July 1, 2009

Common signs of stroke include speech disturbance and acute onset of unilateral weakness or numbness. Computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging can help distinguish between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.

Excessive alcohol use is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality, although few patients receive treatment. Primary care physicians should be prepared to screen for, assess, and treat at-risk drinking and alcohol use disorders.

Diagnosis of gestational diabetes is made by using a screening glucose challenge test followed by a diagnostic glucose tolerance test for women with a positive screening test. Management includes glucosemonitoring, diet control, exercise, and medication, if necessary.

Good practice guidelines are based on systematic reviews of patient-oriented evidence, have a transparent development process, identify potential conflicts of interest, and offer flexibility in various clinical situations.

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Patients often present to family physicians with a range of modifiable behaviors that influence the incidence, course, and outcomes of acute and chronic illnesses. Physicians know that smoking, poor diet, and physical inactivity are risk factors that can be addressed with…

Dopamine agonists, such as pramipexole (Mirapex), ropinirole (Requip), pergolide (formerly Permax), and apomorphine (Apokyn), improve the motor fluctuations and dyskinesias that commonly occur with levodopa, but at the expense of increasing nonmotor adverse effects and…

For patients with cancer and venous thromboembolism (VTE), is low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) or an oral anticoagulant (vitamin K antagonists warfarin [Coumadin] or acecumarol [not available in the United States]) more effective for preventing recurrent VTE?

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

This case encapsulates many of the significant challenges in providing care for patients with chronic noncancer pain.

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI); the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI); and the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (JCAAI) have created “The Diagnosis and Management of Rhinitis: An Updated Practice Parameter.”

Gestational (jess-TAY-shun-ul) diabetes is a type of diabetes some women get during pregnancy if they have too much sugar in their blood. This happens because the body cannot manage glucose (blood sugar) the way it should. Your doctor can check the amount of sugar in your blood…

A stroke is like a “brain attack.” In a heart attack, not enough blood gets to the heart. In a stroke, not enough blood gets to the brain. Parts of the brain can die during a stroke if blood is cut off for more than a couple of hours. If the blood is cut off for a shorter time…