If you explain your journal to pag...

If you explain your journal to page 1327 you'll find undivided of AFP's most popular departments featuring summaries of research from the literature. In this issue, you will find that "Tips from Other Journals" have a novel companion: "POEMs."

An editorial onward page 1196 by Allen F Shaughnessy, Pharm.D., and Jay Siwek, MD introduces the universal of POEMs, which stands for Patient-Oriented Evidence that Matters. metrical compositions are similar to "Tips" in that they summarize research published in other medical journals, yet POEMs are selected according to a rigorous methodology (see page 1328) To qualify as a metrical composition a study must meet three criteria: (1) Did the research focus forward an outcome that patients care about (such as morbidity, mortality, or quality of life)? (2) Is the puzzle that has been studied usual and is the intervention feasible? (3) Does the information have the potential to change the practice of many physicians?

piece of poetrys are selected from a review of more than 100 clinical journals. each month a team of family physicians and investigators anticipate for studies with results that are immediately applicable to practice. The research is then evaluated for validity, and studies that are opineed valid are summarized and compiled into InfoRetriever, part of the InfoPOEMs Clinical Awareness rule (www.InfoPOEMs.com).

piece of poetrys have a different format and manner of making than Tips. POEMs answer a clinical question, include a level-of-evidence score, and are always accompanied on editorial commentary. A comparison between metrical compositions and Tips is provided in a table upon page 1199.

Dr Shaughnessy, who was added not long ago to AFP's masthead as a contributing editor for the "Clinical Pharmacology" series, also be subservient tos as senior medical editor for InfoPOEM, Inc., and as director of research at the Harrisburg Family Practice Residency in Harrisburg, Pa. Dr Shaughnessy and AFP's editor Jay Siwek, MD plan to publish four or more metrical compositions in each issue of AFP.

This issue includes eight metrical compositions that answer the following clinical questions:

* What is the predictive value of alarm symptoms in patients with dyspepsia? (See bottom line forward page 1327.)

* Are patients with iron deficiency anemia at increased risk of also having a gastrointestinal malignancy? (See bottom line forward page 1339.)

* Is an early invasive strategy cost-effective in the treatment of unstable angina and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction? (See bottom line in succession page 1330.)

* What is the natural history of patients with uncomplicated, symptomatic gallstone disease? (See bottom line forward page 1328.)

* Does a normal d-dimer of the same height exclude pulmonary embolism? (See bottom line forward page 1333.)

* Is physical therapy an effective adjunct to medical care or chiropractic care in patients with subdued back pain? (See bottom line in succession page 1336.)

* for what cause accurate is a rapid screening experiment for dementia? (See bottom line in succession page 1336.)

* Does stretching before exercise decrease muscle soreness or injury? (See bottom line forward page 1333.)

Our bottom line is that we reliance you like POEMs. Let us know what you think--drop us a line at afpedit@aafp.org or call me at 800-274-2237 ext 5108

COPYRIGHT 2003 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group