October 1, 2013

Acute otitis media causes acute ear pain with middle ear effusion and inflammation. Otoscopic findings must be present for diagnosis. Pain should be addressed in all patients. High-dose amoxicillin is the preferred antibiotic for initial treatment, although antibiotic therapy…

Dermoscopy has been shown to increase the clinician's diagnostic accuracy when evaluating cutaneous neoplasms. Two types of dermatoscopes are currently used: nonpolarized, which requires direct skin contact, and polarized, which does not require direct skin contact. A two-step…

Nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage often results in death or disability, making timely diagnosis and treatment critical in achieving good patient outcomes. Patients who present with severe symptoms are easier to diagnose, but patients who present in good condition have the…

Information from references A1 through A6.

Study: Resident Duty Hour Reforms Had No Negative Effect on Patient Mortality | AAFP, USPSTF: Evidence Shows Counseling Teens Against Using Tobacco Is Effective | CDC Launches Free App for GBS Treatment | FAQs Offered on Transitional Care CPT Codes | <i>MedWatch</i>: Proposed…

Although general health checks increase the number of new diagnoses, they do not decrease total, cardiovascular-related, or cancer-related morbidity or mortality. The studies in this Cochrane review have limited applicability to the current recommended practice of providing…

Ultrasound-guided glucocorticoid injection for shoulder pain provides no advantage over landmark-guided or intramuscular injection in terms of pain, function, range of motion, or safety when measured within a six-week follow-up period. However, the small sample size of this…

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

What treatments improve outcomes in women with unruptured tubal ectopic pregnancy?

Physicians should not rely on article abstracts when deciding whether a therapy is good. Abstracts often have misleading information and conclusions. It's important to read the body of the article.

Early surgery provides some symptomatic benefit and greater normalization of polysomnographic findings (a disease-oriented outcome) than watchful waiting for children with obstructive sleep apnea. However, many of the children in the watchful waiting group improved during the…

The American College of Physicians (ACP), in collaboration with the American College of Cardiology Foundation, American Heart Association, American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association, and Society of Thoracic Surgeons, has developed a…

Nested within a 40-year trend of specialty-to-population growth outpacing that of primary care is variability in the rate of expansion within the different primary care disciplines. With continued population aging trends, low annual birth rate, and expected health insurance…

There is substantial debate regarding antibiotic use for the treatment of acute otitis media (AOM) in children. The reason for this is simple: there is evidence both for and against antibiotic use in children with this common illness. The evidence supports the use of…

In the literature, the role of antibiotics in the treatment of acute otitis media (AOM) is clear but disappointing. There is a significant, but only modest, benefit of antibiotics for AOM. Because of these disappointing results, many experts and clinicians have decided that, as…