• Articles

    Cutaneous Melanoma: Update on Prevention, Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment

    ERIKA L. RAGER, EDWARD P. BRIDGEFORD, DAVID W. OLLILA

    Survival is influenced strongly by the stage at diagnosis, making selective screeningfor melanoma important, especially in persons with more than one risk factor.The best evidence supports preventing intermittent sunburn in childhood andpracticing sun avoidance. Patients with...

    Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

    DANIEL J. WATTENDORF, MAXIMILIAN MUENKE

    Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are caused by the effects of maternalalcohol consumption during pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a specific,clinically identifiable disorder characterized by a pattern of minor facial anomalies,prenatal and postnatal growth retardation,...

    Foreign Body Ingestion in Children

    MONTE C. UYEMURA

    Physicians must be alert for a variety of symptoms of foreign body ingestion.Many ingested foreign bodies pass spontaneously, but serious complications,such as bowel perforation and obstruction, can occur.

    Diagnosis of Lyme Disease

    DANIEL L. DEPIETROPAOLO, JOHN H. POWERS, JAMES M. GILL, ANDREW J. FOY

    The use of serologic testing in the diagnosis of Lyme disease varies dependingon the stage and the probability of Lyme disease based on endemicity and clinicalfindings.

    Inside AFP

    Timely Information in This Issue

    JOYCE A. MERRIMAN

    Summer is a good time to remind patients of the dangers of overexposure to the sun. As you know, skin cancer is the most common malignancy in the United States, and many Americans do not take the necessary precautions. Although melanoma is a relatively small subset of all...

    Newsletter

    Newsletter

    CARRIE MORANTZ

    AMA, AAFP Act to Protect Patients’ Access to Prescriptions | AHRQ Releases Updated <i>Guide to Clinical Preventive Services</i> | HHS Awards $80.5 Million in Grants to Reduce Infant Mortality Rates | Residents Say Duty-Hour Limit Improves Patient Care, Reduces Errors | CMS...

    Quantum Sufficit

    Quantum Sufficit

    AMBER HUNTZINGER, LAURA COUGHLIN

    Could asking teens to pledge sexual abstinence do more harm than good? Research shows that teens who pledge abstinence are just as likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD) as those who don’t. Authors of a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health...

    Editorials

    Reducing the Risk of SIDS Through Community Partnerships

    DUANE ALEXANDER

    Ten years ago, a coalition of public and private organizations initiated a public education campaign to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The “Back to Sleep” campaign encouraged parents and caregivers to place infants on their backs to sleep to reduce...

    Graham Center Policy One-Pager

    Physician Workforce: The Special Case of Health Centers and the National Health Service Corps

    Federally funded health centers and the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) depend on family physicians (FPs) and general practitioners (GPs) to meet the needs of millions of medically underserved people. Policy makers and workforce planners should consider how changes in...

    Diary from a Week in Practice

    Diary from a Week in Practice

    PAUL GROSS

    How do medical errors happen? In a crowded emergency department, I quickly tell an intern about a patient: “Miguel is a 45-year-old man with debilitating coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure. I sent him here this morning because his wife is leaving him and now...

    U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

    Hormone Therapy for the Prevention of Chronic Conditions in Postmenopausal Women: Recommendation Statement

    This statement summarizes the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on hormone therapy for the prevention of chronic conditions in post-menopausal women and the supporting scientific evidence and updates the Task Force’s 2002 recommendations on hormone...

    Photo Quiz

    Inflammatory Lesions on Every Finger

    RAMEY WILSON, ALEX G. TRUESDELL, TODD C. VILLINES

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

    STEPS

    Colesevelam (WelChol) for Reduction of LDL Cholesterol

    LEE RADOSH

    Colesevelam lowers LDL cholesterol levels a small amount (7 to 16 percent) when used alone and provides additional cholesterol lowering when added to statin therapy. It has a slightly beneficial effect on HDL cholesterol levels, has no effect on triglyceride levels, and is...

    POEMs

    Treating Partners Immediately Reduces Recurrence of STDs

    MARK EBELL

    Specific Exercises Prevent Sports Injuries in Young Athletes

    ALLEN F. SHAUGHNESSY

    Bed Rest Is Bad for Back Pain, Ineffective for Sciatica

    HENRY BARRY

    Chondroitin in Patients with Severe Knee Osteoarthritis

    HENRY BARRY

    Practice Guidelines

    CDC Releases Guidelines for Improving Vaccination Rates Among High-Risk Adults

    AMBER HUNTZINGER

    A review of interventions to improve influenza, pneumococcal polysaccharide, and hepatitis B vaccination coverage among high-risk adults younger than 65 years has been issued by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ...

    Practice Guideline Briefs

    AAP Releases Report on Excessive Sleepiness in Adolescents

    LAURA COUGHLIN, AMBER HUNTZINGER

    Inadequate sleep has become a widespread problem for adolescents. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released a technical report on the causes and consequences of adolescent sleepiness.

    CDC Issues Statistics on Percentage of U.S. Population Lacking Health Insurance

    LAURA COUGHLIN, AMBER HUNTZINGER

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued statistics on the percentage of persons younger than 65 years without health insurance in the United States.

    Letters to the Editor

    MRI for Confirmation of Suspected Scaphoid Fracture

    Case Report: Drug Interactions Between Statins and Azole Antifungals

    Brandon Wills, Trevonne Thompson, Steve Aks

    Case Report: Parotid Enlargement as a Presentation of HIV Infection

    ROBERT CARDARELLI

    Systematic Reviews Provide More Accurate Assessments

    KENNETH S. FINK

    Tips from Other Journals

    Cognitive Behavior Therapy vs. Pharmacotherapy for Insomnia

    KARL E. MILLER

    Exercise-Based Treatment for Chronic Dizziness

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Efficacy of Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Mammalian Bites

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Bariatric Surgery Resolves Comorbid Conditions

    CAROLINE WELLBERY

    Information from Your Family Doctor

    What to Do If Your Child Swallows Something

    Children can swallow small objects in an instant. Usually, the object will pass through the gut without causing any problems. Sometimes things get stuck and cause serious problems.

    Lyme Disease: What You Should Know

    Lyme disease is an infection caused by bacteria (germs). The bacteria that cause Lyme disease are carried by deer ticks and western blacklegged ticks. The disease can be passed to animals and people through tick bites. These ticks are about the size of a sesame seed.



    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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