• Articles

    Prevention and Treatment of Common Eye Injuries in Sports

    JORGE O. RODRIGUEZ, ADRIAN M. LAVINA, ANITA AGARWAL

    Preparticipation ocular examination and use of protective eyewear can help to prevent sportsrelated eye injuries in athletes.

    Nocturnal Enuresis

    C. CAROLYN THIEDKE

    The bed-wetting alarm is the single most effective therapy for nocturnal enuresis. Desmopressin or imipramine can also be effective, but relapse rates are relatively high.

    Osteoporosis in Men

    JANET M. CAMPION, MICHAEL J. MARICIC

    As men age, their risk for osteoporosis and fracture increases; one year after hip fracture, men have a higher mortality rate than women.

    Recognition of Alcohol and Substance Abuse

    DAVID J. MERSY

    Regular screening and awareness of “red flags” can help family physicians detect substance abuse in their patients.

    Fusiform Excision

    THOMAS J. ZUBER

    The fusiform excision technique is commonly performed by family physicians for removing skin and subcutaneous lesions. This office procedure offers the advantage of a definitive, single-stage diagnostic and therapeutic intervention.

    Inside AFP

    Recruiting for an AFP Panel of Reader Representatives

    Janis Wright

    In an earlier column, I invited readers to join a panel of representatives who would provide AFP's editors with occasional feedback on various topics. We are looking for some volunteers to act as a sounding board when we want to test new ideas, products, or services, and to...

    Graham Center Policy One-Pager

    Family Physicians Are an Important Source of Mental Health Care

    While comprising about 15 percent of the physician workforce, family physicians provided approximately 20 percent of physician office-based mental health visits in the United States between 1980 and 1999. This proportion has remained stable over the past two decades despite a...

    Newsletter

    Newsletter

    Matthew Neff

    Agencies Respond to Potential Risks of Supplements Containing Ephedra | FDA Proposal Creates Production Standards for Dietary Supplements | HHS Proposes Smallpox Vaccination Compensation Plan | Report Shows Health Care Costs Top Americans' Economic Concerns | AAFP Adds New...

    Quantum Sufficit

    Just Enough

    Sarah Evans, Heather McNeill

    If your patients don't like shots, they can join the Congregation of Universal Wisdom. As reported in an article published in The New York Times, members of the Congregation are not allowed to have any foreign materials of unhealthy or unnatural composition injected, ingested...

    Editorials

    Screening and Intervening for Patients with Substance Use Disorders

    DANIEL C. VINSON

    As Mersy1 points out in his article in this issue of American Family Physician, substance use problems are common and serious. They are also hidden.

    Hormone Therapy: Continuing Discussion and Debate

    BARBARA S. APGAR, DAVID G. WEISMILLER

    On July 9, 2002, the Data and Safety Monitoring Board of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) announced the abrupt termination of the continuous hormone replacement therapy (now referred to as hormone therapy, or HT) portion of the WHI trials sponsored by the National...

    Diary from a Week in Practice

    Diary from a Week in Practice

    The towering young man squeezed himself onto the mobile coach and into the clinic examination room. The medical student took a detailed history and physical examination, but she was unsure of the diagnosis or plan. Living in the woods along the Scioto River during one of the...

    Clinical Evidence Handbook

    Postherpetic Neuralgia

    TIM LANCASTER, DAVID W. WAREHAM, JOHN YAPHE

    What are the effects of interventions to prevent postherpetic neuralgia? What are the effects of treatments in established postherpetic neuralgia?

    Putting Prevention Into Practice: An Evidence -Based Approach

    Screening for Depression

    REBECCA FERRINI, BARBARA CLARK

    Case study: Your office is reviewing its disease screening policies and procedures, and you wonder if depression screening should be included. You are concerned about the effectiveness of screening, your partners' comfort with depression diagnosis and treatment, and the...

    Photo Quiz

    A Nonhealing Ulcer of the Hand

    SYED S. AZHAR

    Photo Quiz presents readers with a clinical challenge based on a photograph or other image.

