April 1, 2006

Most abdominal aortic aneurysms are asymptomatic. Major risk factors for this type of aneurysm are advanced age, male sex, and smoking 100 cigarettes or more in a lifetime.

Pleural effusion, an excess of fluid in the pleural space, can have many different causes. For diagnosis, physicians must determine whether the effusion is a transudate or an exudate.

One out of five cases of dementia is believed to result from dementia with Lewy bodies. The emerging consensus is that dementia with Lewy bodies is a distinct pathologic entity sharing features with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

The diagnosis of vulvodynia depends on a consistent history, lack of a documented infectious or dermatologic cause, and pain when gentle pressure is applied to the vulva, introitus, or hymenal areas. Although evidence for treatment options is limited, several therapies have…

Last week, I witnessed firsthand the versatility of family physicians. On a visit to my family physician, I noticed the waiting room contained men, women, and children whose ages spanned at least eight decades. Then, during my physical, my physician addressed a variety of…

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

One popular book series may help keep children injury free. A study published in the British Medical Journal found that on two weekends books in the popular Harry Potter series were released, the number of children admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England…

Deaths related to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) account for less than 1 percent of deaths annually in U.S. men 65 years and older.1 What sets AAA apart from more common causes of death is that it is a preventable problem. Ultrasonographic screening for aortic aneurysms is…

Ensuring access to emergency care in rural areas remains a challenge. High costs and low patient volumes make 100 percent staffing of rural emergency departments (EDs) by emergency medicine residency-trained physicians (EPs) unlikely. As rurality increases, so does the…

This review shows that, compared with placebo, glucosamine sulfate produces a moderate, clinically significant reduction in pain and improvement in function for patients with osteoarthritis. However, study results were not consistent. Most studies in the review used…

Benzodiazepines are safe and effective for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal, particularly for the prevention of withdrawal seizures, although their superiority to anticonvulsants has not been demonstrated convincingly. There is no clear benefit of one benzodiazepine over…

The single clinical trial on this topic found that inhaled beta agonists do not reduce cough frequency or improve symptoms in children with chronic, nonspecific cough.

What are the effects of surgery and drug and nondrug treatments?

Glucosamine reduces pain and improves function in patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis.

A 79-year-old man complained of a two-month history of a minimally pruritic rash on his abdomen, flanks, and buttocks. It had appeared initially over several days. He denied any recent travel or prolonged outdoor activities. His medical history included a smoking history of 30…

In the past, physicians had no formal medical ethics training and learned that the best way to deal with medical errors and possible malpractice lawsuits was to say as little as possible, deny everything, and never to apologize or acknowledge error. Today, physicians receive…

The National Association for Medical Direction of Respiratory Care (NAMDRC) has developed recommendations for the assessment and management of patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation.

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has released evidence-based recommendations for the use of serum prolactin tests in differentiating between epileptic and nonepileptic seizures.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a report on the prevalence of cholesterol screening and awareness using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

The main blood vessel in your body is the aorta (say: a-OR-ta). It carries blood from your heart to the rest of your body. It is a long blood vessel that reaches from your chest into your abdomen. The part of the aorta in your abdomen is called the “abdominal aorta.”

Dementia (duh-MEN-shuh) with Lewy bodies is the second most common form of dementia (behind Alzheimer’s disease). People who have dementia with Lewy bodies have trouble with everyday activities. They may get lost or confused in familiar places and see things or people that aren…

Vulvodynia (say: vull-voh-DIN-ee-uh) is often present when the area around the opening of the vagina hurts for many months or years. If you have vulvodynia, the area may hurt when you have sex, use tampons, ride a bicycle, or wear tight clothes. You also might hurt for no…