Latest Articles
- Preventing and treating orthostatic hypotension: As easy as A, B, C
Easy-to-remember management recommendations, using a combination of effective drug and nondrug treatments.
- Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation: Increasing use in acute care
How this mode has evolved, and its indications and contraindications in specific acute care conditions.
- A rare complication of infective endocarditis
An 85-year-old woman presents with a 2-hour history of dyspnea, dizziness, generalized weakness, nausea, and diaphoresis. What is the cause?
- Laryngopharyngeal reflux: More questions than answers
Most patients with suspected laryngopharyngeal reflux are given a 2-month trial of a proton pump inhibitor. Yet we still have little or no solid evidence on which to base the diagnosis or the treatment.
- Risks of travel, benefits of a specialist consult
Before going abroad to risky areas, most people ought to visit their primary care physicians, and many should be referred to a specialist in travel medicine.
- Bony bridge of a bifid rib
A 21-year-old man presents with 3 days of cough and hemoptysis. A chest x-ray reveals a congenital anomaly.
- The Courvoisier sign
A 60-year-old woman has had jaundice, dark-colored urine, and light-colored stools for the past several days. On examination, her gallbladder is palpable.
- When should serum amylase and lipase levels be repeated in a patient with acute pancreatitis?
In general, repeating these measurements has no value once the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is made.
- Breaking the cycle of medication overuse headache
Some migraine patients fall into a trap by overusing their headache medications. Fortunately, we can break the cycle.
- New tools for detecting occult monoclonal gammopathy, a cause of secondary osteoporosis
Osteoporosis can be the presenting sign of a monoclonal gammopathy, which in some people may precede a diagnosis of multiple myeloma.