July 1, 2020

Back pain is a relatively common condition in children. Typical causes include muscle strain or spasm, spinal deformities, spondylolysis, bulging or herniated intervertebral disks, apophysitis of the iliac crest, and functional pain syndromes. Spondyloarthropathies may present…

Transfusion of blood products is a common medical procedure, although it can cause adverse reactions. Physicians should consider the patient's relevant laboratory data, overall clinical circumstances, adjuncts, and feasible alternatives as part of the informed consent process…

Changes in cervical cancer screening and guidelines, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination recommendations, and colposcopy standards from the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology have implications for all primary care clinicians. Cervical cancer screening and…

The COVID-19 pandemic presents family physicians with unique opportunities to work with home health providers to combat the pandemic, provide quality care, and ease the burden of fear among patients.

Buprenorphine prescribing in primary care is a key bottleneck in the access to medications for opioid use disorder (OUD). In a Medicare claims study including family medicine, internal medicine, general practice, and psychiatry, the largest share of buprenorphine prescribers…

Key clinical questions and their evidence-based answers directly from the journal’s content, written by and for family physicians.

Oral mucolytic agents may reduce the number of acute exacerbations in patients with chronic bronchitis or COPD (number needed to treat [NNT] = 8 over an average of nine months; 95% CI, 7 to 10).

Patients using a combination of nicotine patch and fast-acting NRT are more likely to quit smoking than those on any single therapy alone (number needed to treat [NNT] = 29; 95% CI, 20 to 47).

A teenaged baseball player presented with left knee pain, bruising, and swelling, as well as subjective quadriceps weakness 10 days after sustaining a leg injury while sliding into home plate.

Oral ondansetron (Zofran) may be given to children presenting to the emergency department with vomiting and mild to moderate dehydration from acute gastroenteritis. It reduces hospital admissions and the need for intravenous hydration.

PAULA's test (Protein Assays Utilizing Lung Cancer Analytes) is a blood test for early detection of lung cancer in high-risk adults.1 Eligible patients are 50 years or older, current or former smokers with more than a 20-pack-year history and less than 15 years of smoking…

A 41-year-old long-time patient presented with concerns about irritability, depression, and anxiety after getting into another fight with her mother-in-law. The patient was concerned that her symptoms were getting worse, and she was worried about lacking control over her…

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is diagnosed in 7% to 8% of children. It affects academic achievement and socioemotional well-being. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated guidelines to emphasize evaluation for comorbid conditions and overcoming…

Observational studies have shown that those with low vitamin D levels have higher cancer and cardiovascular mortality. Read more to learn about the effect of vitamin D supplementation on all-cause mortality.

Letters to the Editor from AFP reader regarding COVID-19.

Letters to the Editor from regarding false-positive results with SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests.