CT scans are truly miracles of modern medicine. They enable us to more efficiently and effectively work up complex problems. By letting us look deep into the human body and see things not well seen with regular x-rays, ultrasound, or even MRIs, they Continue reading
Category Archives: Medical Practice
Vaccine exemptions have widespread consequences
A study just published in Pediatrics illustrates the consequences of children not being vaccinated because of parental objections. The study looked at pertussis vaccine exemptions based on religious beliefs on a county-by-county basis in Continue reading
The most powerful treatment we have
Case Study: A primary care clinician recently diagnosed a patient with major depression. She prescribed citalopram 20 mg per day. One month later the patient felt less depressed and her PHQ-9 had dropped from 16 (moderate depression) to Continue reading
“Sunburn is very becoming, but only when it is even – one must be careful not to look like a mixed grill” — Noel Coward
Sunscreen. Antioxidants. Much is touted about their ability to prevent skin aging. Well, in the sunny environs of Australia and New Zealand (at latitude 26o S – about the same distance from the equator as Corpus Christi, Texas), a clever study may Continue reading
Movie recommendation – Wit is well worth watching
In our blog’s first, but hopefully not last, cultural review, I encourage all readers to watch the movie Wit, which first appeared on HBO television in 2001. Directed by Mike Nichols and starring Emma Thompson, Wit is one of the most powerful movies Continue reading
Infants are surprisingly tuned in to their environment
During their first months of life, babies may seem to be exclusively focused on eating, sleeping, crying, cooing, and passing various forms of waste products. But there is increasing evidence from ingeniously designed studies that babies are Continue reading
BRCA Screening under Partnership HealthPlan
With the courageous public revelation of her decision for prophylactic bilateral mastectomy due to her BRCA deleterious mutation status, actress Angelina Jolie has brought into the public eye testing to determine genetic risk for developing Continue reading
How to ensure follow-up when a sick patient moves away?
Have you ever been concerned about follow up of a patient with tuberculosis, HIV, Hepatitis C, a complicated pregnancy, or complicated diabetes who is moving out of your area, or out of the country? Continue reading
Adverse childhood experiences impact adult’s health
Childhood experiences have an enormous impact on people’s health in adulthood. This blog post is not based on any new breakthroughs or just-published research. Rather, it is a reminder to all clinicians to keep in mind the ACE Study as we Continue reading
The Zoster Vaccine? It’s a Cinch!
There are approximately one million cases of herpes zoster (HZ) every year in the US. HZ is the re-emergence of latent childhood varicella-zoster in the form of a painful outbreak of vesicles that track along a peripheral dermatome. Shingles, the term Continue reading