July 15, 2000

The incidence of skin cancer is increasing rapidly in Americans. Early detection of all types of skin cancer greatly improves the prognosis.

Preoperative risk assessment includes not only the usual consideration of risk factors in the patient but also the risk involved in the planned surgical procedure.

Postobstructive pulmonary edema is an uncommon but life-threatening condition that develops suddenly in patients who may be otherwise well. Awareness of this condition will allow the family physician to make an early diagnosis.

Digoxin has a secondary role in the treatment of heart failure. The goal of therapy is to improve quality of life by reducing symptoms and preventing hospitalizations.

Diet, exercise and lifestyle changes are the cornerstones of therapy for obesity, but medications such as sibutramine and orlistat may be appropriate in selected patients.

This feature is part of a year-long series of excerpts and special commentaries celebrating AFP's 50th year of publication. Excerpts from the two 1950 volumes of GP, AFP's predecessor, appear along with highlights of 50 years of family medicine.

AFP is gearing up for its annual editors' conference, which coincides with AAFP's National Conference of Family Practice Residents and Medical Students. At this time, AFP's medical editors gather with staff editors for a two-day conference to develop editorial policies and…

Selected policy and health issues news briefs from AAFP News Now.

Insomnia may be a warning sign of more significant and dangerous mental illnesses, reports Psychology Today. In a recent study of two million U.S. adults who visited doctors between 1995 and 1996 because of trouble sleeping, over 57 percent were diagnosed with non-sleep-related…

As family physicians, we commonly use the annual general assessment of the patient to address preventive health issues. Ideally, we would also reconsider the patient's medical conditions, medications and other functional issues at this time. Often, the visit is too short to…

She was elated! So was WLL! The 28-year-old patient with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) had wrestled with obesity, hirsutism, mild hypertension and oligomenorrhea. She was not able to get pregnant even though her husband's semen analysis was normal. WLL suggested a trial of…

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has issued new guidelines on the induction of labor, which review the current methods of cervical ripening and induction of labor and summarizes the effectiveness of each method on the basis of outcomes research.

The Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released a statement on the calcium requirements of infants, children and adolescents. The statement reviews the physiology of calcium metabolism and the data on the relationship between calcium intake…

Safe-sun guidelines give you four ways you can protect your skin and reduce your risk of skin cancer.

More and more men are using sun protection while they work and play outdoors. They know that skin cancer is a threat, but it's a threat they can do something about. If you protect your skin from the sun, your chance of getting skin cancer will be lower.