June 2022

Metabolic surgery reduces all-cause mortality by 30% to 40% at two to 15 years compared with patients with obesity who did not have surgery. Remission of type 2 diabetes mellitus occurs in as many as 70% of patients two years after surgery and is maintained at 10 years in about…

Soft tissue masses are a common presentation in family medicine. This article describes common masses, discusses the usefulness of various imaging modalities, and provides recommendations for treatment, including indications for referral to specialists for possible malignancy.

Rapid diagnosis and prompt treatment of stroke are essential. The initial assessment should focus on the signs and symptoms of focal neurologic injury and rule out stroke mimics. Appropriate workup should be started immediately, and recombinant tissue plasminogen activator…

This article reviews evidence for diagnosis and treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in adults, including clinical signs and symptoms and current society guidelines for the use of imaging and microbiologic testing. The CRB-65 rule for risk stratification and options for…

Finger fractures and dislocations are commonly seen in the primary care setting. Patients often present with a deformity, swelling, and bruising with loss of function. Primary care physicians can manage most uncomplicated injuries with simple immobilization. Appropriate…

A preoperative evaluation is advised for all children and adolescents having elective surgery with anesthesia. The evaluation assesses medical and psychosocial factors that may affect the timing of surgery and identifies underlying conditions that would benefit from evaluation…

For the past 27 years I have been editing American Family Physician (AFP) in some role or another, but the experience of editing the journal these past two years has been like no other. Although the pandemic posed significant challenges, there were some positive outcomes during…

With the approval of the 15-valent PCV vaccine (Vaxneuvance) and 20-valent PCV vaccine (Prevnar-20), ACIP has simplified pneumococcal immunization recommendations for adults.

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

First-person accounts from the front lines of family medicine.

How well do four common, brief clinical assessments (Mini-Cog, Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly [IQCODE], Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA], and Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]) predict dementia in primary care?

Are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) safe and effective for the treatment of premature ejaculation in adult men?

Language concordance between physician and patient is important in providing high-quality care. Many counties in the United States have a disparity between the number of patients speaking Spanish and the number of family physicians who are able to provide care in Spanish…

Tenapanor (Ibsrela) is labeled for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) in adults.1 It is a sodium/hydrogen exchanger 3 inhibitor that acts on the surface of the small intestine and colon to block the absorption of dietary sodium, resulting in…

Series of short reports and quizzes based on guidelines from the USPSTF.

Is it possible to predict the likelihood of child abuse based on bruising characteristics detected on examination?

How effective is oral vitamin B12 supplementation compared with intramuscular supplementation in patients with vitamin B12 deficiency?

Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) is a specific MRI test used to detect and evaluate prostate cancer. It requires additional radiologist training and sequences not routinely performed in anatomic imaging, such as diffusion-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced…

A collaboration between AFP and the Lown Institute promotes a vision of delivering health care that is based on the evidence, balanced in its approach, and focused on the patient.

An 11-year-old girl with a history of frequent headaches, diarrhea, and one episode of difficulty breathing presented with multiple, pruritic skin lesions.

A woman presented with one-month history of pain in her right foot under the fourth toe at the base of proximal phalanx.

BMJ-MAGIC Group publishes recommendations for using SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Key Points for Practice

Learn more about antibiotic use for the treatment of sore throat.

Clinical Summary table of the latest USPSTF recommendations.

Letter to the Editor

Reply: Stephen K. Stacey, Mark McEleney