Primary care
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Substance use and related disorders are among the leading causes of preventable injury and illness, chronic health conditions, medical complications, disability, increased suffering, and premature death. Primary care clinicians can help patients avoid, reduce, or eliminate high-risk behaviors and negative consequences associated with substance use by integrating prevention and screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment into their clinical practices. This article provides the necessary information, evidence-based recommendations, and readily available resources to help address substance use and related disorders in primary care, with special emphasis on the use of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and nonmedical prescription opioid medications.
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The purpose of this article is to update the primary care community on the evidence and guidelines for cardiovascular disease screening in a general-risk adult population, with the goal of assisting clinicians in developing an evidence-based approach toward screening. This article discusses global risk assessment and screening strategies, including blood pressure, lipids, C-reactive protein, homocysteine, coronary artery calcium score, carotid intima-media thickness, ultrasound of the abdominal aorta, and electrocardiography.
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This review provides an update on lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) and its implications for primary care providers. One of the unique features of lung cancer screening is the potential complexity in patient management if an LDCT scan reveals a small pulmonary nodule. Additional tests, consultation with multiple specialists, and follow-up evaluations may be needed to evaluate whether lung cancer is present. Primary care providers should know the resources available in their communities for lung cancer screening with LDCT and smoking cessation, and the key points to be addressed in informed and shared decision-making discussions with patients.
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This article discusses the clinical utility of genomic information for personalized preventive care of a healthy adult. Family health history is currently the most applicable genomic predictor for common, multifactorial diseases, and can also show patterns that suggest an inherited high susceptibility to a particular form of cancer or other disease. ⋯ DNA and family history analyses give information that is probabilistic, not deterministic. Therefore, family history can highlight behavioral, social, or cultural risk factors that can be modified to prevent diseases.
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Most infectious pharyngitis has a viral cause. The use of aspirin or nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents (NSAIAs) is advised in adults and NSAIAs in children for the treatment of pain. There are several studies that show that NSAIAs relieve pharyngitis pain better than acetaminophen. ⋯ Resistance has not developed to penicillin. Patients with GAS pharyngitis should have improvement in 3 to 4 days. If not better at that time, the patient should be seen for diagnostic reconsideration or the development of a suppurative complication.