Browse Items (36 total)

A potassium hydroxide preparation is used to confirm the diagnosis of a superficial fungal skin infection. Adding black or blue-black ink to the potassium hydroxide solution highlights fungal organisms and distinguishes them from surrounding cellular…

Whether a vesicobullous disease is intraepidermal or subepidermal is often difficult to determine from the clinical examination. The Tzanck preparation can provide clues that aid in the diagnosis of a number of diseases. It is particularly helpful in…

Patients with scabies may present with urticarial, eczematous or excoriated papules, eczematous patches or, occasionally, nodules. It is often difficult to differentiate scabies from eczema, folliculitis, drug eruption or lichen planus. The…

Acid-base disorders are common in clinical practice. Simple acid-base disturbances include metabolic acidosis, metabolic alkalosis, respiratory acidosis and respiratory alkalosis. Each can be clearly identified using a common clinical approach.…

Wheezing in children is a common problem encountered by family physicians. Approximately 25 to 30 percent of infants will have at least one wheezing episode, and nearly one half of children have a history of wheezing by six years of age. The most…

Most persons with acute back problems recover promptly. Comprehensive evaluation of those who have not significantly improved within two weeks will often reveal significant behavioral factors that may be impeding recovery. These factors may include…

Urinary retention is the inability to voluntarily void urine. This condition can be acute or chronic. Causes of urinary retention are numerous and can be classified as obstructive, infectious and inflammatory, pharmacologic, neurologic, or other. The…

Trigeminal neuralgia is an uncommon disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of lancinating pain in the trigeminal nerve distribution. Typically, brief attacks are triggered by talking, chewing, teeth brushing, shaving, a light touch, or even a…

Acid-base disorders are common in clinical practice. Simple acid-base disturbances include metabolic acidosis, metabolic alkalosis, respiratory acidosis and respiratory alkalosis. Each can be clearly identified using a common clinical approach.…

Clinical manifestations and radiographic findings are unreliable guides to the selection of antimicrobial therapy for lower respiratory infections. Laboratory evaluation is necessary to identify the etiologic agent. Multiple oral antibiotics are…

Stroke is a medical emergency with high rates of mortality and morbidity. Ischemic stroke should be distinguished from hemorrhagic stroke. Indicators of hemorrhagic stroke include coma, vomiting, severe headache, a systolic blood pressure greater…

As the number of elderly persons continues to increase, family physicians will be caring for more patients with Alzheimer's disease. The treatment plan for patients with this incurable illness should be directed at optimizing their physical and…

Urinary retention is the inability to voluntarily void urine. This condition can be acute or chronic. Causes of urinary retention are numerous and can be classified as obstructive, infectious and inflammatory, pharmacologic, neurologic, or other. The…

Injury to the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb, once a common chronic occupational injury occurring in British gamekeepers, is now most frequently an acute sports-related injury in skiers, football players and other athletes. Differentiation of…

Treatment of eating disorders is difficult regardless of the methods employed. Pharmacologic management in anorexia nervosa and in bulimia nervosa is especially helpful when it is part of a multimodal treatment approach that includes individual,…

Neck masses in children may be inflammatory, neoplastic or congenital. Although most of these masses are benign inflammatory nodes, an asymptomatic neck mass is the most common presentation of head and neck malignancies in children. Cystic lesions…

Most persons with acute back problems recover promptly. Comprehensive evaluation of those who have not significantly improved within two weeks will often reveal significant behavioral factors that may be impeding recovery. These factors may include…

Women often express concern about what they consider to be excess body or facial hair. This surplus of hair may be normal or it may signal hypertrichosis or hirsutism. Hirsutism may be idiopathic, secondary to increased responsiveness of hair…

The effects of drug abuse are caused by the stimulation or inhibition of different neurotransmitters, chiefly gamma-aminobutyric acid, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin and beta-endorphin. The biopsychiatric model focuses on…

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are eating disorders with distinct clinical presentations. Reduced caloric intake, a hallmark of both disorders, is manifested by self-induced starvation in anorexia and by binge eating and gastrointestinal…

Thyroid diseases are commonly encountered in family practice and are often suspected on the basis of the history and physical examination. The prevalence of thyroid disease in the general population is 0.5 percent, but it can be much higher in…

A potassium hydroxide preparation is used to confirm the diagnosis of a superficial fungal skin infection. Adding black or blue-black ink to the potassium hydroxide solution highlights fungal organisms and distinguishes them from surrounding cellular…

Patients with scabies may present with urticarial, eczematous or excoriated papules, eczematous patches or, occasionally, nodules. It is often difficult to differentiate scabies from eczema, folliculitis, drug eruption or lichen planus. The…

Whether a vesicobullous disease is intraepidermal or subepidermal is often difficult to determine from the clinical examination. The Tzanck preparation can provide clues that aid in the diagnosis of a number of diseases. It is particularly helpful in…

Trigeminal neuralgia is an uncommon disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of lancinating pain in the trigeminal nerve distribution. Typically, brief attacks are triggered by talking, chewing, teeth brushing, shaving, a light touch, or even a…

Cocaine abuse may lead to serious cardiac complications, including myocardial ischemia and infarction, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias. With concomitant use of alcohol and cocaine, cocaethylene is produced by hepatic transformation.…
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