Recent-Onset Altered Mental Status: Evaluation and Management.

Potential precipitating factors for the recent onset of altered mental status (AMS) include primary central nervous system insults, systemic infections, metabolic disturbances, toxin exposure, medications, chronic systemic diseases, and psychiatric conditions. Delirium is also an important manifestation of AMS, especially in older people who are hospitalized. Clinicians should identify and treat reversible causes of the AMS, some of which require urgent intervention to minimize morbidity and mortality. A history and physical examination guide diagnostic testing. Laboratory testing, chest radiography, and electrocardiography help diagnose infections, metabolic disturbances, toxins, and systemic conditions. Neuroimaging with computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging should be performed when the initial evaluation does not identify a cause or raises concern for intracranial pathology. Lumbar puncture and electroencephalography are also important diagnostic tests in the evaluation of AMS. Patients at increased risk of AMS benefit from preventive measures. The underlying etiology determines the definitive treatment. When intervention is needed to control patient behaviors that threaten themselves or others, nonpharmacologic interventions are preferred to medications. Physical restraints should rarely be used and only for the shortest time possible. Medications should be used only when nonpharmacologic treatments are ineffective.

Urinary Tract Infections in Young Children and Infants: Common Questions and Answers.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in children and are associated with significant short- and long-term morbidity. They have a high recurrence rate and are associated with anatomic and functional abnormalities. The decision to test for UTI is based on risk factors and the child's age. Urinalysis is valuable to rule out UTI and to help decide when to start antibiotics; however, urine culture is needed for definitive diagnosis. Urine specimens collected via perineal bagging should not be used for culture because of high false-positive rates. Diagnosis of UTI requires pyuria and bacterial growth in the urine culture. Prompt treatment of UTIs reduces renal scarring. Antibiotic selection should be based on local sensitivity patterns and adjusted once culture results are available. In most cases, oral antibiotics are as effective as intravenous agents. When intravenous antibiotics are used, early transition to an oral regimen is as effective as longer intravenous courses. Kidney and bladder ultrasonography is helpful to identify acute complications and anatomic abnormalities. Voiding cystourethrography is indicated when ultrasound findings are abnormal and in cases of recurrent febrile UTIs. The use of antibiotic prophylaxis for recurrent UTIs is controversial. Identification and treatment of bowel and bladder dysfunction can prevent UTI recurrence.

Crohn's Disease: Diagnosis and Management.

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract. It can cause lesions from mouth to anus and may result in extraintestinal complications. The prevalence of Crohn's disease is increasing in adults and children. Genetic predispositions to Crohn's disease have been identified, and specific environmental factors have been associated with its development. Common presenting symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, fever, weight loss, and fatigue. Physical examination should identify unstable patients requiring immediate care, include an anorectal examination, and look for extraintestinal complications. Initial laboratory evaluation identifies inflammation and screens for alternative diagnoses. Measurement of fecal calprotectin has value to rule out disease in adults and children. Endoscopy and cross-sectional imaging are used to confirm the diagnosis and determine the extent of disease. Treatment decisions are guided by disease severity and risk of poor outcomes. Patients commonly receive corticosteroids to treat symptom flare-ups. Patients with higher-risk disease are given biologics, with or without immunomodulators, to induce and maintain remission. For children, enteral nutrition is an option for induction therapy. All patients with Crohn's disease should be counseled on smoking avoidance or cessation. Patients with Crohn's disease are at increased risk of cancer, osteoporosis, anemia, nutritional deficiencies, depression, infection, and thrombotic events. Maximizing prevention measures is essential in caring for these patients.

Acute Coronary Syndrome: Out-of-Hospital Evaluation and Management.

