Geriatric anorexia might be a sign of illness-or simple oral discomfort

Your front desk staff create the first impression for your patients. Make sure they play the role well.

Data from a long-term prospective study reveal that for many older women, the pace of bone mass deterioration takes place on the scale of decades, not single years. Here, the lead author of the study describes how to interpret the results to choose the date for your own patient's next bone density test.

A 33-year-old man seeks attention for his abnormal toenails, having already failed full treatment courses of both terbinafine and itraconazole. Review of systems reveals complaints of painful “eye irritation” as well as chronic low back pain severe enough to warrant daily ingestion of aspirin. What diagnoses in addition to onychomycosis would you consider given this picture? Please click here and add your comments.

A 33-year-old man seeks attention for his abnormal toenails, having already failed full treatment courses of both terbinafine and itraconazole.

Staff handle your checks and co-pays. Are you sure they aren't stealing from you? Don't chance it; manage it.

Here: 10 tips that can help you provide optimal care of your patients with MS.

Geriatric patients can get agitated in response to sedation. How do you respond?

Advice for getting aspirin into older patients

Swelling and redness have progressed over the past 16 hours in this 5-month-old boy. Would you consider child abuse in your differential diagnosis? We invite your comments. Click here for details.

As technological advances in medicine have progressed from the measurement of temperature to the ability to test for genetic factors that can predispose to disease, physicians have sought objective measures for their patient’s problems. When it comes to pain, however-the most common complaint that drives patients to see doctors-we still rely on the subjective report of the individual patient as the primary measure.

Contact stomatitis can occur as a result of cinnamon exposure. The condition can easily be managed by withdrawal of the antigen. A short course of systemic corticosteroid can produce dramatic improvement if symptoms are severe.

1.  Giovannucci E, Stampfer MJ, Krithivas K, et al. The CAG repeat within the androgen receptor gene and its relationship to prostate cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1997;94(7):3320-3323

For the past 20 years, I have been visiting developing nations to deliver healthcare. Recently, I made a conscious decision to look for a case of child abuse to write about. Late in 2011, during one of my visits to a third world country, I encountered multiple situations that rose to the level of possible child abuse. Here, I describe 3 such cases.