Archive for January, 2012

January 27th, 2012

Podcast 143: PPIs and asthma control — it doesn’t work in kids, either

Controlling asthma by the use of proton pump inhibitors apparently doesn’t work any better in children than it does in adults. Yet the practice is widely used. A study in JAMA and an accompanying fiery editorial seem to put the notion to rest. Listen in. As always, suggestions are welcomed. You can reach me directly at 617-440-4374 […]


January 20th, 2012

Podcast 142: Really, why are you ordering that test?

The American College of Physicians wants to encourage high-value, cost-conscious care. And so they convened a consensus panel of physicians to list tests that they considered overused or inappropriately used in certain circumstances. One example would be the use of MRI for breast screening in normal-risk patients; another is the use of imaging studies in […]


January 13th, 2012

Podcast 141: Clinically apparent atrial fibrillation increases stroke risk; does subclinical afib do the same?

Yes, it apparently does. An international study in the New England Journal of Medicine monitored subclinical atrial fibrillation among some 2600 patients who’d just received an implanted pacemaker or cardioverter-defibrillator. After 3 months of monitoring, about 10% of the group showed subclinical episodes of afib lasting at least 6 minutes. Over an additional 2.5 years of follow-up the […]


January 6th, 2012

Podcast 140: A new edition of the ACP’s manual on ethics for clinicians is available online

The new edition of the American College of Physicians Ethics Manual has just been released, and at 30 pages, it’s well worth the reading time. It’s available free online as a supplement to the Annals of Internal Medicine. New or updated topics include social media and online professionalism, interrogation of prisoners, and allocation of medical resources. In […]


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