    POEMs and Tips

    Herpes Simplex Virus Vaccine Is Safe and Effective

    MARK EBELL

    CT Is Best for Evaluating Patients with Microhematuria

    DAVID SLAWSON

    Shock Wave Therapy Is Ineffective for Tennis Elbow

    HENRY BARRY

    Is Collaborative Care Effective for Depression?

    ALLEN SHAUGHNESSY

    Alternative Medicines for Menopausal Symptoms

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Impact of Newer Antipsychotic Agents on Hyperlipidemia

    KARL E. MILLER

    Unrefined Echinacea Does Not Ease Common Cold Symptoms

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Subclinical Thyroid Dysfunction Affects the Heart

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Morphine Does Not Hinder Evaluation of Abdominal Pain

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Early Recognition and Treatment of Latent TB

    CHUCK CARTER

    Early Hospital Discharge Following Mastectomy

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Relationship Between WBC and Degree of CAD

    KARL E. MILLER

    Predicting Coronary Events in Asymptomatic Volunteers

    SUMI M. SEXTON

    Managing Asymptomatic Primary Hyperparathyroidism

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Treatment of Benign Headache in the Emergency Department

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Evidence Basis for Four Commonly Used Herbs

    BILL ZEPF

    Diagnosis and Management of Patients with Anal Fissures

    RICHARD SADOVSKY

    Splenectomy for Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

    ANNE D. WALLING

    Hypertonic Saline Solution Eases Symptoms of Bronchiolitis

    KARL E. MILLER

    Study of Statin Therapy and All-Cause Mortality

    CAROLINE WELLBERY

    Practice Guidelines

    ACOG Releases Guidelines on Diagnosis and Management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

    Barrett M. Schroeder

    The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has published a clinical management guideline on the diagnosis and management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). As proposed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the diagnostic criteria are chronic...

    Clinical Briefs

    Clinical Briefs

    Carrie Morantz, Brian Torrey

    CDC Guidelines for QuantiFERON-TB Test | NIH Launches HIV/AIDS Web Site | AHRQ Launches Web-Based Quality Measures Resource | FDA Approval

    Curbside Consultation

    Should I Give Money to My Patients?

    TONY MIKSANEK

    As a rule, physicians should avoid giving money directly to patients. Like most decisions in medical practice, the determination to give a patient money must be weighed carefully, and each case must be evaluated individually.

    Letters to the Editor

    Differentiating Foot Fractures from Ankle Sprains

    ROBERT L. HATCH

    Management of Risk Factors in Relatives of Patients with SAH

    ROBIN GILLARD

    Evaluation and Treatment of Heat-Related Illnesses

    Information from Your Family Doctor

    Eye Injuries in Sports

    Sports cause more than 40,000 eye injuries each year. More than 90 percent of these injuries can be prevented. Overall, basketball and baseball cause the most eye injuries, followed by water sports and racquet sports.

    Bed-Wetting

    Bed-wetting, or losing urine during sleep, is a common problem in children. As many as 7 million children in the United States wet the bed at night. Bed-wetting happens three times more often in boys than in girls.

    Substance Abuse—How To Recognize It

    YES, if you are:

    Fusiform Excision Procedure

    The fusiform excision technique is a simple way to remove tumors or growths from the skin or from the tissues below the skin. The word “biopsy” means the removal of tissue for examination under a microscope. This procedure frequently is performed to find out whether a growth...

    Abstinence: Information for Teens

    Sex is any behavior that involves using a person's sex organs for pleasure. When people talk about “sex,” they usually refer to sexual intercourse, which is penetration of the vagina by the penis. But “sex” also can include oral sex, manual sex (masturbation), and anal sex....

    Birth Control

    The type of birth control (or “contraception”) you choose depends on your needs. Some people only need to prevent pregnancy. Other people also may want to protect themselves or their partners from diseases that can be passed by having sex. These are called sexually...

    Progestin-Only Contraceptives

    A progestin-only contraceptive is one kind of birth control pill. It is often called the “mini-pill.” Regular birth control pills have two female hormones: estrogen and progestin. The mini-pill has only progestin in it. Because this pill does not contain estrogen, it may not...



    Disclosure

    All editors in a position to control content for this activity, AFP journal, are required to disclose any relevant financial relationships. View disclosures.


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