The American journal of medicine
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Review Practice Guideline
The Women's Preventive Services Initiative Well-Woman Chart: A Helpful Tool for the Practice of Internal Medicine.
The Women's Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI) is a national coalition of 21 professional organizations and patient representatives that develops, reviews, updates, and disseminates evidence-based clinical recommendations for women's preventive health care services, from adolescence into the postreproductive years. The aim of the WPSI is to provide a clinically useful tool for practicing clinicians to help them identify and implement recommended preventive care services. The Well-Woman Chart (WWC) was created to serve as a central reference of the evidence-based reviews and recommendations. ⋯ The topics included are updates to the 2011 Institute of Medicine recommendations, as well as any other topics that were deemed relevant to the well-being of women. A brief summary of preventive services recommended during the pregnancy and postpartum periods are also included, though the WWC is not meant to be a comprehensive guide for perinatal care. We encourage clinicians to familiarize themselves with the contents of the WWC and use this tool to educate others to ensure women receive optimized preventive services.
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Cardiovascular disease remains one of the most prevalent and preventable chronic conditions worldwide. Diet modification is the foundation of cardiovascular disease prevention. ⋯ The aim of this comprehensive review is to present objective insights into 2 of today's most popular fad diets: ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting. We will evaluate the performance of these diets based on their impact on cardiovascular risk factors.
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Chest pain is a common presenting complaint in the primary care setting. Imaging plays a key role in the evaluation of the multiple organ systems that can be responsible for chest pain. ⋯ In this 2-part series, we offer resources to guide primary care physicians in the selection of imaging studies and present the imaging findings of various causes of nonemergent chest pain. In Part 2, we focus on the radiologic appearance of common noncardiac sources of chest pain, including gastrointestinal, pulmonary, and musculoskeletal etiologies.
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The stethoscope has long been at the center of patient care, as well as a symbol of the physician-patient relationship. While advancements in other diagnostic modalities have allowed for more efficient and accurate diagnosis, the stethoscope has evolved in parallel to address the needs of the modern era of medicine. These advancements include sound visualization, ambient noise reduction/cancellation, Bluetooth (Bluetooth SIG Inc, Kirkland, Wash) transmission, and computer algorithm diagnostic support. ⋯ In addition, disinfectants may not be completely effective in eliminating microorganisms. Despite these risks, the growing technological integration with the stethoscope continues to make it a highly valuable tool. Rather than casting our valuable tool and symbol of medicine aside, we must create and implement an effective method of stethoscope hygiene to keep patients safe.