Many clinicians may recall the Choosing Wisely campaign launched a year and a half ago by the American Board of Internal Medicine in conjunction with Consumer Reports magazine. The product of 42 medical professional societies, Choosing Wisely presented Continue reading
Screening for domestic violence
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently revised its recommendations on screening for domestic violence (DV). In a change from 2004, they now advocate that women of child-bearing age be screened for this problem, and referred to an Continue reading
Tennis, anyone?
The use of steroid injections and physical therapy for tennis elbow, lateral epicondylalgia, has been called into question in a number of small studies. Now, Australian researchers, Coombes et.al., have published the results of a randomized trial of steroid injection vs Continue reading
Trapped between a rock (calcium carbonate) and a hard place (endovascular plaque)
Once again the issue of too much calcium intake rears its ugly head. This time it comes up in a prospective cohort study looking at all-cause, cardiovascular, ischemic heart disease, and stroke mortality. High intake of calcium in women was associated with Continue reading
Cigarettes – still the most serious health risk
Two recent studies in the NEJM (January 24, 2013) highlight some good news and some bad news on cigarette smoking. Let’s start with the bad news – cigarette smoking remains the single biggest risk to people’s health. A survey of 200,000 smokers showed Continue reading
Put away the Swingline and dust off the sewing kit – staples associated with more post-op wound complications than subcutaneous closure after Cesarean delivery
Being a Family Physician who formerly had C-Section privileges, I welcomed the use of closure with staples. They seemed faster (true), sterile, non-wicking in wound closure, and, I thought, better. Well, at the University of Alabama, Continue reading
Death on a Saturday morning in January
At 2:17 am last Saturday, my wife and I knew the end was near. My mother-in-law was resting in her hospice-provided hospital bed in our extra downstairs room. My wife lay on a couch feigning sleep on one side, while I tried to rest on a futon on the other side. My mother-in-law suddenly Continue reading
“I had a little bird, it’s name was enza, I opened the window and influenza.”
ABC World News (1/9/13, lead story, 2:40, Sawyer) reported, “The flu sweeping the country has hospitals reeling and searching for new ways to cope with the flood of patients.” The World News featured hospitals and cities around the country, Continue reading
Osteoporosis: tips on screening and treatment
I don’t know about you, but I find osteoporosis frustrating. So many questions. When and who should I screen? When and who should I re-screen? How concerned should I be about possible side effects of various bisphosphonates? Are calcium Continue reading
A look at medications for diabetic neuropathy
“You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” – The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint Exupery.
In the treatment of peripheral neuropathy, Partnership HealthPlan of California’s formulary has step requirements. It begins with Continue reading