September 2nd, 2022
Podcast 298: COPD exacerbations — 7 days of antibiotics versus 2
A VIDEO RECORDING OF THIS INTERVIEW IS AVAILABLE AT THIS LINK. In treating most exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) the usual regimen consists of prednisone plus 5- to 7-days of antibiotics. But what if a shorter course of antibiotic therapy would do? That would be both convenient for patients and less likely to promote […]
August 20th, 2017
Podcast 211: On (not) staying the (antibiotic) course
Sometimes — but not all the time — patients can be advised to stop a course of antibiotics if they feel better. Traditionally, the advice has been to complete the entire course, regardless. Why? Because it was thought that stopping early might lead to more antibiotic resistance. That’s changing now, as the WHO and the […]
July 9th, 2017
Podcast 209: “The guidelines need to be rewritten” to encourage antibiotic use after incision and drainage of small skin abscesses
The senior author of a paper examining the role of systemic antibiotics after incision-and-drainage in treating small skin abscesses says the results should prompt a rewriting of current guidelines. Henry Chambers of UCSF found a 15-percentage-point advantage in short-term cure rates for antibiotics over placebo. The guidelines don’t encourage systemic antibiotics in these circumstances, but Chambers’ […]
May 12th, 2017
Podcast 207: Fecal transplants, the gut microbiome and future medical care
All previous editions are available at podcasts.jwatch.org. I overheard this week’s guest, Zain Kassam, discussing his work at OpenBiome a few weeks ago. All those microbes in our intestines seem destined to play an important role in the future of medical care. Right now, fecal transplants are used against Clostridium difficile infection. Dr. Kassam kindly agreed to […]
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