The year's practice-ready primary-care findings

American Family Physician's annual roundup collates the patient-oriented evidence that matters most for general practice, drawn from the best studies of 2025. Several conclusions are ready to fold into routine care.

Among the antithrombotic findings, clopidogrel edged out aspirin for secondary prevention of myocardial infarction and stroke over three years, and for provoked venous thromboembolism with at least one ongoing risk factor, 12 months of apixaban outperformed three. In mental health, bright light therapy worked for non-seasonal depression. Two findings guard against overtreatment: platelet-rich plasma injections gave no meaningful pain relief for knee osteoarthritis in high-quality trials, and an oral challenge with a risk-assessment tool safely ruled out reported sulfonamide allergy.

These are summaries of published work rather than new data, but they are the kind of concrete, low-cost shifts that primary care can act on now. Where one touches a specific patient, it is worth going back to the source study before changing their plan.

• Clopidogrel was slightly more effective than aspirin for secondary prevention of myocardial infarction and stroke over three years.
• For provoked venous thromboembolism with an ongoing risk factor, 12 months of apixaban beat three months.
• Bright light therapy was effective for non-seasonal depression.
• Platelet-rich plasma injections gave no meaningful pain relief for knee osteoarthritis in high-quality studies.
• An oral challenge with a risk-assessment tool safely ruled out reported sulfonamide allergy.

Why it matters

These are the patient-oriented findings most likely to change everyday primary-care decisions this year.

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