JAAPA-Journal of the American Academy of Physicians Assistants articles from August 2007

JAAPA-Journal of the American Academy of Physicians Assistants archives from August 2007

AAPA submits comments on patient notification rule.(FROM THE AAPA)(American Academy of Physician Assistants)
August 1, 2007... A proposed rule that would require hospitals to notify patients if a physician will not be present on-site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, proposes "too broad a solution to a narrow problem" for a number of reasons, AAPA stated in comments to...

AAPA reiterates support of Continuity of Care Act.(FROM THE AAPA)(American Academy of Physician Assistants )(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... AAPA has again encouraged members of Congress to support the Physician Assistants Continuity of Care Act, which was brought to Congress through the work of AAPA and would allow PAs to order home health, hospice, and skilled nursing facility...

PA History Society moves to AAPA.(FROM THE AAPA)(Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History)(American Academy of Physician Assistants)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... The Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History (SPPAHx) has moved its management and administration to AAPA with the intention of becoming the Academy's historic arm. Reggie Carter, founding director, stepped down as director...

The emerging role of PAs in the hospitalist movement.(EDITORIAL)
August 1, 2007... This month's issue features A Day in the Life of Kristen Will, who works as a hospitalist PA. Coined in a 1996 New England Journal of Medicine article, the term hospitalist then referred to a physician who practices exclusively in the hospital,...

Product: Pylera.(New Drug Information)(Drug overview)
August 1, 2007... FROM THE EDITORS OF THE PAPR PRODUCT: Pylera COMPANY: Axcan Pharma PHARMACOLOGIC CLASS: Antimicrobial/antibiotics ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: Bismuth subcitrate potassium 140mg, metronidazole 125mg, tetracycline HCl 125mg; caps. ...

Early detection saves an elderly woman.(Dermatology Digest)(Disease/Disorder overview)(Case study)
August 1, 2007... * CASE An 87-year-old white woman presented to our dermatology office for evaluation of a nonhealing wound on the great toe of her right foot. The lesion had been present for approximately 1 year. The patient attributed the sore to...

A day in the life.(physician assistant)
August 1, 2007... Like many new PAs, I wasn't sure which specialty I wanted to practice in after graduation. I worked in everything from family medicine to cardiovascular surgery. It wasn't until almost 5 years after graduating, when I accepted a position with a...

CVI and PAD: a review of venous and arterial disease: chronic venous insufficiency and peripheral arterial disease have similar symptoms. Here's what to look for to make the correct diagnosis.(CME)(chronic venous insufficiency and peripheral arterial disease)(Disease/Disorder overview)(Cover story)
August 1, 2007... Two prevalent vascular conditions affecting many Americans are chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). These diseases are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and they may indicate the presence...

Papulosquamous rash in a man with HIV disease: treatment of this infection is often not necessary--except when the patient is both symptomatic and immunosuppressed, like the one in this case.(CASE REPORT)(Disease/Disorder overview)(Case study)(Clinical report)
August 1, 2007... CASE A 41-year-old Colombian male visited an urgent care facility complaining of a chronic, nonproductive cough. The physician, noting that the patient had mild oropharyngeal thrush and a low WBC count, suggested HIV testing. The results...

Lumbar ADR: a triumph of technology over reason? Early clinical results show artificial disk replacement to be promising. But careful patient selection is a critical factor for achieving good surgical outcomes.(SURGICAL REVIEW)(Clinical report)
August 1, 2007... Degenerative disk disease (DDD) is one of the leading causes of pain and disability in adults in the United States. (1) Approximately 80% of Americans have at least one episode of low back pain (LBP) at some point in their lives. (1,2) This...

Depression in older patients: recognition and treatment: the history and examination are key to ruling out nonpsychiatric causes in older adults, whose depression is often expressed in somatic complaints.(CME)(Disease/Disorder overview)
August 1, 2007... Geriatric patients commonly present to primary care practices with depressive disorders, but unfortunately these disorders often go unrecognized. This article reviews the diagnosis and treatment of depression in older patients, with the...

CME Posttest: expiration date: August 2008.(continuing medical education)
August 1, 2007... CVI AND PAD 1. A skin change associated with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a. Widespread erythema b. Diffuse petechiae c. Stasis dermatitis d. Red streaking 2. The diagnostic test for CVI that demonstrates...

