For the past several weeks, a 54-year-old man has had progressivelyworsening abdominal pain and general achiness.He has no nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or fever and no historyof trauma.

A 76-year-old woman is admitted to the hospital for increasing fatigue and weaknessthat began about 3 weeks earlier. Her symptoms have worsened duringthe past week to the point of profound weakness and both dyspnea and nearsyncopewith minimal exertion.

Q:Should I prescribe isoniazid prophylaxis for an elderly patient withmultiple health problems who recently converted from negative topositive tuberculin status?

A 56-year-old man, who was involved in an automobile accident, was brought to the emergency department by ambulance. He was awake, intoxicated with alcohol, and complained particularly of pain in his left shoulder. The patient was unable to recall any details of the accident; he believed that he had been hospitalized for a back spasm.

A 25-year-old man sought evaluation of a painless, palpable, left testicular mass that had been present for more than 1 year. There was no personal or family history of cryptorchidism or malignancy. A circumscribed mass was palpated within the anterior superior pole of the left testis.

For 10 years, a 22-year-old woman had had an erythematous, translucent patch of grouped blisters on her left thigh. A recent increase in the size of the patch prompted the patient to seek treatment. There was no burning or tingling at the site. The patient reported that the erythema occasionally cleared; however, the blisters always remained. She denied fever, weight loss, and other constitutional symptoms.

A Young Boy With High Fever and LethargyA 5-year-old boy is brought to the emergency department(ED) by his parents. They report that, for thepast week, the child has had a high fever (temperatureup to 40oC [104oF]), generalized weakness, lethargy, andlack of appetite. The boy’s eyes are bloodshot and he hasrefused food and drink. The child has no history ofcough, shortness of breath, hematemesis, melena, headaches,vision problems, or seizures. He has not been incontact with sick persons, has not traveled abroad, doesnot have a pet, and is not taking any medications. His immunizations are up-to-date.

In my view, "very low calorie diet" is a more appropriate term for the type of diet you describe.

The diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA) is primarily clinical. Key historical clues to idiopathic OA include patient age greater than 45 years, joint pain that increases with activity and is relieved with rest, morning stiffness of 30 minutes duration or less, and involvement of one or more of the following: hips, knees, cervical or lumbar spine, basilar thumb joints, interphalangeal joints of the hands, midfoot joints, and first metatarsophalangeal joints.

ABSTRACT: Topical agents can provide temporary relief from osteoarthritis symptoms with little or no risk. Acetaminophen is first-line oral therapy. Be alert for risk factors for NSAID-induced GI toxicity, such as concurrent use of prescription and OTC agents. Tramadol, narcotic analgesics, muscle relaxants, and antidepressants are options when NSAIDs are ineffective or contraindicated. Intra-articular injections of corticosteroids or hyaluronan are appropriate for patients who have a single joint exacerbation. Total knee and total hip arthroplasty are considered the most effective surgical interventions.

How critical-and cost-effective-is in-officepulmonary function equipment for the primarycare practitioner?

A 50-year-old manpresents to your office with severediscomfort in the great toe that began24 hours earlier. He denies any traumabut says that he may have hadsimilar symptoms many years before.He has no recent history of feveror illness. You aspirate fluid from thefirst metatarsophalangeal joint foranalysis.

A 42-year-old woman complains of anxiety, unexplained weight loss, and palpitationsthat started about 3 weeks earlier. She denies fever, trauma, and newstress. She has a history of several urinary tract infections for which imagingfailed to reveal any predisposing factors; all were successfully treated withmedication. The remainder of the history is unremarkable.

Also known as congenital aganglionic megacolon (A), this condition is characterized by a congenital absence of ganglioncells in the submucosal (Meissner) plexus and themyenteric (Auerbach) plexus in one or more segments ofthe colon. This is attributable to a failure of migration ofnerve cell elements from the neural crest in a cephalocaudaldirection along the GI tract. The absence of parasympatheticinnervation causes failure of relaxation of the internalanal sphincter. An aganglionic colon does not permitnormal peristalsis to occur and thus results in afunctional obstruction.

ABSTRACT: The main therapeutic goals for patients who have an acute coronary syndrome are to reestablish normal epicardial flow and to increase distal myocardial perfusion. Fibrinolytic treatment with tissue plasminogen activator within 70 minutes of the onset of symptoms dramatically reduces the mortality rate from myocardial infarction. Other fibrinolytic agents include reteplase, which is given as a double bolus, and tenecteplase, which is given as a single bolus. In most hospitals, fibrinolytic therapy is more readily available than percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA); however, PTCA may be the preferred approach if it is available within an hour and a half. Antiplatelet drugs, such as glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists, are used to improve distal myocardial perfusion. If follow-up coronary angiography is not available to assess whether epicardial blood flow and distal myocardial perfusion have been restored, a 12-lead ECG can provide valuable information. The resolution of ST-segment abnormalities is a marker for improved perfusion.

The most common blood-borne infection in the United States, hepatitis C is also one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease in this country. About 35,000 new hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are diagnosed each year; by 2015, the number of persons with documented HCV infection is expected to have increased 4-fold from what it was in 1990.

In the United States, osteoporosis affects 12% to 28% of women over age 65 years. Among women who live to be 85, 50% will sustain an osteoporosis-related fracture. Hip fractures occur in 15% of these women, and vertebral deformities develop in 25%

ABSTRACT: Patients can greatly reduce the risk of traveler's diarrhea by drinking only bottled water and eating only hot foods prepared in sanitary conditions or peelable fruits and vegetables. Antibiotic prophylaxis for traveler's diarrhea is no longer routinely recommended; reserve it for patients who may have to consume food and beverages of questionable safety, those with reduced immunity, and those likely to experience serious consequences of illness. Adequate hydration is the first step in treating traveler's diarrhea. Drug therapy-loperamide or fluoroquinolones in adults and bismuth subsalicylate or azithromycin in children-can ameliorate symptoms and speed recovery. Recommend that patients who are prone to motion sickness take an antiemetic/antivertigo agent before symptoms begin. Acetazolamide can be used both to prevent and to treat altitude sickness. Contraindications to air travel include a resting oxygen saturation of less than 90%, pregnancy of more than 36 weeks' duration, pneumothorax, recent myocardial infarction or chest or abdominal surgery, active infectious diseases, and poorly controlled seizures or sickle cell anemia.

A 78-year-old man presented to theemergency department with a 3-weekhistory of progressive shortness of breathand cough with blood-streaked, yellowishsputum. The patient had dyspnea onexertion limited to 2 blocks, 2-pilloworthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea,and nocturia. Neither fever norchills were present. He had lost 7.2 kg(16 lb) during the last year.

Calcium channel blockersare commonly prescribedto treat severalcardiovascular diseasesand may be helpful inother conditions, such as migraineand bipolar disorder.1 These agentsare associated with numerous clinicallysignificant drug interactions.1-3While some of these interactions,such as the effect of verapamil onserum digoxin concentrations, arewell-known, others are not widely recognized-yet warrant attention.