September 15, 2006

This article provides a summary of existing guidelines for appropriate prescribing of antibiotics in patients with acute upper respiratory tract infections such as otitis media, bacterial rhinosinusitis, group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis, and bronchitis.

Physicians can help patients with type 1 diabetes improve their outcomes by teaching them how to control their blood glucose levels and how to prevent and control risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

With the increase of antimicrobial resistance, it is important not to treat patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria unless there is evidence of benefit. Treating asymptomatic bacteriuria in patients with diabetes, older persons, patients with or without indwelling catheters, or…

Children with hemolytic uremic syndrome generally present with gastroenteritis complaints such as abdominal pain or tenderness, nausea and vomiting, fever, and anemia.

Each summer, the editors of AFP gather for the editorial meeting. The Kansas-based professional staff editors and the medical editors, who are family physicians from across the country, meet for a round-table discussion on a variety of topics. We take a fresh look at how we’re…

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

Sugar highs may actually be energy lows, according to the results of a study published in Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental. The night before the study, 10 healthy adults were restricted to five hours of sleep. An hour after eating a light lunch the next day…

In the early 1970s, professional tennis player Renée Richards brought gender identity disorder (GID), then called transsexualism, to the American public’s awareness. Since then, guidelines for treatment of GID—also called gender dysphoria—have been developed in the United States.

Five to 10 percent of patients presenting with TIA will have a stroke within the following week. Because guidelines do not mandate hospitalization for patients who have had a TIA or suspected TIA,4,5 validated clinical prediction rules may be used to identify patients who…

Case study: A.L. is a 4,100-g (9 lb, 1 oz), one-day-old boy born at 39 weeks’ gestation by cesarean section because of breech presentation following an uncomplicated pregnancy. One- and five-minute Apgar scores were 8 and 9, respectively.

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

Although costly, rotavirus pentavalent vaccine has been shown to be safe, with no increased risk of intussusception. It also has shown to reduce the need for hospitalization and emergency department visits connected with rotavirus gastroenteritis, decrease office visits…

The American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) have released joint recommendations on the management and diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome.

CDC Reports on Tobacco Use in Adolescents

CDC Recommends Increased Awareness for Colorectal Screening

Antibiotics are medicines that can fight or prevent some infections. Infections are caused by two types of germs—bacteria and viruses.

Type 1 diabetes is when your body doesn’t make enough insulin. Insulin controls the amount of sugar in your blood (blood sugar). If you have too much sugar in your blood, you may get very thirsty and you may have to go to the bathroom a lot.

Hemolytic uremic (say: HEE-moh-LIT-ick you-REE-mick) syndrome, also called HUS, is a disease of the kidneys, blood, and gastrointestinal system. It is rare in the United States.