March 1, 2001

It is estimated that 12 to 25 percent of girls and 8 to 10 percent of boys have been sexually abused by the time they are 18 years of age. The majority of sexually abused children do not have diagnostic physical findings on examination; therefore, a thorough history is important.

Osteoporosis is a common, usually silent, clinical condition that is best approached through prevention to avoid long-term, devastating consequences. Part I of this two-part article addresses the evaluation and assessment of osteoporosis.

Growing numbers of amateur and professional athletes are taking supplements to enhance performance. Some of these products may have serious, even fatal, adverse effects.

Excessive moisture and trauma to the external auditory canal are the two most common precipitants of otitis externa.

Osteoporosis is weak bones.

If you blinked lately, you might have missed a new opportunity to earn CME credit online at the AAFP Web site. AFP online CME cases have become a reality and can be found atwww.aafp.org/afp/cases/. But just what are these online cases?

Senate Confirms Tommy Thompson to Head DHHS | AAFP Launches Public Awareness Campaign | AAFP Offers Plan for Expanding Health Care Coverage | New Resources Offered on Preventing Youth Violence | Health Care Issues at Forefront of Voters' Minds, Survey Reports | Participants…

Don't leave the hospital without it. A University of California at Los Angeles study published in Circulation found that only 32 percent of heart attack survivors are prescribed cholesterol-lowering medication when leaving the hospital, yet clinical trials show that these…

Americans spend several billion dollars annually on nutritional supplements. Roughly one half of the U.S. population has used some form of nutritional supplement, often on an ongoing basis.1 Supplement use extends from infancy into old age and crosses lines of gender and…

In this issue of American Family Physician, Lahoti and colleagues1 provide a useful approach to the medical evaluation of the child victim of alleged sexual abuse. Over the past 20 years, much has been learned about the presentation of sexual abuse. The vast majority of…

Current thinking about threats to patient safety caused by medical errors is often focused on the immediate consequences of mistakes in the hospital setting that affect specific aspects of care, such as testing procedures or medications. Some mistakes, however, become apparent…

“To know diabetes is to know medicine.” JRH has had the opportunity many times to recall this adage, taught by one of his professors at the University of Miami. Today revealed one more facet of this story. After being called to the bedside of an unusually confused patient, JRH…

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

(Australia—Australian Family Physician, September 2000, p. 839.) Anal fissures are splits in the anal mucosa immediately within the anal verge. Severe pain during defecation is common and the pain may persist for several hours. Bright red bleeding is also common. Most fissures…

The American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed standards for the diagnosis and classification of tuberculosis.

Clinical Guidelines on Diabetic Foot Disorders | FDA Approves the Use of Oseltamivir in Children | Scientific Exhibit Deadline for AAFP Assembly | Risk of Driving in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease | Call for Papers of Family Practice Research Presentations

Virtually all of us have faced the awful realization that we have made a serious error. Almost as chilling is the prospect of telling the patient or family members about the error.

Otitis externa (OE) is an infection of the ear canal. Because the canal is dark and warm, it can easily get infected with bacteria (germs) and fungus.