October 1, 2016

Although the main impact of vector-borne viral diseases is abroad, these diseases are an emerging concern in North America. West Nile virus, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus are of particular importance because of their potential to become a significant public health threat…

Acute bronchitis is characterized by acute cough, with or without sputum production, and signs of lower respiratory tract infection in the absence of chronic lung disease or an identifiable cause, such as pneumonia. It is a clinical diagnosis, and radiography and laboratory…

This article highlights original clinical research studies summarized as POEMs (patient-oriented evidence that matters) that showed results consistent with principles of the Choosing Wisely campaign. Physicians rated these POEMs highly according to their potential to reduce…

Free Toolkit Helps Physicians Assess, Maintain ICD-10 Progress | Physicians' Low Use of Telehealth Tied to Flawed Payment Models | AHRQ Releases Updated State Snapshot Tool for Health Care Quality Rankings | AAFP Calls for “All-Hands-on-Deck” Effort to End Opioid Crisis

If you're looking for concise lists of tips to change clinical practice for the better, consult this list of top POEMs for Choosing Wisely.

Initiatives such as Choosing Wisely and updating services such as POEMs let us decide what's best to do based on unbiased, updated information.

The nation's growing opioid use disorder epidemic disproportionately impacts rural areas, where physicians who can prescribe buprenorphine are scarcest. Among physicians approved to prescribe buprenorphine, family physicians (FPs) are the most likely to work in rural areas.

Stretching before exercise does not reduce the risk of injury. However, it may slightly reduce postexercise muscle soreness.

SSRIs may have a small to moderate effect on pain (number needed to treat [NNT] = 10), global improvement (NNT = 7), and depression (NNT = 13) in patients with fibromyalgia, but the quality of evidence is very low because of bias and small studies. SSRIs do not reduce fatigue…

For children and adults with moderate to severe eczema, topical tacrolimus is an effective, albeit costly, alternative to topical corticosteroids. Both tacrolimus strengths (0.03% and 0.1%) are superior to low-potency topical corticosteroids, whereas tacrolimus 0.1% has similar…

A woman with chronic urine catheterization presented with purple colored urine.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) has established appropriateness criteria to assist in the selection process. Procedures with a rating of 9 are considered most appropriate, and those with a rating of 1 least appropriate. These guidelines rate the suitability of computed…

Studies showed that 433 patients needed to be treated with rivaroxaban to prevent one stroke and 629 patients needed to be treated with rivaroxaban to prevent one thromboembolic event. Read more.

Acute bronchitis (say: brawn-KY-tiss) is a common cause of cough. Swelling and redness in the large tubes of the lungs (bronchial tubes) lead to coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, chest pain, and fever. The cough can last for three weeks or more.