The Journal of family practice
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Quite well, for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Most patients (91%-100%) who select "do not resuscitate" (DNR) on their physician's orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) forms are allowed a natural death without attempted CPR across a variety of settings (community, skilled nursing facilities, emergency medical services, and hospice). Few patients (6%) who select "comfort measures only" die in the hospital, whereas more (22%) who choose "limited interventions," and still more (34%) without a POLST form, die in the hospital (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, large, consistent cross-sectional and cohort studies).
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In adults treated with opioids for chronic pain, point-of-care urine drug screens (immunoassays) for detecting opioids show a false-negative rate of 1.9%, a sensitivity of 92%, and a specificity of 93% compared with the gold-standard liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Oxycodone has the highest rate of false-negative results at 25%; methadone has the lowest rate at 4% to 6% (strength of recommendation: A, 2 blinded diagnostic accuracy studies with similar results).
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This article briefly reviews the diagnosis and initial evaluation of the patient with suspected heart failure and then describes how newer treatments fit within heart failure management priorities and strategies.
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A 70-year-old Caucasian man presented with a longstanding history of numerous nontender, fleshy, skin-colored papules on his trunk, ranging from 3 to 8 mm in size. They were noted incidentally during an examination of unrelated nonhealing lesions on the patient's left cheek. ⋯ A biopsy was performed on one of the nodules. WHAT IS YOUR DIAGNOSIS? HOW WOULD YOU TREAT THIS PATIENT?
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Despite universal agreement that antibiotic overprescribing is a problem, the practice continues to vex us. Antibiotic use--whether appropriate or not--has been linked to rising rates of antimicrobial resistance, disruption of the gut microbiome leading to Clostridium difficile infections, allergic reactions, and increased health care costs. And yet, physicians continue to overprescribe this class of medication. ⋯ Pair these findings with the fact that there are currently few new drugs in development to target resistant bacteria, and you have the potential for a post-antibiotic era in which common infections could become lethal. Family practitioners are on the front lines of this battle. Here's what we can do now.