Latest Articles
- Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation for stable outpatients: CPAP and beyond
We discuss the different types of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation, the specific conditions in which they can be used, and the evidence supporting their efficacy in outpatients.
- Should healthy people take a multivitamin?
No. There is no scientific basis for recommending vitamin-mineral supplements to the healthy population.
- Bringing home the ‘medical home’ for older adults
We may be able to improve the care of our vulnerable older patients—and control costs—by taking their primary care to their own homes.
- Palmoplantar eruption
A 38-year-old woman with a history of episodes of arthritis presents with pustules on the palms and on the soles of her feet. What is the most likely diagnosis?
- Alzheimer disease prevention: Focus on cardiovascular risk, not amyloid?
Efforts to modify the course of Alzheimer disease have, until now, been based on altering the production or clearance of beta-amyloid. Results have been disappointing.
- Taking blood pressure: Too important to trust to humans?
The reality of blood pressure measurement is that human beings do not do it very well. The time has come to delegate this job to machines that can do it better.
- Are antibiotics indicated for the treatment of aspiration pneumonia?
Yes, for primary bacterial aspiration pneumonia and secondary bacterial infection of aspiration (chemical) pneumonitis, but not for uncomplicated chemical pneumonitis.
- An ulcerated plaque on the hand
A 73-year-old farmer has a lesion on the dorsum of his hand that bleeds intermittently. What is it?
- The shrinking woman
A 45-year-old woman on dialysis has lost 20 cm in height over the past 8 years, despite two parathyroidectomy procedures. Would a third one help?
- Exchanging the skin bleb for the test tube
New blood tests are a positive step towards accurate recognition and treatment of patients with latent tuberculosis.