February 2015

Evaluating a 29-year-old female business executive with complaints of joint pains and stiffness affecting both hands and wrists, both feet and her left knee. She has reported these symptoms for the past 3 weeks.

The patient is a 48-year-old male with "heart trouble" since the age of 6 years, after having rheumatic fever. He was treated with digitalis and diuretics until he was 31 years of age when he was admitted for heart failure and underwent closed commissurotomy.

In 2012 the FDA issued a warning about the potential for statins to induce adverse effects on cognition; this systematic review and meta analysis of randomized controlled trials was completed to determine if this was true.

The special interest group on neuropathic pain revised a previous systematic review and meta-analysis of the oral and topical agents to be used for neuropathic pain in adults.

A study looking at the link between benzodiazepine exposure and risk of Alzheimer's Disease.

Based upon casual observation, some have suggested that the rise in the diagnosis and incidence of asthma is related to the pertussis vaccine. This study in Sweden attempted to determine if such a relationship exists.

Just 3 minutes of sprint interval training per week may improve cardio-metabolic factors in diabetic adults.

Taking one final look at the pros and cons of urine drug testing for opioid risk mitigation.

This 3-day-old boy was noted to have this left buttock lesion. He was born by cesarean section at 35 weeks due to a transverse lie on presentation with premature rupture of membranes. There was no prenatal care, and routine maternal labs on admission were significant for a positive gonorrhea screen.

A veteran in the field of medicine gets a bird's eye view of life from the patient's perspective

A 73 year-old man presents to the emergency department from his internist's office where he had complained of palpitations and light-headedness that began 4 hours earlier after his daily exercise regimen. He did not appear distressed, but his heart rate was 160 beats per minute. Blood pressure was 140/90. He had no light-headedness at the time, but continued to report palpitations. An ECG was performed.