Articles
The Homeless in America: Adapting Your Practice
Patients who are homeless face a variety of obstacles when seeking health care. Educational tools and guidelines are available to help physicians recognize and overcome these obstacles to ensure they offer patient-centered care with few adherence barriers.
Kawasaki Disease: Summary of the American Heart Association Guidelines
Kawasaki disease is the leading cause of acquired heart disease among children developed countries. Symptoms include fever, rash, and cervical lymphadenopathy, and some children develop ischemic heart disease or sudden death.
Preventive Health Counseling for Adolescents
Risk factors for adolescent morbidity and mortality include substance abuse, sexual activity, poor nutrition, and inadequate physical activity. Physicians should target the specific issues that impact this age group by providing age-specific guidance, screening, and preventive…
A Practical Guide to Crisis Management
Patients unable to cope with a critical incident can develop affective, behavioral, cognitive, or physical difficulties. Physicians can respond effectively by providing support, assessing the situation, ensuring the patient’s safety, and teaching coping strategies. Medication…
Inside AFP
Another Opportunity for Readers to Provide Feedback
We look forward to meeting AFP readers each year at the AAFP Annual Scientific Assembly. At the Publications booth we conduct a survey to obtain feedback and suggestions for improving the journal. The survey below was distributed at the booth during the recent Assembly in…
AFP News Now - AFP Edition
Quantum Sufficit
Quantum Sufficit
Broccoli has a cousin that’s “dyeing” to fight breast cancer. A study in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture suggests that woad, a dye plant used by the ancient Celts to paint their faces before going to battle, may help fight breast cancer. Woad comes from the…
Editorials
Health Care for the Homeless in America
In this issue of American Family Physician, Montauk1 provides an excellent summary on the obstacles many persons who are homeless face when seeking health care, as well as the guidelines that are available to physicians to help them care for this population. Finding adequate…
Graham Center Policy One-Pager
Imperative Integration: Medical Care for Older Patients
The ecology of medical care changes for older people, with increases in usage of residential and institutional care, emergency departments, and home care. Care integrated across multiple settings, as is proposed for new models of primary care, is essential for the care of older…
Cochrane for Clinicians
Vaccines for Preventing Influenza in Healthy Children
Influenza vaccines have good efficacy (i.e., prevention of influenza) in children older than two years, and live, attenuated vaccine is more efficacious than trivalent, inactivated vaccine. Effectiveness (i.e., prevention of influenza-like illness, perhaps a clinically more…
Clinical Evidence Handbook
Photo Quiz
Growing Plantar Lesion Following Trauma
Photo Quiz presents readers with a clinical challenge based on a photograph or other image.
POEMs
Automated Device Equal to Manual Chest Compression
Statin Use May Reduce the Risk of Cataracts
Raloxifene and Tamoxifen Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
Pneumonia: Three Days of Treatment Equal to Eight Days
Tips from Other Journals
Intercourse Does Not Hasten Onset of Labor
Depressed Mood Associated with Perimenopause
Must Sutures Be Kept Dry to Prevent Infection?
Osteoporosis Screening and Treatment Prevents Fractures
Relief in Children with Exercised-Induced Asthma
Factors Predictive of Quit Rates in Light Smokers
Curbside Consultation
Facilitating Shared Decision Making with Patients
American society values autonomy and the belief that competent adults have the right to make virtually any decision pertaining to their health care. As health care professionals, we have a responsibility to try to make sure that our patients are mentally capable, well-informed…
Practice Guidelines
IDSA Releases Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has released evidence-based guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of skin and soft tissue infections.
Practice Guideline Briefs
Practice Guideline Briefs
ACOG Releases Guideline on Tamoxifen for Postmenopausal Women
Practice Guideline Briefs
CDC Reports on Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Breastfeeding
Letters to the Editor
Information from Your Family Doctor
Kawasaki Disease: What You Should Know
Kawasaki (say: kah-wah-SOCK-ee) disease is an uncommon illness that affects children younger than five years. It can cause these symptoms (see drawing):
Crisis Management
A crisis is when you feel you cannot cope with something. You might feel that an event is out of your control or that it is dangerous for your physical or emotional health.
Colds and the Flu: Tips for Feeling Better
Colds and the flu cause many of the same symptoms. But colds are usually mild, while the flu tends to be more severe.
Sore Throat
Sore throats can be caused by many things. Viruses and bacteria can cause a sore throat, and so can smoking, breathing dirty air, drinking alcohol, and hay fever and other allergies.
Antibiotics: When They Can and Can’t Help
Antibiotics are strong medicines that can stop some infections and save lives. But antibiotics can cause more harm than good when they are not used the right way.
Corrections
Correction
The article “Urinalysis: A Comprehensive Review” (March 15, 2005, page 1153) contained two errors. First, in the second paragraph of the right-hand column of page 1158, the time necessary for the dipstick reagent test to change color was incorrectly listed as five minutes…