May 15, 2005

Controversy surrounds the management options for localized prostate cancer. Because of the uncertain efficacy and risk of long-term complications of conservative management, prostatectomy, and radiation therapy, physicians should engage patients in the decision-making process.

Physicians should be familiar with the risks and benefits of intervention and expectant management to counsel women with pregnancies beyond 42 weeks' gestation. Antenatal surveillance is used to monitor post-term pregnancies, but there is no evidence that this monitoring…

Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis, scarlet fever, and asymptomatic carrier states are associated with poststreptococcal suppurative and nonsuppurative complications, including rheumatic fever, pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with…

Acute care of asthma in children relies on inhaled beta2 agonists and anticholinergics, while chronic care focuses on the use of corticosteroids, leukotriene inhibitors, and nedocromil to control the underlying airway inflammation.

When I recently wrote about the complexities of gettingAFP to you, I had no idea that one of the key people in that process soon would be announcing her retirement. Kathy Mayfield, production director, is retiring after nearly 41 years of service to AAFP in the publications…

AAFP Urges Members to Use Vaccine Prebooking Plan for Next Flu Season | NIH Starts Global Network for Research Training on Trauma and Injury | Healthy People 2010 Achieves Goal of Reducing Foodborne Illnesses | CDC Requesting Family Physicians to Participate in Flu Care Survey…

Can people really be scared to death or die of a broken heart? Yes, according a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers found that sudden stress such as shock, anger, fear, or grief can cause severe but reversible left ventricular dysfunction in…

In the early 1990s, guidelines on screening for prostate cancer were in sharp conflict. The American Urological Association, American Cancer Society, and other groups advocated screening, while conservative organizations such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the…

When Maude Johnson, a serene 71-year-old woman with schizophrenia, congestive heart failure, and hyperlipidemia, begins her visit by handing me a letter, my curiosity is piqued. “Dear Dr. Gross,” it begins, “I am writing to let you know that I have an understanding with God…

This statement summarizes the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on screening for idiopathic scoliosis in adolescents and the supporting scientific evidence and updates the 1996 recommendations contained in the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 2d…

A previous Point-of-Care Guides article,1 presented several validated approaches to the initiation of anticoagulation therapy with warfarin. Once a patient is receiving warfarin, it is important to have a systematic approach to the management of anticoagulation and adjustment…

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

Bacterial meningitis is a neurologic emergency; progression to more severe disease reduces the patient’s likelihood of a full recovery. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has issued new guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial meningitis.

Improving the Quality of Care for Patients with Hypertension

Use of Antiretrovirals to Prevent HIV Infection from a Nonoccupational Source

The prostate is a gland that only men have. It surrounds a part of the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body (see figure below). Prostate cancer happens when cells in this gland grow out of control and clump together to form tumors. These tumors can kill your…

A pregnancy is called post-term when the baby is two weeks past its due date. One out of every 10 to 20 pregnancies is post-term.

Asthma is when the tubes that bring air into the lungs get irritated and swollen. This makes the tubes get smaller, and it becomes hard to breathe.