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

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

AAPA successfully defends PA right to own a corporation.(FROM THE AAPA)(American Academy of Physician Assistants)(Physician Assistants)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... AAPA won a dedsive legal victory when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) dropped its legal challenge to the ability of PAs to hold ownership fights in legal entities, such as corporations, that bill for Medicare services. A PA...

High rate of census response yields better data on profession.(FROM THE AAPA)(Survey)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Changes in the methodology of acquifng information for the 2007 AAPA Physician Assistant Census helped to account for a high response and will allow the Academy to better study developments in the profession, said Kevin Kraditor, director, AAPA...

New tool for educating patients about PAs.(FROM THE AAPA)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... AAPA is offering PAs a new tool to help educate patients about the PA profession. AAPA Patient Focus is a 2-page newsletter that you can access on the AAPA Web site and download to your computer. Simply print out the PDF on a good-quality...

Achieving mastery through the competencies.(EDITORIAL)
December 1, 2007... In 2005, the governing bodies of AAPA, ARC-PA, NCCPA, and PAEA jointly endorsed the "Competencies for the Physician Assistant Profession." The organizations collaborated to define the competencies that should be demonstrated by PAs in the...

New drug information.(Drug overview)
December 1, 2007... PRODUCT: Azor 5/20 COMPANY: Daiichi-Sankyo PHARMACOLOGIC CLASS: Antihypertensive (calcium channel Mocker + angiotensin II receptor blocker) ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: Amlodipine (as besylate) 5mg, olmesartan medoxomil 20mg; tabs. ...

A potent mix noses in on this patient.(Dermatology Digest)
December 1, 2007... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] * CASE Ultraviolet (UV) fight degrades whatever is overexposed to it, whether this is the garden hose left out all summer, the wood lawn furniture, the house, or the owner. Unlike inanimate objects, people are not...

A day in the life.
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] My life as a research technologist changed forever after I attended an informational talk on the physician assistant profession one day in the fall of 1975. After 2 1/2 years of working in laboratory science, I was...

Understanding and treating disorders of the clotting system: PAs must have a working knowledge of the intricate and complex clotting cascade in order to successfully diagnose and treat common bleeding disorders.(Bleeding disorders)
December 1, 2007... LEARNING OBJECTIVES * Describe the clotting cascade, including the role of platelets and clotting factors * Outline the natural inhibitors of clotting * Discuss the workup of excessive bleeding and bruising, including initial...

Use of a T-tube stent to treat a patient with tracheal stenosis.(The Surgical Patient)
December 1, 2007... When tracheal stenosis is unresectable, a T-tube stent may be indicated (see Figure 1). These stents are chosen as definitive treatment at only a few institutions around the nation, but any PA practicing in the hospital setting may encounter a...

An uncommon isolated fracture of the capitate bone: initial radiographs may miss a capitate fracture entirely, increasing the risk that the patient will develop avascular necrosis, arthritis, or nonunion.(CASE REPORT)
December 1, 2007... CASE A 19-year-old skeletally mature, right-hand dominant white male presented to the emergency department with pain in his right hand after striking a wooden dresser in a downward fashion with a closed fist the day before. The patient did...

Acute appendicitis: pregnancy complicates this diagnosis: in pregnant women, the clinical signs and test results that typically are used to diagnose appendicitis become unreliable. What do you rely on instead?
December 1, 2007... Acute appendicitis is the most common extrauterine surgical emergency in pregnancy, (1) occurring in up to 1 in 1,500 pregnancies, and appendectomy is the most common general surgical procedure performed on pregnant women. (2,3) Appendicitis...

How to differentiate peritoneal cancer from other diseases: nonspecific abdominal and GI complaints often lead to misdiagnosis-or to a missed diagnosis. Be especially alert for symptoms that are new, severe, or more frequent.(gastrointestinal)
December 1, 2007... LEARNING OBJECTIVES * Discuss the etiology and incidence of primary peritoneal cancer (PPC) * Describe the common presenting signs and symptoms * Outline the approach to diagnosing PPC * Review treatment choices and outcomes...

CME posttest.
December 1, 2007... EXPIRATION DATE: DECEMBER 2008 AAPA members: Please take this CME posttest online at www.aapa.org. Platt A. Understanding and treating disorders of the clotting system. JAAPA. 2007;20(12):21-26. Pesicka DR. How to differentiate...

Gastroenterology: 1987 and 2007.(Then and Now)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * PEPTIC ULCER DISEASE AND GERD I had practiced as a PA in academic gastroenterology for 5 years when the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAAPA) debuted 20 years ago. I had recently...

Confidentiality, trust, and sexually transmitted infections.(PA QUANDARIES)
December 1, 2007... * CASE You test a patient for sexually transmitted infectious (STIs) at her request. She tests positive for Chlamydia trachomatis infection. You call and ask her to come to the office to discuss her test results. You give her medication...

Mechanical thrombolysis for deep vein thrombosis.(Diagnostic Imaging Review)
December 1, 2007... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] * CASE A 58-year-old Hispanic female presented to the emergency department (ED) with left lower extremity pain and edema that had been present for the previous 4 days. The pain had had an acute onset. The patient had...

Specialty update: focus on pa specialty organizations.(Physician Assistants)
December 1, 2007... PAs in nephrology most often practice in a single-specialty setting. More than half of PAs in nephrology work for a single-specialty group and 12% work for a solo-physician practice; 41% report working in a freestanding outpatient clinic. ...

Little information is available on racial response differences between antihypertensives.(POEMs: Patient-oriented evidence that matters)
December 1, 2007... Clinical question Are there racial differences in response to antihypertensive medications? Bottom line There are few high-quality studies of different antihypertensive medications that compare clinical outcomes of patients across...

Trial compares yields of CRC screening methods.(POEMs: Patient-oriented evidence that matters)(colorectal cancer)
December 1, 2007... Clinical question What are the yields for different approaches to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening? Bottom line In order to have the true POEM on this topic, a randomized trial comparing colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS), and fecal...

Intensive lipid lowering reduces mortality following acute coronary syndrome.(POEMs: Patient-oriented evidence that matters)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Clinical question Does intensive statin therapy reduce mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS)? Bottom line Intensive statin therapy following ACS reduces cardiovascular and overall mortality. (Level of evidence = 1a) ...

Epoetin alfa does not reduce transfusions in critically ill patients.(POEMs: Patient-oriented evidence that matters)
December 1, 2007... Clinical question Does epoetin alfa reduce the need for transfusions and improve clinical outcomes in critically ill patients? Bottom line In this trial, epoetin alfa did not reduce the need for transfusions in critically ill patients, but...

Case of the month.
December 1, 2007... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] * CASE The patient, a 66-year-old female, presented to the emergency department with an 8-day history of severe dysphagia. She reported that the dysphagia was intermittent but worsened after she administered...