere on your skin, but they usually appear on the hands or feet.

Physical Activity for Healthy Weight

Most people are not active enough. Without enough exercise, we can become tired and unfit. This leaves us feeling unhealthy and less happy. Consider these points:

Deciding About Tubal Sterilization

Tubal sterilization is a type of surgery that helps keep you from getting pregnant. It closes off your fallopian tubes (where your eggs can be fertilized by sperm). When the tubes are closed, sperm can't reach the egg, so you can't get pregnant.

Rotator Cuff Exercises

The exercises described below (see Pictures 1 through 4) are to help you strengthen the muscles in your shoulder (especially the rotator cuff muscles). These exercises should not cause you pain. If the exercise hurts, stop exercising. Start again using a lighter weight.

Shoulder Pain

A common cause of shoulder pain is soreness of the tendon in the rotator cuff. The tendon is a cord that attaches a muscle to another body part. The rotator cuff is the part of the shoulder that helps the arm do a circular motion. Another common cause of shoulder pain is...

Adhesive Capsulitis

If you cannot move your shoulder around like you used to, you might have adhesive capsulitis (say: add-he-sive cap-sool-eye-tis). When it hurts to move your shoulder or you do not have as much movement in your shoulder as before, your shoulder may be “frozen.” Because of this...

Corrections

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