JAAPA-Journal of the American Academy of Physicians Assistants articles from February 2002

JAAPA-Journal of the American Academy of Physicians Assistants archives from February 2002

Let's get serious about promoting PAs. (Editorial).(physician assistants)
February 1, 2002... More than 20 years ago, when I was pounding the pavement of Boston, Mass, looking for my first PA job, I was dismayed but not surprised that I had to explain the role of PAs to most of the clinic or hospital administrators I managed to get an...

AHA/ACC guidelines for preventing heart attack and death in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: 2001 update. (Cardiology).(American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology)
February 1, 2002... A statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. Smith SC, Blair SN, Bonow RO, et al. Circulation. 2001;104:1577-1579. Since the American Heart Association (AHA)...

Long or highly irregular menstrual cycles as a marker for risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. (Endocrinology).
February 1, 2002... Solomon CG, Hu FB, Dunaif A, et al. JAMA. 2001;286:2421-2426. This prospective observational cohort study assessed whether long or highly irregular menstrual cycles were a risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in women. From the...

Maternal and infant use of erythromycin and other macrolide antibiotics as risk factors for infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. (Pediatrics).
February 1, 2002... Mahon BE, Rosenman MB, Kleiman MB. J Pediatr. 2001;139:380-384. Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) is the most common indication for abdominal surgery in infants younger than 3 months. This large, retrospective cohort study...

Snoring in 9-to 15-year-old children: risk factors and clinical relevance. (Pediatrics).
February 1, 2002... Corbo GM, Forastiere F, Agabiti N, et al. Pediatrics. 2001;108:1149-1154. Over a 1-year period (1990-1991), the authors conducted a cross-sectional study of Italian school children to determine the occurrence of snoring in a general...

Web medicine. (Notes from the Northwest).
February 1, 2002... The University of Oregon's football team is the Ducks, so it is only natural that an Oregon PA should bring his medical skills to the World Wide Web. Recruited in 1996 to help interface between Kaiser Permanente Northwest clinical information...

Occupational asthma: Essential to recognize easy to miss; Clinicians can diagnose occupational asthma more frequently by asking patients the simple question, "what do you do for a living? (Cover Story).
February 1, 2002... Of the estimated 10 million people in the United States who have asthma, 2% to 15% have the condition as a result of preventable exposures to chemicals, dust, and fumes in the workplace. (1) In industrialized nations, occupational asthma is...

How to achieve accurate spirometric measurements.
February 1, 2002... Simple spirometry measures 2 key lung volumes that help the clinician to make a diagnosis of asthma or other obstructive or restrictive respiratory disease. Forced vital capacity (FVC) is the basic measurement of spirometry--the total amount of...

Cytokine-modifying therapies in immune disorders.
February 1, 2002... Expanded knowledge of the immune system has resulted in a new understanding of many disease states. Research continues to provide insight into the complex and intricate language of the cytokine system. Pharmacologic agents achieve disease...

The differential diagnosis and workup of pruritus: Determining the cause of pruritus may be a straightforward clinical exercise when a rash is present. But what about when it isn't?
February 1, 2002... Pruritus can frustrate the patient and challenge the provider, particularly when the cause is elusive and symptoms are persistent. The history and physical exam usually offer significant clues, but referral to a dermatology specialist may be...

Nonphysician providers and physicians provide equal care. (PA Watch).
February 1, 2002... Mundinger MO, Kane RL, Lenz ER, et al. Primary care outcomes in patients treated by nurse practitioners or physicians: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2000; 283:59-68. * Although studies have suggested that nurse practitioners (NPs) and...

Would PAs help solve the UK's health crisis? (PA Watch).(physician assistants)
February 1, 2002... Hutchinson L, Marks T, Pittilo M. The physician assistant: would the US model meet the needs of the NHS? BMJ. 2001;323:1244-1247. * The National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom (UK) has been struggling with ways to improve health...

The physician-PA team: Selling an idea that works. (Pulse of the Profession).(physician assistants)
February 1, 2002... A physician raised his hand sharply. "So, you're telling me I don't always have to be in the office to supervise a physician assistant?" Pretty fundamental stuff, we might assume, yet this question was asked at more than one California...

Occupational medicine: Physician assistants can meet the need. (Sounding Board).
February 1, 2002... When a doctor arrives to attend some patient of the working class . . . let him condescend to sit down. . .if not on a gilded chair. . . on a three-legged stool. . . . He should question the patient carefully. . . So says Hippocrates in his...