... But names will never hurt me.(SOUNDING BOARD)
August 1, 2007... As an African American who grew up in the South during the civil rights movement and integration, I have been exposed to racial slurs and barbs all my life. Despite this, it is still so very unsettling when racial slurs make their way into...

Breast cancer: 1987 and 2007.(Then and Now)(Clinical report)
August 1, 2007... * BREAST CANCER IN 1987 In the late 1980s, my supervising physician and I saw Mary (not her real name), a 20-year-old who called her breasts Pride and Joy. She was referred by a medical oncologist who was evaluating changes in Mary's right...

The duty to treat and the realities of the 21st century.(PA QUANDARIES)
August 1, 2007... Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), satin gas, anthrax, hurricane Katrina, the September 11th World Trade Center attack-all of these, whether a natural disaster, a bioterrorist attack, or an epidemic infectious disease, cause injury and...

Brief evaluation aids diagnosis of dementia.(POEMS: Patient-oriented evidence that matters)
August 1, 2007... Clinical question Can simple interviews of caregivers coupled with recall testing aid the diagnosis of dementia? Bottom line The combination of an 8-item test administered to caregivers coupled with a 10-word recall list is very good at...

As-needed combination works well in patients with mild persistent asthma.(POEMS: Patient-oriented evidence that matters)
August 1, 2007... Clinical question Do inhaled corticosteroids really have to be taken daily by patients with mild persistent asthma? Bottom line For patients with mild persistent asthma, symptoms and exacerbations can be controlled just as well using a...

Oral antiseptic reduces VAP in ventilated patients.(POEMS: Patient-oriented evidence that matters)(ventilator-associated pneumonia)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Clinical question Does oral decontamination reduce pneumonia in mechanically ventilated patients? Bottom line Oral decontamination with antiseptics reduces ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Decontamination with antibiotics, however,...

Quadrivalent HPV vaccine prevents CIN2/3.(POEMS: Patient-oriented evidence that matters)
August 1, 2007... Clinical question Does a quadrivalent vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) reduce the risk of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)? Bottom line The quadrivalent vaccine against HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18 significantly...

What caused this UTI in a 3-year-old girl?(Diagnostic Imaging Review)(urinary tract infection)(Disease/Disorder overview)(Case study)
August 1, 2007... CASE The patient is a 3-year-old girl whose mother was worried because the child was eating poorly and seemed irritable. The mother also noticed strong-smelling urine in the diaper over the past few days but said there was no change in...

PAs in rheumatology will be in increasing demand because of a growing number of elderly patients in the United States.(Specialty Update: FOCUS ON PA SPECIALTY ORGANIZATIONS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... PAs in rheumatology will be in increasing demand because of a growing number of elderly patients in the United States. There is no universal recipe for how a rheumatology practice should utilize a PA. However, AAPA has included several...

The Society of Physician Assistants in Rheumatology (SPAR).(Specialty Update: FOCUS ON PA SPECIALTY ORGANIZATIONS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... The goals of the Society of Physician Assistants in Rheumatology (SPAR) for the foreseeable future are to develop stronger ties with the American College of Rheumatology and to solidify the physician-PA team. >PAs in rheumatology improve...

PAs in family medicine received support from their physician counterparts.(Specialty Update: FOCUS ON PA SPECIALTY ORGANIZATIONS)(physician assistants)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... PAs in family medicine received support from their physician counterparts. The president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) attended the AAPA's recent annual conference in Philadelphia and was formally recognized before...

The Association of Family Practice Physician Assistants (AFPPA).(Specialty Update: FOCUS ON PA SPECIALTY ORGANIZATIONS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... The Association of Family Practice Physician Assistants (AFPPA) is proactively tackling its most important issue, continuing medical education for PAs in family medicine. AFPPA is developing a spring conference to debut March 13-15, 2008, in...

Case of the month.(Case study)
August 1, 2007... CASE A 23-year-old white male presented to a rural emergency department (ED) with a chief complaint of abdominal pain. He was seen in the ED 12 hours earlier with nausea and vomiting. Gastroenteritis was diagnosed and the patient was given...