Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Family physicians play an integral role in educating patients about the current screening recommendations and modalities of available screening to improve early detection and allow treatment at its earliest stages. Family physicians must have the tools to minimize barriers to screening, alleviate patient concerns about screening modalities available, and educate patients on lifestyle modifications that have the potential to significantly lower the risk of developing colorectal cancer. Osteopathic physicians should consider the five osteopathic treatment models when developing an individualized plan for each patient.

Primary care physicians are crucial in diagnosing and managing hand and wrist pain. As the first point of contact for patients, primary care physicians develop individualized treatment plans, which may involve prescribing medications, recommending physical therapy, providing joint injections, or referring patients to appropriate specialists. By coordinating care and closely monitoring patients’ progress, primary care physicians play a vital role in improving patients’ quality of life and ensuring appropriate referrals and interventions are pursued when necessary. This article will review common hand and wrist orthopedic disorders and help primary care physicians better understand hand and wrist pathophysiology and management.

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Family physicians play an integral role in educating patients about the current screening recommendations and modalities of available screening to improve early detection and allow treatment at its earliest stages. Family physicians must have the tools to minimize barriers to screening, alleviate patient concerns about screening modalities available, and educate patients on lifestyle modifications that have the potential to significantly lower the risk of developing colorectal cancer. Osteopathic physicians should consider the five osteopathic treatment models when developing an individualized plan for each patient.

Osteopathic Family Physician (OFP), the official journal of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, is a peer-reviewed publication of evidence-based clinical reviews with osteopathic components.

Hip pain and disorders are commonly seen in adults and children in the primary care setting. Primary care physicians can manage many of these disorders through physical examinations and basic radiographs, but some may pose a challenge requiring advanced imaging and specialist intervention. This article will review 12 common hip injuries encountered in primary care, when conservative management is feasible, and when a specialist referral is necessary.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that primarily affects the joints. The condition causes inflammation, pain, stiffness, and sometimes deformity in the affected joints. RA can also affect other parts of the body, including the lungs, heart, and eyes, and it can lead to long-term disability if left untreated. By this report, we aim to: (1) evaluate the effectiveness of osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) as a treatment option for RA, with a focus on the patient’s symptoms and overall quality of life, and (2) identify best practices for incorporating OMM into a larger treatment plan for RA. We present a vignette case of a 56-year-old female patient with a diagnosis of RA treated with OMM. While awaiting hydroxychloroquine clearance, the patient was treated with radiocarpal extension dysfunction (post isometric relaxation), counter strain of the dorsal wrist, and high velocity, low amplitude (HVLA) of the posterior radial head dysfunction with a supination emphasis. On follow-up, the patient noticed significant relief of her symptoms after treatment and reported that her pain level had diminished to 0/10. This report highlights the effectiveness of OMM in treating RA symptoms. The patient’s follow-up information supports the initial improvement in symptoms and suggests that OMM may reduce wrist pain in a patient with RA a few weeks posttreatment. Further studies should be evaluated to see the effectiveness of OMM techniques for RA across an entire patient population.

Many osteopathic textbooks include treatment modalities and techniques that could improve frequently experienced ailments of pregnancy, such as nausea, vomiting, gastroesophageal reflux disease, constipation, and edema. However, there is little scientific evidence to support the use of osteopathy for these conditions, particularly among the pregnant population. The aim of this literature review is to identify and evaluate current evidence regarding the use of osteopathy in the management of common discomforts of pregnancy. Several search engines and journals were used to identify peer-reviewed articles written between 2003 and 2023. Eleven articles were included in total, including a variety of case reports, pilot studies, and journal articles. The results show that although osteopathy does appear to be safe to perform during the third trimester and its efficacy in the treatment of these conditions is promising, current evidence is insufficient to guide treatment protocols. Further research is needed to establish efficacy and determine osteopathic treatment regimens.

Histiocytic sarcoma is a rare and frequently missed diagnosis. With unusual and varied presentations, it typically indicates a rapid patient decline and poor outcomes. The diagnosis requires a high degree of clinical suspicion. In this case, we explore the progression of illness in a 56-year-old white male who initially presented with a 2-week history of soft-tissue nodules scattered throughout his head, neck, torso, and limbs, as well as shortness of breath and knee pain. After a thorough workup including computed tomography imaging of the neck, chest, and lower extremity, as well as a biopsy of a nodule with immunoperoxidase staining, a diagnosis of histiocytic sarcoma was established. Due to the severity of his malignancy, his hospital course was complicated by a deep vein thrombosis. Clinicians should be mindful of the risk of acute decompensation in such cases and can employ the various tenets of osteopathic theory to improve patient quality of life. Depending on the severity of illness, physicians may proceed to facilitate end-of-life measures with grace and dignity.

Infertility affects one in four female physicians in the United States, yet the topic of fertility among female physicians is understudied and warrants focused strategies to implement change. Factors that exacerbate the rates of infertility in female physicians include intentional delays in family planning that are driven by the length of medical training and career advancements, age, long working hours, and physician burnout. While the effects of COVID-19 on reproductive health remain uncertain, the virus may have played a role in illuminating an already existing issue in women’s reproductive health. Burnout rates among female physicians have reached record highs contributing to reproductive disorders that warrant well-deserved attention to this issue. Initiatives should focus on fertility education in undergraduate medical education, organizational-level interventions, better insurance coverage for infertility treatments, and addressing burnout. Collaborative efforts between individuals, institutions and organizations are needed to prioritize reproductive health among female physicians.

Human parechovirus (HPeV) infections have been increasing in the United States since May 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HPeVs are a member of the Picornaviridae family and share similarities with enteroviruses, though they differ in genomic structure. HPeV commonly affects children, with disease manifestations ranging anywhere from an asymptomatic infection to severe disease. HPeV typically affects the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts but may rarely also cause severe infection of the central nervous system (CNS), leading to sepsis-like illness, meningitis, and encephalitis. Of the 19 established serotypes of HPeV, serotypesA1 and A3 are most commonly identified in humans. HPeV serotype A3 is of particular importance as it more commonly causes sepsis and CNS infection, especially in children. In the United States between 2014 and 2016, a total of 2758 cases of enteroviruses and parechoviruses were reported to the National Enterovirus Surveillance System. Of those cases, 2.3% were distinguished as HPeVA3. This case details the clinical course of an eight-day-old infant with HPeV meningoencephalitis. The infant initially presented with fever and other nonspecific symptoms, which later progressed to include diffuse erythroderma and seizure activity. Although current management of HPeV meningoencephalitis involves supportive care and close monitoring, determining HPeV as a cause of infection is important due to the long-term sequelae that patients may develop. Potential complications of infection include white matter lesions of the brain, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, and visual impairment. This case was documented to increase awareness of the rising incidence of HPeV infections in children in the United States, as well as to detail the signs and symptoms of HPeV meningoencephalitis in a neonate.