May 1, 2011

Acute rhinosinusitis is diagnosed as viral or bacterial depending on the severity and duration of illness. Antibiotic therapy is appropriate for patients with symptoms lasting longer than seven days or with moderate to severe pain or fever. Adjunctive therapy, such as…

Croup often leads to the abrupt onset of barking cough, hoarseness, and inspiratory stridor in children. Although most episodes are mild, a single dose of a cortisteroid is recommended in all children with croup. The addition of nebulized epinephrine can be considered in…

Urticaria can occur with or without angioedema, and its cause cannot always be determined. First-line therapy is second-generation antihistamines; other medications may be added if initial treatment is not adequate.

AAFP Supports New Bill That Would Make Medicare Payment Process More Accurate | Proposed MCAT Revisions May Help Identify Applicants Likely to Go into Family Medicine | AAFP Joins ACOG, Others in Criticizing Price of Drug Used to Reduce Preterm Birth Risk | FDA Warns of Risk…

Undoubtedly, there is an increasing need to clarify the modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment. Because the prevalence of dementia doubles every five years, the global burden of dementia will increase significantly—an impact that warrants a more anticipatory approach…

Bronchodilators may transiently improve the clinical status of infants with bronchiolitis and no prior history of wheezing. However, moderately strong evidence shows that key outcomes such as oxygen saturation, need for hospitalization, length of hospitalization, and duration…

Screening by visual inspection of the oral cavity does not appear to reduce deaths from oral cancer in the general population, although there is some evidence that it could be effective in high-risk patients who use tobacco and alcohol.

Hospital readmission after discharge is often a costly failing of the U.S. health care system to adequately manage patients who are ill. Increasing the numbers of family physicians (FPs) is associated with significant reductions in hospital readmissions and substantial cost…

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

A patient has the right to make an informed decision about discontinuing life-prolonging treatments. The patient in this scenario is requesting palliative sedation to control her anxiety while electrolyte replacement is stopped.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published guidelines for the prevention of perinatal group B streptococcus (GBS) disease in 1996; the guidelines were updated in 2002 and again in 2010. The most recent guidelines elaborate on laboratory methods and…

Clinical indicators (e.g., sex, snoring severity, history of apnea, age, menopausal status, waist-to-hip ratio, body habitus) can predict OSA as diagnosed using overnight polysomnography or sleep study.

There are four pairs of hollow spaces in the bones of your face. These are called sinuses. They are lined with tissue that makes thin, watery mucus. The sinuses are connected to each other and drain through the nose.

Hives are raised bumps caused by irritation in the upper layers of the skin. They can be pale or red in color and are very itchy. The bumps are often oval or round, but also can be other shapes. They are usually 1 to 2 cm in size (about the size of a quarter), but can be larger…