August 15, 2017

Although childhood leg and foot problems are a common concern for parents, most are normal variants of growth that resolve without treatment. A history and physical examination are often sufficient in the evaluation of lower extremity abnormalities. The musculoskeletal…

The Choosing Wisely initiative seeks to advance dialogue on avoiding wasteful or unnecessary medical tests, treatments, and procedures. Using results from highly-rated POEMs (patient-oriented evidence that matters) of research studies, physicians and patients can avoid…

All adults older than 65 years should be screened annually for history of falls, frequency of falls, difficulty with gait and balance, and fear of falling. Multifactorial interventions to prevent falls include exercise, particularly balance, strength, and gait training; vitamin…

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Every second of every day in America, an older adult falls, and every 20 minutes an older adult dies from a fall.1 To put this into perspective, in 2014, there were 29 million falls, 7 million requiring medical treatment.1 This makes falls far more common than many health…

Single-question screening tools regarding the need for help with understanding and completing medical forms and reading materials can be effective for detecting inadequate health literacy in the outpatient setting.

A 37-year-old woman presents to your office for her annual wellness visit. She is not due for a Papanicolaou (Pap) smear this year. She is not pregnant, reports no problems, and has no risk factors for sexually transmitted infections. She asks if she should have a pelvic…

A 24-year-old man presented with a mildly pruritic, spreading rash that was preceded by a single plaque on his back.

ixisenatide is an easy-to-use, once-daily injectable therapy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults. It is at least as effective as exenatide at reducing A1C and body weight, with similar rates of gastrointestinal adverse effects.

A story of two sisters: one with a chronic illness, the other a family caregiver. They emphasize close listening, the tuned-in give-and-take in response to a loved one's changing needs.

Pregabalin does not relieve pain in patients with sciatica.

A single dose of oral dexamethasone is no more effective than placebo in resolving acute sore throat symptoms at 24 hours in adults who do not receive immediate antibiotic therapy. However, among a multitude of exploratory secondary outcomes, the authors found that, compared…

This study found that maternal antidepressant use during the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, but not SGA, ASD, or ADHD. Another study in the same issue also reported no increased risk of ASD with in utero exposure to selective…

A 10-mg dose of ketorolac is as effective as higher doses for the short-term treatment of acute pain for patients in the emergency department.

Key Points for Practice

The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of performing screening pelvic examinations in asymptomatic, non-pregnant adult women.

Older adults are at risk of falling. Anyone who has fallen before, has weak leg muscles, or has problems with walking or balance also has a higher risk.