April 2024

Individuals' impaired ability to hear and communicate may result in negative emotional, cognitive, economic, and social consequences. Objective hearing impairment should be assessed when a patient or family member raises a concern or if cognitive or mood symptoms are present…

Men who have sex with men are disproportionately affected by HIV infection, anal cancer, syphilis, and depression. Preventive care includes supplementary immunizations, additional screenings, and counseling to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections, such as…

An individualized approach to noninsulin pharmacotherapy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus should consider costs, benefits beyond glucose control, and adverse events. Metformin is first-line therapy due to cost and effectiveness. Newer agents also provide benefits…

Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis is a common infection; fever, tonsillar exudate, cervical lymphadenitis, and age younger than 15 years increase clinical suspicion. Diagnosis involves the use of validated clinical decision rules and rapid antigen testing…

Up to 90% of the U.S. population experiences significant low back pain. Lumbar spinal stenosis is a common cause of chronic low back pain, particularly in people older than 50 years. Initial management includes conservative methods such as physical therapy, exercise programs…

Sore throat is among the most common infections that we manage in primary care. Doing it right is important, and that means avoiding overtesting, overtreatment, and overmedicalization of the patient with sore throat.

Before introduction of the polio vaccine, thousands of paralytic polio cases occurred each year in the United States. Until recently, the CDC recommended routine polio vaccination in children and only in adults with increased risk of exposure to poliovirus.

Although life expectancy fell between 2020 and 2021, the proportion of U.S. residents older than 65 years continues to increase. This age group often has more medical comorbidities and prescription medications, increasing the demand for primary care access.

Despite some benefits, intervention heterogeneity and lack of reporting of potential harms lead to some uncertainty of the evidence. We have assigned a color recommendation of yellow for the use of hormone therapy to treat sexual dysfunction in peri- and postmenopausal women.

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

STW 5 (Iberogast), peppermint plus caraway oil, and turmeric may be effective in improving symptoms of functional dyspepsia without significant adverse events. Peppermint plus caraway oil and turmeric may also improve quality of life in patients with functional dyspepsia.

Remotely delivered cognitive behavior therapy reduces pain intensity and improves functional ability compared with treatment as usual.

The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for speech and language delay and disorders in children 5 years or younger.

A 4-day-old infant presented with a purple-red facial lesion on his face.

A 64-year-old woman presented with a rapidly enlarging lesion.

In pregnant patients laboring with epidural anesthesia, the use of a peanut ball with regular position changes decreases the duration of first-stage labor by 87 minutes compared with usual care.

Adolescents with a history of cannabis use have at least a 50% increase in the odds of developing suicidality in adulthood.

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

POEMs

POEMs

POEMs

POEMs

The American Geriatrics Society updated the Beers Criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults. The criteria suggest medications that should be avoided in most older patients and in certain situations and combinations.

The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association conducted systematic reviews to publish guidelines for the use of NSAIDs after traumatic orthopedic fractures in adults with regard to acute pain control and risk of nonunion.

Letter

Reply: Kiwita Phillips, Raimot Olanrewaju, Folashade Omole

Reply: T. Aaron Zeller, Kati Beben, Stephanie Walker