Browse Review

Chronic urticaria differs from acute urticaria in characteristics and treatments. The chronic form is spontaneous or inducible, with the latter elicited by cold, heat, pressure, or other precipitants.

Lesions of the ovary and fallopian tube are common and may be acute or chronic. Diagnostic assessment is designed to distinguish benign from malignant causes. Referral to a gynecologic oncologist is often necessary.

Formerly known as Devic’s disease, this relapsing, demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system encompasses six syndromes and is associated with aquaporin-4 autoantibodies. Effective treatment prevents relapses.

This article reviews the presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of bronchiectasis, a syndrome of abnormal airways that results in chronic cough, sputum production, and respiratory impairment.

Spina bifida, a congenital disorder of the spinal cord, leads to medical and neurologic complications. Modern surgical techniques and comprehensive medical care have greatly improved outcomes.

Smoking addiction causes substantial illness and death; morbidity and mortality are markedly reduced with cessation. Effective treatments for smoking addiction include medications and counseling.

The authors review the many adverse effects of obesity on pregnancy, including hypertension, diabetes, insulin resistance, subfertility, miscarriage, and congenital abnormalities.

Inhibitors of proximal and terminal complement cascades can often control red-cell hemolysis associated with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, but some patients have breakthrough hemolysis.

Evaluation of pulmonary embolism includes assessment of clinical probability and, if indicated, d-dimer testing. Most patients with low-risk pulmonary embolism can be treated with oral anticoagulants.

Accounting for 5 to 7% of all lymphomas, mantle-cell lymphoma has historically been associated with a poor outcome, but survival is improving. The epidemiology, pathology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of mantle-cell lymphoma are described.

Until recently, Ph-positive ALL was very aggressive and difficult to treat. Current frontline therapy, based on tyrosine kinase inhibitors, glucocorticoids, and blinatumomab, has increased survival, with high-level clearance of measurable tumor cells.

Hip pain is common, and the hip joint is complex. Obtaining a relevant patient history and conducting a proper physical examination can be challenging. This video demonstrates how to assess a patient with hip pain.

Cold injury is a combination of direct cellular damage from freezing and cellular ischemia from vasospasm and small-vessel thrombosis. The severity is related to the degree to which frozen tissues are reperfused on thawing.

Testing for kidney disease is routine in clinical practice. This review focuses on advances in clinical evaluation of the glomerular filtration rate and albuminuria and their use in detecting acute and chronic kidney disease, designing trials of disease progression, and predicting risk in clinical practice.

Gliflozins — sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors — lower blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin in patients with type 2 diabetes without causing hypoglycemia. The agents also improve cardiac function in patients who have heart failure with or without type 2 diabetes and improve renal function, with few adverse effects.

Childhood brain tumors were previously classified by histologic appearance and location. A new classification includes genetic changes, which have prognostic significance and may lead to therapeutic targets. This review focuses on pediatric gliomas, ependymomas, and medulloblastomas.

Preeclampsia complicates 2 to 4% of all pregnancies and accounts for about 46,000 maternal deaths and 500,000 fetal or newborn deaths each year. Antihypertensive agents and magnesium sulfate can help control the systemic manifestations of preeclampsia, which is usually resolved by delivery of the placenta.