Prevalence and Predictors of Night Sweats, Day Sweats, and Hot Flashes in Older Primary Care Patients: An OKPRN Study
By James W. Mold, M.D., M.P.H., et al
A cross-sectional study of 795 patients confirms that a significant proportion of elders experienced night sweats, day sweats and hot flashes. The authors suggest that the presence of these symptoms should prompt additional questions about febrile illnesses, diabetes, anxiety, depression, somatic and visceral pain, sensory deficits, and restless legs syndrome in addition to standard, recommended evaluations for uncommon serious diseases, such as tuberculosis and malignancies.

Comfortably Engaging: Which Approach to Alcohol Screening Should We Use?
By Daniel C. Vinson, M.D., M.S.P.H., et al
Two brief screening instruments for problem drinking, the CAGE questions and a single-question screening tool are equally comfortable for both patients and physicians. Both tools also are equal in their ability to engage the patient in discussion.

Seasonal Variation in Diagnoses and Visits to Family Physicians
By Wilson D. Pace, M.D., et al
Analyzing data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, researchers found little seasonal variation in the patient problems primary care physicians diagnose and treat, though they did find variation in the rank order of the diagnoses depending on the season. Concluding that diagnoses collected at two points in time are similar to those collected across the course of a year, the authors suggest that a sampling strategy using any quarter of the year but spring (when the diagnoses of pregnancy and coronary artery disease are significantly lower) could be used to understand the diagnoses frequently seen within a PBRN. The authors
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Contact: Angela Lower
alower@aafp.org
913-906-6253
American Academy of Family Physicians
5-Oct-2004