March 28th, 2018
Podcast 219: Digital rectal exams shouldn’t be routine in primary care
There simply isn’t enough evidence to sustain its continued use in asymptomatic men, argues our guest. Dr. Jason Profetto, senior author on an Annals of Family Medicine meta-analysis. Links: Annals of Family Medicine abstract Physician’s First Watch coverage
November 21st, 2015
Podcast 191: The prostate screening conundrum
[Running time: 13 minutes] The 2008 and 2012 recommendations from the USPSTF regarding PSA-based prostate screening have been accompanied by drops in both the screening and detection rates of prostate cancer, two studies in JAMA find. Our guest, Dr. David Penson, wrote an editorial accompanying those studies. It attempts to put these new findings into perspective and […]
September 17th, 2010
Podcast 101: Osteoarthritis, chondroitin, and glucosamine — one of these things doesn’t belong.
Answer: Osteoarthritis. Two are nostrums and the other is a disease, but the nostrums have no appreciable effect — on osteoarthritis at least. We discuss a BMJ meta-analysis that uses novel methods to prove the point. The good news is that neither chondroitin nor glucosamine is dangerous, but the bad news is that we spend so […]
July 1st, 2010
Podcast 94: What does a new meta-analysis tell us about statins and primary prevention?
A meta-analysis of 11 studies encompassing more than 60,000 subjects finds that statins don’t lower all-cause mortality in people without cardiovascular disease. One editorialist calls the study, just published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, “the cleanest and most complete meta-analysis of pharmacological lipid lowering for primary prevention.” One of the study’s principal authors, Kausik K. […]
September 29th, 2009
Podcast 58: A repeat of the July 31 interview with the CDC’s Denise Jamieson on treating pregnant women who have suspected 2009 H1N1.
Pregnant women are at greater risk for flu complications. This week, we repeat a conversation with a CDC researcher who’d just published a paper in Lancet urging prompt treatment with antivirals, even in the face of pending lab results. Contact us at 1-617-440-4374. This week’s links: In Pregnancy, Treat Suspected H1N1 Promptly Without Awaiting Test […]
August 9th, 2008
Podcast 11: News and interview with Dr. Irene Hall, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, CDC
This week we talk with the CDC’s Irene Hall about the finding of an increased incidence of HIV infection in the U.S. Journal Watch links Do Not Screen for Prostate Cancer in Men 75 or Older, USPSTF Advises Specialties Disagree on Need for ECG Evaluations Before Prescribing ADHD Drugs Common Fertility Treatments of Little Benefit in […]