Latest Articles
- Statins may increase diabetes, but benefit still outweighs risk
The weight of the evidence suggests that statin use is associated with an increased risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus, but the magnitude of the effect has varied across studies.
- Which patients hospitalized with alcohol withdrawal syndrome should receive high-dose parenteral thiamine?
The authors briefly outline risk factors for Wernicke encephalopathy and when high-dose parenteral thiamine is indicated.
- Making best use of bone turnover markers to monitor oral bisphosphonate therapy
Clinical applications of bone turnover markers can include determining when to start or end a bisphosphonate “holiday” and measuring treatment response.
- Median rhomboid glossitis caused by tongue-brushing
The patient had started vigorous brushing 1 month earlier after being told that she had bad breath.
- 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.
- 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.
