JAAPA-Journal of the American Academy of Physicians Assistants articles from October 2005

JAAPA-Journal of the American Academy of Physicians Assistants archives from October 2005

AAPA's response to Hurricane Katrina.(American Academy of Physician Assistants)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... At this time of devastation and loss in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Academy's leaders and staff extend their prayers and sympathies to all people in the affected areas, including PAs, PA students, and patients. The AAPA Board of...

CMS proposes to relax oversight rules for critical access hospitals.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
October 1, 2005... PAs and supervising physicians who work in critical access hospitals (CAHs) got better-than-expected news on July 25, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed that it will not mandate a percentage of outpatient records...

Adventures in lobbying.(Adventures in Lobbying: A Day on Capitol Hill, program by American Academy of Physician Assistants)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Make plans now for a trip to your nation's capital in early February. AAPA invites all interested PAs and PA students to participate in Adventures in Lobbying: A Day on Capitol Hill, February 6-7, 2006. Join forces with your colleagues from...

Nancy and the KIDney Quilt.(giving back to community, patient with breast caner and kidney failure )(Column)
October 1, 2005... Nancy was dying. Her body had been failing her in one way or another for many years. She had received a diagnosis of breast cancer in the 1970s, and bilateral mastectomies had held the cancer at bay for 20 years. The multiple insults of...

National PA week: more than just a week.(Eugene Stead, physician assistants)(Obituary)
October 1, 2005... This editorial is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Eugene Stead, founder of the PA profession, who died peacefully in his sleep on June 12, 2005. If not for Dr. Stead's ability to think outside the box, his commitment to quality patient care and...

In the beginning: a PA history roundtable.(Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History )(Discussion)
October 1, 2005... The first PA program was started at Duke University in 1965 by Dr. Eugene Stead, with four former Navy corpsmen--Ken Ferrell, Vic Germino, Don Guffey, and Dick Scheele--as students. Two years later, the PA profession was officially born when...

Urinary problems the elderly adult: prompt recognition of disorders affecting the urinary tract allows for treatment or referral to a specialist, as appropriate, and helps to maintain a better quality of life in the elderly patient.
October 1, 2005... With advancing age, the lower urinary tract becomes an increasingly important source of medical and social concern. Incontinence, urinary tract infections (UTIs), bladder cancer, and bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) are all more prevalent in...

Detecting celiac disease in adult patients: your differential diagnosis should include celiac disease if the patient has symptoms as diverse as diarrhea, constipation, malabsorption, indigestion, pain, fatigue, and anemia.(Celiac disease)(Disease/Disorder overview)
October 1, 2005... Only a few years ago, researchers believed the prevalence of celiac disease (CD) in the United States to be approximately 1 in 6,000 people--much lower than in Europe, where it was 1 in 300. (1) However, the most recent data show that this...

CME post-test.
October 1, 2005... EXPIRATION DATE OCTOBER 2006 AAPA members: Please take this CME post-test online at www.aapa.org. Wood EH. Urinary problems in the elderly adult. JAAPA. 2005;18(10):35-41. Early P. Detecting celiac disease in adult patients....

Case report: for facial swelling, look below the belt: an atypical presentation of a patient with a ruptured diverticulum highlights a concern of corticosteroid use--and demonstrates once again how in medicine, things aren't always what they're supposed to be.(Medical condition overview)
October 1, 2005... In medicine, clinicians are constantly reminded to look for the horses, not the zebras. While that remains good advice, especially to those just beginning their careers, a mind that is open to the unusual remains important when developing a...

It's 8 AM. Do you know who your gay and lesbian patients are?(SOUNDING BOARD: JAAPA's op-ed department)
October 1, 2005... While applying for PA school, I shadowed a PA at a busy pediatric clinic. During a wellness visit, the PA asked a 16-year-old male if he had a girlfriend. The young man shifted his gaze downward and bashfully answered "no." I winced. The PA had...

A 63-year-old woman reports new changes in a long-standing "rash".(Medical condition overview)
October 1, 2005... A 63-year-old woman presents with recent changes in a "rash" on her upper chest and neck that has been present for many years. The rash has become progressively redder and focally irritated. A lesion was "removed" from this area when the...

Knee pain and a limp after a fall.
October 1, 2005... CASE A 39-year-old woman presented in the emergency department (ED) with complaints of a fall and consequent knee pain. She stated that she had landed on her right knee and had only mild discomfort. She had no previous history of trauma or...

Routine funduscopy not useful in hypertensives.(Patient-oriented evidence that matters)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2005... Clinical question Is routine funduscopy useful in identifying retinopathy in hypertensive patients? Bottom line It is uncommon to see retinal changes by funduscopic examination in patients with hypertension, although when retinal changes...

Low-dose aspirin doesn't lower women's cancer risk (WHS).(Patient-oriented evidence that matters)(Drug overview)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2005... Clinical question is low-dose aspirin effective in reducing the risk of cancer among healthy women? Bottom line Low-dose aspirin does not reduce the risk of lung, breast, colorectal, or other site cancer in healthy women 45 years and...

PPIs effective for diagnosis, treatment in noncardiac chest pain.(Patient-oriented evidence that matters)(proton pump inhibitor)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2005... Clinical question How accurate is a trial of a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) for the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and how effective are PPIs for the treatment of noncardiac chest pain? Bottom line The use of a PPI is...

Lower risk of type 2 diabetes in coffee drinkers.(Patient-oriented evidence that matters)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2005... Clinical question Does habitual coffee drinking reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes? Bottom line Habitual coffee drinking is associated with a reduced risk for type 2 diabetes. The greatest risk reduction occurred among individuals...

CME calendar.(Calendar)
October 1, 2005... ALABAMA February 24-25, 2006 ASPA Annual CME Conference. Where: Birmingham. Provider: Alabama Society of PAs. Information: www.alabamapasociety.org. ARIZONA March 29-April 1, 2006 Spring Primary Care Conference. Where:...

Case of the month: diagnostic challenges from your case files.(septate uterine pregnancy)(Medical condition overview)
October 1, 2005... Barbara Piccirillo, MS, RPA-C Truman J. Milling, Jr, MD CASE The patient is a 36-year-old Hispanic woman who presented to the emergency department (ED) with a complaint of first-trimester vaginal bleeding associated with pelvic pain....