Use of thyroid-stimulating hormone tests for identifying primary hypothyroidism in family medicine patients.

Objective: To assess the use of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) tests for identifying primary hypothyroidism in 2 academic family medicine settings.

Design: Descriptive study involving a retrospective electronic chart review of family medicine patients who underwent TSH testing.

Setting: Two academic family practice sites: one site is within a tertiary hospital in Toronto, Ont, and the other is within a community hospital in Newmarket, Ont.

Assessing health impacts of the December 2013 Ice storm in Ontario, Canada.

Background: Ice, or freezing rain storms have the potential to affect human health and disrupt normal functioning of a community. The purpose of this study was to assess acute health impacts of an ice storm that occurred in December 2013 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Methods: Data on emergency department visits were obtained from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System.

Endoscopic plantar fasciotomy in the treatment of chronic heel pain.

Objective: To evaluate endoscopic plantar fasciotomy for the treatment of recalcitrant heel pain.

Method: We undertook a retrospective study of the use of endoscopic plantar fasciotomy in the treatment of chronic heel pain that was unresponsive to conservative treatment. Over a 10-year period, we reviewed the charts of 55 patients with a minimum 12-month history of heel pain that failed to respond to standard nonoperative methods and had undergone the procedure described.