Latest Articles
- What are my obligations to my incarcerated patient?
A court order authorizes a blood transfusion, but the incarcerated patient refuses the transfusion. As the caregiver, am I obligated to follow the court order against the patient’s wishes?
- Central vision loss in a 44-year-old woman
The patient had a wide range of symptoms and comorbidities, resulting in a complicated differential diagnosis. Careful evaluation eventually led to a focus on sexually transmitted infection.
- Should ‘daily labs’ be a quality priority in hospital medicine?
Evidence shows that unnecessary daily testing is only a minor contributor to anemia and healthcare costs for most inpatients. The effect on patient experience has not been definitively established.
- Laboratory stewardship should be a priority in every hospital
Considerations include indirect costs, downstream testing or other workup based on minor abnormalities uncovered during daily testing, and shortages in staff and supplies.
- Is your patient at risk for NAFLD?
The authors review identifying individuals at risk, treatment options founded on lifestyle modification, and when to consider referring patients to a hepatologist.
- Test ordering: Balancing the good for the many with the good for the one
Three articles this month address how we order clinical tests, one on the question of treating the patient with asymptomatic bacteriuria, the others on the advantages and disadvantages of standing orders for “daily labs” for inpatients.
- Asymptomatic granules on the buccal mucosa
A healthy 35-year-old man presented with multiple small, white-yellow papules.
- Does my patient need to be screened or treated for a urinary tract infection?
When patients present with symptoms that suggest but are not clearly diagnostic of urinary tract infection, urine studies should be obtained.
On the horizon: Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removalExtracorporeal carbon dioxide removal to treat hypercapnic respiratory failure has been studied in acute respiratory distress syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and other conditions.
- Evaluation and management of gastroesophageal reflux disease: A brief look at the updated guidelines
Updated guidelines from the American College of Gastroenterology address the evaluation and management of reflux disease, consequences of long-term PPI therapy, and emerging therapies.