www.aafp.org/afp AMERICAN FAMILY PHYSICIAN 1981 mented. All lesions are usually of similar size and shape. Patients “dig”at their skin to relieve itching or to extract imaginary objects that they believe are imbedded or extruding from their skin. The lesions are grouped at sites of the body that are easily accessible and usually exposed, such as the extensor surfaces of the extremities, face an...

managed in the primary care setting. Surveys suggest that approximately 20 percent of U.S. adults have symptoms of GERD at least once a week.4 A subgroup of patients with GERD develop severe complications that include erosive esophagitis, stricture formation, Barrett’s esophagus, and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. Because Barrett’s esophagus is thought to be associated with the development of...

The need for men to undergo screening for prostate cancer is controversial. Urologists are concerned about finding many men with minimal disease who may not require therapy or may be over-treated, while conversely missing men with clinically significant prostate cancer that could be treated and cured if found at an early enough stage. Most men today present to the physician with some symptoms a...

www.aafp.org/afp AMERICAN FAMILY PHYSICIAN 1269 involves human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which leads to VIN and predisposes the patient to vulvar cancer. The second type involves vulvar non-neoplastic epithelial disorders (VNED) and advanced age, leading to cellular atypia and cancer (Table 1). Vulvar cancer most frequently occurs in women 65 to 75 years of age. It can develop in younger ...

Patient Evaluation Most fishhook injuries are penetrating soft tissue injuries to the hand, face, head or upper extremity but can involve any body part. These injuries usually do not involve deeper tissue structures because of the linear forces applied along the fishing line to the fishhook that drive the point parallel to the skin and keep it from deep penetration. Many different types and siz...

488 Family Physicians National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students, and Program Directors Workshop & Residency Program Solutions Residency Education Symposium. Many regions, hospitals, medical schools, or cities have their own academic presentation days that meet resident scholarly activity requirements. These meetings are also a great place to be inspired by the work o...

BACKGROUND The structure of family practice residency programs remains essentially unchanged from the model first proposed more than 35 years ago. Advances in medical technology and knowledge combined with increasing restrictions on resident work hours and decreasing medical student interest invite reconsideration of how family physicians are trained. METHODS We resurveyed 442 third-year fami...

For newcomers to Canada, health care delivery varies from province to province. In New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, newcomers are required to wait 3 months before they can enrol in a provincial health insurance program. Many newcomers purchase private health insurance to ensure health care coverage; however, those in one group of newcomers—refugees—are often unable to purch...

Uses and Efficacy Currently, the primary use of black cohosh extract is for alleviation of menopausal symptoms. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology guidelines on the use of botanicals for the management of menopausal symptoms support this use for up to six months, especially in treating the symptoms of sleep and mood disturbance, and hot flushes. [Evidence level C, consensus/exper...

Dermatophytoses Because dermatophytes require keratin for growth, they are restricted to hair, nails, and superficial skin. Thus, these fungi do not infect mucosal surfaces. Dermatophytoses are referred to as “tinea” infections. They are also named for the body site involved. Some dermatophytes are spread directly from one person to another (anthropophilic organisms). Others live in and are tra...