Identifying acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in family medicine settings can be challenging, partly because it is uncommon in office practice and partly because symptoms can be atypical. Initial evaluation includes review of the patient's symptoms, an assessment of risk factors, and an electrocardiogram (ECG). When symptoms are typical, such as chest pain and diaphoresis, patients should be transported rapidly by emergency medical services (EMS) to the nearest emergency department. If not contraindicated, aspirin and nitroglycerin should be administered before transport. Oxygen should be administered if hypoxemia is present. Patients with atypical symptoms and ECG results consistent with ACS also should be transported by EMS. When patients have atypical symptoms and nondiagnostic ECG results, consider risk factors for ACS. These include older age; female sex; nonwhite race; and history of heart failure, stroke, diabetes, or hypertension. If any of these risk factors is present and there is concern about ACS, the patient should be transported to an emergency department. Family practices in remote or rural areas are not always able to easily transport patients to emergency departments. These remote or rural practices should have ECG capabilities and consider acquiring the ability to obtain point-of-care troponin assays.

Acute Coronary Syndrome: Emergency Department Evaluation and Management.

Patients with chest pain who present to emergency departments have a significantly higher incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) than patients with chest pain presenting to outpatient settings, so emergency department clinicians should have a lower threshold for considering ACS as an etiology. Evaluating patients with suspected ACS in the emergency department involves obtaining a history, physical examination, electrocardiograms (ECGs), and cardiac troponin measurements in conjunction with risk calculators. These parameters cannot be used individually because, for example, a normal ECG result does not exclude ACS and troponin levels can be elevated in many conditions. All patients with suspected ACS should receive aspirin, if not contraindicated, as soon as possible. Those with an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) or those without STEMI who are in unstable condition should be triaged to undergo reperfusion therapy, typically via percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), within 120 minutes of first medical contact. If that time limit cannot be met because the patient must be transferred to a PCI-capable facility, fibrinolytic therapy should be initiated within 30 minutes of presentation if STEMI is present. (Fibrinolytic therapy is contraindicated for myocardial infarction without STEMI.) Patients also should receive nitroglycerin to relieve angina and beta blockers if not contraindicated.

Acute Coronary Syndrome: Inpatient Management.

The first step in inpatient management of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is determining whether the patient has ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). For STEMI, the initial approach to management is cardiac catheterization with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to reperfuse the blocked artery; PCI should take place within 120 minutes of first medical contact. However, if no contraindications are present, fibrinolytic therapy is preferred if PCI will take more than 120 minutes. In ACS without STEMI, cardiac catheterization with PCI is the recommended approach for patients who are unstable, and for stable patients with high risk assessment scores, diabetes or renal insufficiency, stent placement within the past 6 months, or prior bypass surgery. Treatment of patients with ACS who do not meet the previously discussed criteria can be noninvasive when troponin levels are not elevated, no ST-segment elevations or depressions are present on electrocardiogram, and risk assessment scores are low. Assuming no contraindications exist, all patients with or without STEMI should receive medical therapy that includes nitroglycerin, antiplatelet agents, anticoagulants, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers, aldosterone blockade if left ventricular function is impaired, beta blockers, and statins.

Acute Coronary Syndrome: Posthospital Outpatient Management.

When providing care for patients who are discharged from the hospital after experiencing acute coronary syndrome (ACS), several issues should be addressed. Drug regimens should be reviewed to ensure that patients are taking appropriate drugs, including antiplatelet agents, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers, aldosterone antagonists, beta blockers/calcium channel blockers, cholesterol-lowering drugs, and nitroglycerin. The review also should confirm that patients understand when and how to take their drugs, and that there are no obstacles (eg, cost) that might result in nonadherence to drug regimens. Lifestyle modifications, including improvements in diet and exercise regimens, along with participation in a cardiac rehabilitation program, should be encouraged. Risk factor reduction measures include smoking cessation for smokers, weight management for patients who are overweight, and optimal control of blood pressure and blood glucose levels. Appropriate vaccinations should be administered; influenza and pneumococcal vaccines are indicated for all patients with ACS in the absence of contraindications. Patients requiring pain control should avoid use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs because they increase the risk of cardiovascular events; acetaminophen or other drugs should be used. Finally, depression is common among patients with ACS. Screening for and management of depression are significant components of care.