More articles from Review
- From the Children’s Oncology Group
Children who undergo radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or surgery for cancer face a risk of complications later in life, including pulmonary fibrosis and pneumonitis. They need systematic, lifelong surveillance.
- Bacterial conjunctivitis: A review for internists
It is critical to differentiate bacterial conjunctivitis from other types of conjunctivitis and more serious vision-threatening conditions so that patients can be appropriately treated and, if necessary, referred to an ophthalmologist.
- Perioperative beta-blockers in noncardiac surgery: Evolution of the evidence
The pendulum of opinion is swinging away from routinely recommending beta-blockers to prevent cardiac events in surgical patients. We will probably be using them more selectively than in the past.
- Understanding current guidelines for colorectal cancer screening: A case-based approach
Fewer than half of the people in the United States who should be screened for colorectal cancer have actually been screened. But at the same time, many people who have low-risk findings on colonoscopy may be returning unnecessarily soon.
- Meta-analysis: Its strengths and limitations
Meta-analysis is powerful but also controversial, because several conditions are critical to a sound meta-analysis, and small violations of those conditions can produce misleading results.
- Movement disorder emergencies in the elderly: Recognizing and treating an often-iatrogenic problem
These problems often occur in patients with Parkinson disease or those taking antipsychotic or antidepressant drugs when their regimen is started or changed. Elderly patients are particularly at risk.
- Perioperative management of bariatric surgery patients: Focus on metabolic bone disease
Obese people are at risk of low bone mass to begin with, and bariatric surgery increases the risk. Primary care physicians play an important role in their preventive care.
- Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage: Diagnosing it and finding the cause
Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage can complicate a large number of clinical conditions. It may present in different ways and may be life-threatening, and it poses an important challenge for the clinician.
- A review of spinal arachnoid cysts
The symptoms of spinal arachnoid cysts are variable and nonspecific, so these cysts are commonly misdiagnosed as herniated disks. Many are discovered incidentally.
- How to evaluate ‘dipstick hematuria’: What to do before you refer
Many people have some amount of blood in their urine, but relatively few have a serious problem. Which patients need urologic studies and consultation, which need nephrologic evaluation, and which need no intervention at all?