February 2015

Changes in the way we think about sodium intake and cardiovascular risk, calcium supplementation, and other topics should remind us all of the advice we heard on the first day of medical school: 50% of what you learn here is wrong or going to disappear over your career; we just don't know which 50%.

A frequent challenge when prescribing antibiotics is what to prescribe for the patient who states they are allergic to penicillin. This is particularly true when prescribing cephalosporins. The frequently quoted rate of cross-sensitivity between penicillin and cephalosporins is between 5 and 10 percent.

This discussion is with David Lazarus, MD, the chairman of medicine at Princeton University Medical, Plainsboro, NJ. We are deliberating the maintenance of certification (MOC) requirements for internal medicine.

When obese patients who want bariatric procedures have a body mass index (BMI) of 50 to 60, surgeons must decide which technique is best. These patients are challenging. About 25% of US patients with obesity are in this group.

Research recently published in JAMA suggested physicians working to control older diabetics' glycemic levels were actually over treating them.

Although the prevalence of Barrett's esophagus is considered moderate, the condition is the only established precursor of esophageal adenocarcinoma, and thus it has become the focus of programs of endoscopic screening and surveillance.

A recent JAMA Surgery study by Danielle A. Bischof, MD, of Johns Hopkins University and her American and Canadian colleagues was the first to estimate conditional disease-free survival (CDFS) for primary gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) following complete surgical resection.

As the Chikungunya virus increasingly gains awareness, more is being learned about treatment of the tic born disease including how it interacts with other pre-existing medical issues.

Pediatricians and primary care doctors often face a quandary when it comes to routine vaccinations for children. When talking to parents about vaccination, the best approach may be speaking to parents as though it is assumed the vaccinations will be done, rather than opening the door to parental choice.

A team of investigators from the University of California (UC) Davis has discovered a compound that can potentially combat chronic pain by blocking key chemicals.

For mothers expecting a girl, research suggested consuming large quantities of folic acid (FA) increases the risk of obesity and diabetes in their child.

Doctors treating patients with osteoarthritis may need to look no higher than their ceilings to see the inspiration behind the newest diagnostic tool.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) has tracked changes in dyslipidemia and blood pressure in children since 1988. A new report in JAMA Pediatrics indicated that serum lipid concentrations improved in American children and adolescents since 1988.

Lowering the blood pressure (BP) of patients with type 2 diabetes was found to improve mortality results and lowered the probability of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and heart disease events.

Cardiac arrests often occur at home. The American Heart Association estimated that roughly one million Americans suffer heart attacks annually; 88% occur at home, and patients have a 50-50 chance of reaching the hospital alive.

Phone call reminders to parents about their child's asthma medications improved adherence levels relative to typical care, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Cardiac biomarker testing is often used in emergency department visits even when there is no suspected symptom of acute coronary syndrome, according to research from UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Physicians must decide on a case by case basis which patients will benefit the most from hepatitis C virus therapy, according to an editorial in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Fixed doses of rosuvastatin did not reduce the risk of fracture in older patients, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Rates of sexually transmitted infections were unrelated to human papillomavirus vaccination in females aged 12 to 18 years old, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Elderly and frail patients whose blood pressure is also being treated need to be carefully treated, suggest findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine.