Health Maintenance in School-Aged Children: Part I. History, Physical Examination, Screening, and Immunizations

Margaret Riley, Leigh Morrison, Anna McEvoy

The goals of the health maintenance visit in school-aged children (five to 12 years) are promoting health, detecting disease, and counseling to prevent injury and future health problems. The visit should include a history (e.g., hospital care since the previous visit, living...

Health Maintenance in School-Aged Children: Part II. Counseling Recommendations

Amy Locke, Kirsten Stoesser, Karly Pippitt

Because school-aged children (five to 12 years) are establishing patterns of behavior that may last a lifetime, families of these children should receive counseling and education to optimize health and wellness, focusing on the issues most relevant to the individual child....

Electronic Cigarettes: Common Questions and Answers

Michael D. Klein, Natasha A. Sokol, Laura R. Stroud

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are popular devices that generate an inhaled aerosol, or vapor. Completely switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes may have short-term benefits; however, the long-term effects are unknown. e-Cigarette users are exposed to heavy metals...

Human Trafficking: How Family Physicians Can Recognize and Assist Victims

Ronald Chambers, Anita Ravi, Santhosh Paulus

Identifying a trafficking victim requires an understanding of the law as well as knowledge of risk factors and signs and symptoms of exploitation.

Asthma, Back and Neck Pain, Pain During Labor, TIA, CBT for Anxiety

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

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention

Anna Tomdio, Michael Ritchie, Andrew C. Miller

High-quality evidence suggests that long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids do not prevent mortality (all-cause or cardiovascular) or cardiovascular disease events when used as primary or secondary prevention. Find out more.

Proportional Erosion of the Primary Care Physician Workforce Has Continued Since 2010

Andrew Bazemore, Elizabeth Wilkinson, Stephen Petterson, Larry A. Green

We estimate that 217,208 primary care physicians provided direct patient care in the United States in 2018. This represents an even lower percentage (30%) of the total U.S. physician cohort than the 2010 Council on Graduate Medical Education's (COGME's) recommendation to...

Ocular Prophylaxis for Gonococcal Ophthalmia Neonatorum: Recommendation Statement

The USPSTF recommends prophylactic ocular topical medication for all newborns to prevent gonococcal ophthalmia neonatorum.

Bilateral Lower Extremity Discoloration

Aparna Jain, Autumn Krcil

A 68-year-old obese man presented for chronic disease follow-up. The patient's only concern was discoloration in his lower extremities that had developed over the previous three weeks. No other areas were involved, and he had no pain or itching.

Secnidazole (Solosec) for Bacterial Vaginosis

Jeffrey C. Leggit, Aaron Saguil

Secnidazole is much more expensive than generic metronidazole and other available treatments. However, it is a safe option for women who desire a single-dose treatment or for patients in whom treatment compliance is a concern.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Postpartum Depression

Katherine Buck, Sana Zekri, Linh Nguyen, U. Jeff Ogar

In women with postpartum depression, the addition of CBT reduces depressive symptoms more effectively than usual care alone (medication and other therapies), with a medium effect size at the end of the intervention and a residual small effect size six months later.

Identifying Outpatients with Acute Cough at Very Low Risk of Pneumonia

Mark H. Ebell

In patients with acute cough, is it possible to identify a subset with a very low likelihood of community-acquired pneumonia?

Treating Hepatitis C in the Family Medicine Office

Stacey Nickoloff, Kelsey Linn, Sarah Winter

Patient story about being diagnosed with hepatitis C and successful treatment by family doctor.

Short-Term Clopidogrel Plus Aspirin Prevents Second Ischemic Stroke Better Than Aspirin Alone

Allen F. Shaughnessy

Combined treatment with clopidogrel and aspirin, started within 24 hours of the first event, will decrease the likelihood of a recurrent stroke in an additional 2% of patients compared with aspirin alone, with a slight increase in the risk of extra-cranial bleeding.

5% Fluorouracil Is the Preferred Treatment for Actinic Keratoses

Mark H. Ebell

The use of topical 5% fluorouracil is most likely to result in successful elimination of actinic keratoses in a field on the head or face.

Maintenance Intravenous Fluids in Children: AAP Provides Recommendation

Laurie Costlow

Key Points for Practice

OnabotulinumtoxinA Injections for Chronic Migraine Prophylaxis

Substance Use Disorders: Considerations in Maternity and Neonatal Care

Thessaly vs. McMurray Test for Diagnosis of Meniscal Injuries

e-Cigarettes, Vaping, and Juuls: What You Need to Know

e-Cigarettes are electronic (battery powered) devices that heat a liquid to produce a smoke-like vapor. They often contain nicotine. Nicotine is the ingredient in regular cigarettes that makes them so addictive. Some people use e-cigarettes instead of regular cigarettes,...