Meet the editor

Dr. Thomas F. Heston is a practicing primary care physician and Clinical Associate Professor at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University, Spokane, Washington. After graduating from St. Louis University Medical School, St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Heston went on to do his internship at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina and a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washing-

ton. He has practiced rural family medicine in an underserved region of Idaho and subsequently as a hospitalist physician. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He has practiced primary care medicine for more than 25 years. His primary research focus is the integration of technology into frontline medicine.

Contents

**Section 1**

**Preface XI**

Primary Care **1**

**Chapter 1 3**

**Chapter 2 21**

**Chapter 3 39**

**Chapter 4 57**

**Chapter 5 81**

Public Health **95**

**Chapter 6 97**

**Chapter 7 111**

Self-Management of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Adolescents

*by Jose Maria Arribas Blanco, Wafa Elgeadi Saleh, Belén Chavero Méndez* 

*by Luis Geniz Rubio, Macarena Ávila Pérez, José Ángel López Díaz* 

*by Mercedes Libeth Ramos Amador and Javier Eduardo Escober Torres*

Role of Primary Health Care System in Response to a Major Incident:

Hypertensive Primary Care Patients from Rural Nigeria

Visual Disability and Causes of Preventable Blindness

*by Aina Olufemi Odusola and Ayoade Adedokun*

Approach to Chronic Urticaria from Primary Care and Emergency Services:

Cultural Adaptation of a Cardiovascular Health Education Program among

*by Katherine Rowe, Amanda Apple and Fiona McDonald*

Minor Surgery in Primary Care

Case Reports in Spain

**Section 2**

*and Sara Alcántara Luna*

Challenges and Actions

*by Abdulnasir Falah Huaidi Al-Jazairi*

Pharmacoeconomical Impacts of Crohn's Disease *by Stjepan Rudan, Rudika Gmajnić and Sanda Pribić*

*and María Alvargonzalez Arrancudiaga*

## Contents


**Chapter 8 125** Visual Pathologies: The Semiotics of the Patient and the Practitioner in Comics *by Jonathan Comyn de Rothewelle*

Preface

Topics in Primary Care Medicine provides readers with an overview of several topics in the broad field of frontline medical care ranging from the treatment of chronic diseases, to the role of surgery in primary care, to a look at patients and physicians in graphical art. The challenges facing primary care clinicians are highly varied, as clinicians in this specialty are responsible for a wide range of knowledge on the fundamental health needs of individuals, families, communities, and the global population. Primary care is rightly called "primary" because it addresses the most basic and fundamental medical needs facing individuals. While no single textbook can address all of these challenges, this book offers an in-depth review of several important topics to enrich readers with a greater understanding of the

**Thomas F. Heston, MD, MSc, FAAFP, FASNC, FACNM**

Clinical Associate Professor, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University, Spokane, Washington, USA

broad topic of human health and well-being.
