Updated guidelines for diagnosing and managing Clostridium difficile.

The updated Infectious Disease Society of America guidelines for managing Clostridium difficile infections remove metronidazole as first-line therapy and add fecal microbiota transplants to the treatment options. This article reviews the new guidelines and strategies for diagnosis and infection control.

Evaluation and management of a large incidentally discovered renal mass.

Increasingly, renal cell cancer is diagnosed because of an incidental finding of a renal mass on an imaging study. Incidentally discovered masses are more likely to be small and, if malignant, represent localized renal cell cancer. The imaging features of the tumor and patient characteristics inform the management options, which favor a nephron-sparing approach over radical nephrectomy.

Disease screening and prevention for transgender and gender-diverse adults.

Primary care clinicians have an important role in the health and wellness of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) adults and need to know best practices of health maintenance and disease prevention interventions. This article focuses on how exogenous use of sex steroids provided as hormone therapy and gender-affirming procedures affect screening and prevention. Hormone therapy can affect the heart, liver, lipids, bones, brain, skin, and reproductive organs; likewise, behaviors and gender-affirming procedures may alter the risks, prevalence, and screening techniques of sexually transmitted infections.

Sharpening the attack on non-small cell lung cancer.

Advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has long been a diagnosis with few treatment options and poor outcomes. However, recent discoveries about the molecular biology of NSCLC are changing the way it is treated. Driver mutations that cause uncontrolled cancer cell proliferation have been discovered in some types of NSCLC.

Who should receive extended infusion beta-lactam therapy?

The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria challenges a clinician's ability to fight life-threatening infections. Administering beta-lactams via extended infusion may improve patient outcomes. This article discusses the underlying principles of this therapeutic approach and when it may be appropriate.

Reliability and Validity of PAEA End of Rotation™ Examination Scores for Predicting Performance on the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination.

Purpose: In 2013, the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) launched its End of Rotation™ examinations for student assessment of core clinical rotation content. Although being similar to the National Board of Medical Examiner's subject examinations ("shelf exams"), these examinations have not been characterized for reliability or validated against outcomes such as the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE). This study's objective was to determine whether a composite scale based on all 7 PAEA End of Rotation examinations can be used as an effective measure of comprehensive medical knowledge for physician assistant (PA) students in their clinical year.