Clinical Inquiries
Clinical Inquiries
What is the differential diagnosis of chronic diarrhea in immunocompetent patients?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Case series from tertiary-care centers report toddler’s diarrhea, cow’s milk sensitivity enteropathy, infection, celiac...
Clinical Inquiries
Is prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening indicated for any subgroup of men?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Although African American men, men with a first-degree relative with prostate cancer (CaP), and older men constitute higher...
Clinical Inquiries
What is the best treatment for impacted cerumen?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Docusate sodium given 15 minutes before irrigation is most effective for facilitating cerumen removal during a single...
Clinical Inquiries
What is the most effective treatment for acute low back pain?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Nonsteroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are more effective than placebo for pain relief in patients with acute low...
Clinical Inquiries
Does ambulatory blood pressure monitoring aid in the management of patients with hypertension?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Twenty-four hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) has a higher correlation with target end-organ damage than...
Clinical Inquiries
What is the most effective treatment for tinea pedis (athlete’s foot)?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Topical therapy is effective for tinea pedis. Topical terbinafine has a 70% cure rate, is available over the counter (OTC...
Clinical Inquiries
What is the initial approach to the treatment of shoulder pain?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: There is some limited evidence supporting the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the initial treatment...
Clinical Inquiries
Does tamoxifen prevent breast cancer?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Tamoxifen prevents breast cancer in women older than 60 years and in younger women with equally high risk because of breast...
Clinical Inquiries
What are the benefits of treating sleep apnea?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: There is little benefit to treating patients with sleep apnea who do not have daytime sleepiness. For patients with...
Clinical Inquiries
What is the best approach to prevention and treatment of osteoporosis?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated decreased vertebral and nonvertebral fracture rates in postmenopausal...
Clinical Inquiries
What laboratory monitoring is appropriate to detect adverse drug reactions in patients on cholesterol-lowering agents?
EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER: Recommendations for measuring serum aminotransferase levels before initiating pharmacologic treatment for...