Articles

Management of Peripheral Arterial Disease

DANIELA C. GEY, EMIL P. LESHO, JOHANNES MANNGOLD

Peripheral arterial disease is frequently overlooked because of subtle physical findings and lack of classic symptoms. This article reviews major risk factors for peripheral arterial disease, exercise therapy, and pharmacologic treatments.

Viral Croup

DOUG KNUTSON, ANN ARING

Viral croup is a common form of airway obstruction in children. New evidence suggests benefit from treatment with oral steroids in the outpatient setting.

Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT): A Patient-Centered Approach to Grading Evidence in the Medical Literature

MARK H. EBELL, JAY SIWEK, BARRY D. WEISS, STEVEN H. WOOLF, JEFFREY SUSMAN, BERNARD EWIGMAN, MARJORIE BOWMAN

A new evidence rating system, the Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT), addresses the quality, quantity, and consistency of evidence. Developed by the editors of family medicine journals, it allows authors to rate bodies of evidence or single studies and is designed to...

Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Primary Care

LYLE D. VICTOR

Mild sleep apnea is managed with conservative measures such as losing weight, getting sufficient sleep, abstaining from the use of alcohol and sedatives, and avoiding a supine sleeping position. Patients with more severe obstructive sleep apnea are treated with continuous...

Regional Anesthesia for Office Procedures: Part I. Head and Neck Surgeries

GOHAR A. SALAM

Most family physicians use local anesthesia because of its ease of administration, safety, and efficacy. However, other anesthetic techniques such as topical application, local infiltration, and field and nerve blocks may be considered in certain clinical situations.

Inside AFP

Helping Readers Sort Through the Evidence

Janis Wright

In this issue, AFP announces a new system for labeling the strength of evidence supporting key recommendations in clinical review articles. The article on page549 introduces a taxonomy that will help family physicians sort through the evidence that drives their clinical...

Newsletter

Matthew Neff

Recommended Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule Is Online | FDA Issues Alert on Safety of Dietary Supplements Containing Ephedra | Summary of New Medicare Legislation Available Online | Presidential Candidates Provide Views on Various Health Issues | New Web...

Quantum Sufficit

Sarah Evans, Heather McNeill

A way to improve balance in older persons? The decline in somatosensory function that occurs with age has been associated with an increased risk of falling. Through a mechanism termed stochastic resonance, input noise has been shown to enhance both motor and sensory function....

Editorials

AFP: Doing More to Help You Get the Best Evidence

MARK H. EBELL, JAY SIWEK

What business are you in? If you are like most family physicians, you will probably say that you are in the healing business, the curing disease business, or maybe the keeping people well business. Another way to look at our profession is that we are in the information...

Diary from a Week in Practice

Today was especially busy on the mobile clinic. Perhaps the rain prevented other activities, but it seemed as if everyone in the homeless shelter had some medical complaint. One particular patient reported four months of right upper quadrant pain. A gastroenterologist had...

Cochrane for Clinicians

Mefloquine for Preventing Malaria in Nonimmune Adult Travelers

WILLIAM E. CAYLEY, JR.

Mefloquine prevents malaria in military personnel, but its effectiveness in a heterogeneous population of civilian travelers is poorly studied. Evidence of side effects is based on spontaneous reports and may underestimate their frequency.

Clinical Evidence Handbook

Tinnitus

ANGUS WADDELL, RICHARD CANTER

What are the effects of treatments for chronic tinnitus?

FPIN's Clinical Inquiries

Are Selective COX-2 Inhibitors as Effective as NSAIDs in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis?

JOHN SMUCNY, GEORGE CHAI

The efficacy of COX-2 inhibitors is similar to that of nonselective NSAIDs in reducing the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Point-of-Care Guides

Suspected Pulmonary Embolism: Evidence-Based Diagnostic Testing

MARK H. EBELL

The first part of this two-part “Point-of-Care Guide” discusses how to use two validated clinical decision rules to determine the likelihood of pulmonary embolism.

Putting Prevention Into Practice

Screening for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Adults

KENNETH FINK, BARBARA CLARK

Case study: KC, a 46-year-old woman, visits your office to refill her cholesterol-lowering medication. She says she saw a recent news feature on the “diabetes epidemic” and asks if she needs to be tested.

Photo Quiz

A Case of Necrotic Toes

BRIAN IRWIN

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

POEMs

Azithromycin for Persistent or Recurrent Otitis Media

MARK EBELL

Pelargonium sidoides Decreases Bronchitis Symptoms

ALLEN F. SHAUGHNESSY

PSA Screening Every Four Years as Effective as Annually

HENRY BARRY

Low-Dose Rofecoxib vs. High-Dose Naproxen

ALLEN F. SHAUGHNESSY

Practice Guidelines

ACOG Releases Guidelines for Prophylactic Antibiotic Use in Labor and Delivery

Carrie A. Morantz

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has released a practice bulletin about the use of prophylactic antibiotics during labor and delivery. The bulletin presents a review of clinical situations in which prophylactic antibiotics frequently are...

AAP Releases Policy Statement on Poison Treatment in the Home

Genevieve W. Ressel

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released a statement about poisoning in the home. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), approximately 1.2 million children younger than six years ingest a poisonous substance each year.

Clinical Briefs

Carrie Morantz, Brian Torrey

CDC Guidance Plan on SARS | ACEP Recommendations on Fever in Children | Physical Activity Among Adults | CDC Report on Rabies | Progesterone to Prevent Preterm Birth

Curbside Consultation

A One-Stop Health Care Request

GREG OGRINC, SUNITA MUTHA

This scenario is likely to be common in clinics such as the one described here. This physician's frustration with the patient, his family members, and the system as a whole is evident. Providing care to a transient visitor with a chronic disease is a difficult proposition....

Letters to the Editor

Possible Drug Interactions Among Quinolones

BEATA M. DOMAGALA, SIMON LEUNG, RANDOLPH E. REGAL

Herbal Products Should Be Regulated for Quality Control

Information from Your Family Doctor

Peripheral Arterial Disease

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a clogging of the arteries usually caused by atherosclerosis (say: ath-air-o-sklair-o-sis). Arteries are blood vessels that take oxygen-rich blood from the heart to all parts of the body. Atherosclerosis is a hardening and narrowing of the...

What Should I Know About Croup?

Croup is a common infection that causes swelling in the trachea (windpipe) and larynx (voice box).

CPAP for Sleep Apnea

In some people, the tongue and the uvula at the back of the throat block airflow to the lungs during sleep. This is called obstructive sleep apnea (see Picture 1).

Testicular Cancer

The body is made up of many kinds of cells. Normally, cells grow, divide, and die. Sometimes, cells change and begin to grow and divide more quickly than normal cells. Rather than dying, these abnormal cells clump together to form tumors. If these tumors are cancerous, they...

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