Am Fam Physician. 2025;111(6):492
What preventative health screenings should be recommended for adult cancer survivors?
Clinicians should ensure that cancer survivors are up-to-date with cancer screenings appropriate for their age and sex, and encourage lifestyle interventions that may reduce the risk of cancers, such as counseling on tobacco cessation, limiting alcohol use, and implementing a healthy diet and physical activity.
Does cognitive rehabilitation improve everyday function and well-being in patients with mild to moderate dementia?
According to a Cochrane review, cognitive rehabilitation improved participant self-ratings of goal attainment, informant ratings of goal attainment, and self-ratings of satisfaction with goal attainment at the end of treatment and at 3 to 12 months of follow-up. Cognitive rehabilitation likely has a small positive effect on caregivers' social and psychological quality of life at 3 to 12 months of follow-up.
Are corticosteroid injections and surgical interventions effective in treating Morton neuroma?
According to a Cochrane review, combined corticosteroid/local anesthetic injection does not improve pain, function, or quality of life vs local anesthetic injection alone. More adverse events, including skin and plantar fat pad atrophy and hypopigmentation, occur with the addition of a corticosteroid. Ultrasound-guided injection probably improves pain and function at 6 months with little to no difference in adverse events. There appears to be little to no difference in patient satisfaction or rates of adverse events between plantar incision neurectomy and dorsal incision neurectomy.
Can wearable smart devices identify the underlying cause of palpitations?
The use of smartphone-based ambulatory cardiac-monitoring devices is highly diagnostic for atrial fibrillation, which is the most common arrhythmia causing palpitations; however, other forms of arrhythmia detection are less clear.
According to the USPSTF, what is the recommended intervention to prevent falls in community-dwelling older adults?
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) gives a B grade to their recommendation of exercise interventions to prevent falls in community-dwelling adults 65 years or older who are at increased risk for falls. The 2024 recommendation does not address the use of vitamin D to prevent falls; this evidence will be reviewed in a separate USPSTF recommendation.
What is the recommended pharmacologic treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are first-line pharmacotherapy. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, and sertraline for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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What treatments have been effective for Alzheimer disease–induced agitation?
Music therapy can be recommended to minimally improve behavioral disruption, mood, and cognition in patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Brexpiprazole (Rexulti) is approved for agitation caused by Alzheimer disease, and risperidone is more effective than placebo for acutely treating neuropsychiatric symptoms in people with dementia; however, antipsychotics should not be used routinely because of an elevated risk of mortality.
What physical examination findings are seen in de Quervain tenosynovitis?
Tenderness and swelling in the first dorsal compartment and a positive Finkelstein test suggest de Quervain tenosynovitis, whereas dorsal predominance of pain and a squeaking sound during wrist movement suggest intersection syndrome.
Is arthroscopic surgery superior to physical therapy for degenerative meniscal tears?
According to a Cochrane review, arthroscopic surgery does not result in any clinically significant differences in pain, symptoms, function, activities of daily living, knee-specific quality of life, or generic quality of life compared with physical therapy. Arthroscopic surgery may worsen range of motion in the knee and cartilage surface area compared with physical therapy.
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