• Articles

    Allergen Immunotherapy

    JENNIFER L. HUGGINS, R. JOHN LOONEY

    Allergen immunotherapy (also called allergy vaccine therapy) involves the administration of gradually increasing quantities of specific allergens to patients with IgE-mediated conditions until a dose is reached that is effective in reducing disease severity from natural...

    Emergency Contraception

    DAVID G WEISMILLER

    Women can use emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy after known or suspected failure of birth control or after unprotected intercourse. Many patients do not ask for emergency contraception because they do not know of its availability. Emergency contraception has been...

    Making Decisions with Families at the End of Life

    FORREST LANG, TIMOTHY QUILL

    Because advance directives are not yet the norm, end-of-life decisions for patients without medical decision-making capacity are made regularly within discussions between the patient's physician and family. Communication and decision making in these situations require a...

    Infantile Colic

    DONNA M ROBERTS, MICHAEL OSTAPCHUK, JAMES G O’BRIEN

    Infantile colic can be distressing to parents whose infant is inconsolable during crying episodes. Colic is often defined by the 'rule of three': crying for more than three hours per day, for more than three days per week, and for longer than three weeks in an infant who is...

    Inside AFP

    AFP Welcomes Kenny Lin, M.D., ‘04-05 Editorial Fellow

    JANIS WRIGHT

    This week members of the professional editing staff of AFP have been meeting with the incoming editorial fellow, Kenny Lin, M.D. Dr. Lin has joined us for a few days of orientation before the start of AFP’s annual editorial board meeting, a time when medical editors and...

    Newsletter

    Newsletter

    GENEVIEVE RESSEL

    CMS Issues Notice Warning Physicians to Protect Medicare Provider Identification Numbers from Fraudulent Employees | Veterans Returning from Combat Zones Rely on Family Physicians for Mental Health Screening | AAFP, CDC, and Others Recommend Increasing Number of Doses of...

    Quantum Sufficit

    Quantum Sufficit

    SARAH EVANS, LORI PARRY

    According to a TIME.com summary of study results from the National Safekids Campaign, only 41 percent of children aged five to 14 years wear helmets when they are on roller skates, bicycles, or scooters, and 35 percent of these children do not wear their helmets correctly....

    Editorials

    Emergency Contraception: An Ongoing Debate

    CAROLINE WELLBERY

    From a medical perspective, emergency contraception is safe and effective, although not as effective in preventing pregnancy as routinely used contraceptives. Despite its usefulness in the event of contraceptive lapse or failure, emergency contraception continues to provoke...

    Diary from a Week in Practice

    Diary

    KATHY SOCH

    KS took one look at her patient and burst out laughing. “I can’t believe how different you look with that new hairdo!” she exclaimed. She had glanced at the patient as the nurse brought her into the examination room, but had not recognized her. She did not think much about it...

    U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

    Screening for Family and Intimate Partner Violence: Recommendation Statement

    This statement summarizes the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on screening for family and intimate partner violence based on the USPSTF’s examination of evidence specific to family and intimate partner violence.

    Photo Quiz

    Skin Fragility of the Hands

    SYLVIA HSU

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

    POEMs

    Moxifloxacin vs. Alternatives for Chronic Bronchitis

    MARK EBELL

    Dobutamine and Mortality in End-Stage Heart Failure

    MARK EBELL

    Are Cephalosporins Better for Strep Infections in Children?

    ALLEN F SHAUGHNESSY

    Ejaculation Frequency and Risk of Prostate Cancer

    DAVID SLAWSON

    Estrogen Sources Have Similar Effects

    DAVID SLAWSON

    Efficacy of Valproate for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy

    MARK EBELL

    Creatine Ineffective for Apnea of Prematurity

    ALLEN F SHAUGHNESSY

    Saline Nasal Irrigation for Frequent Sinusitis

    MARK EBELL

    Practice Guidelines

    ACP Releases Guideline on Lipid Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

    MONICA PREBOTH

    A guideline on the management of dyslipidemia, particularly hypercholesterolemia, in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus has been published by the Clinical Efficacy Assessment Subcommittee of the American College of Physicians (ACP).

    Practice Guideline Briefs

    Hospital Stay for Healthy Term Newborns

    CARRIE MORANTZ, BRIAN TORREY

    The Committee on Fetus and Newborn of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released a policy statement on the length of hospital stays for healthy term newborns. The hospital stay of the mother-infant dyad should be long enough to allow identification of early...

    Letters to the Editor

    Suicide in Schizophrenic Patients: A Neglected Issue

    MAURIZIO POMPILI, PAOLO GIRARDI, ROBERTO TATARELLI

    Bradley Method Offers Option for Natural Childbirth

    ROBERT J. SIGNORE

    Tips from Other Journals

    Effects of H. pylori Eradication on Reflux in Children

    CAROLINE WELLBERY

    Cholesterol Levels and Survival in Patients with CHF

    KARL E MILLER

    Tighter Glycemic Control Lessens Chance of Restenosis

    KARL E MILLER

    Which Women Discontinue Hormone Therapy?

    ANNE D WALLING

    Risk of Bleeding While Taking Oral Anticoagulants

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    FiGHTS: Screening Tool for Adolescents Carrying Firearms

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Information from Your Family Doctor

    Allergy Shots—What You Need to Know

    Allergy shots contain small amounts of the things that you are allergic to. These things are called allergens. The dose of allergen starts very low and is slowly increased over many weeks. The goal is to increase your immunity (resistance) to the allergens, and to reduce your...

    Emergency Birth Control

    Emergency birth control is a method of birth control that you can use to keep from getting pregnant if you have unprotected sex. You can use this method if your regular birth control fails (for example, if you are using a condom and it breaks during sex) or if you have sex...

    End-Of-Life Choices for Families

    When a patient can make choices about their health, it is best to get those choices straight from the patient. Many times, a patient cannot make such choices, and the family must decide what to do. Your loved one may have left a clear guide to end-of-life choices, such as a...

    Colic: What You Should Know

    Some babies cry for more than three hours a day, for several days a week, and for longer than three weeks. This crying is called colic.



    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