By Megha Shah, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

This week we were witness to the courage, perseverance, and ultimately, the triumph of the American military in the ongoing efforts against terrorism. In a similar, albeit physically less threatening manner, scientists, researchers, and physicians work everyday to prevent and eradicate disease. In this week’s Primecuts, we celebrate those who fight to eliminate threats to our well-being and bring you the latest in the scientific headlines.

The New York Times reported…

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By Ian Fagan, MD 

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Is springtime the season for love? Take a look outside—the birds are chirping, the bees are buzzing, the flowers are blooming. There are strangers mingling in the parks, couples out and about holding hands. The energy is palpable and signs of blossoming love are abundant. Even this week’s journals couldn’t avoid matters of the heart.

For instance, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article looking at coronary-artery…

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By Keri Herzog, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed 

Amidst tornadoes in the southeast, wildfires in the southwest, and flooding in the northeast, it is often impossible to predict when or who may be affected by the weather that has been afflicting our nation. As we pick up the pieces, and take some control over our lives, it is comforting to know that this week the journals have focused on how we can best utilize our medical and scientific resources to be…

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By Melissa Mroz, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Protection was the theme in journals for the second week of April.  The New York Times and NEJM both published the results from the VA initiative to prevent MRSA infections .  This initiative was implemented in 2007 throughout the VA hospitals.  The “MRSA bundle” included nasal surveillance of all patients on admission, transfer and discharge, contact precautions for colonized and infected patients, hand hygiene, and strict infection control.  The rate of MRSA…

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By Demetrios Tzimas, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Our cousins across the Atlantic are feeling the economic sting: in Great Britain they will be implementing market-style changes to their health care system and moving away from a system of complete central control.  As reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, the British government is instituting financial incentives to improve healthcare for all British citizens through payment reform, shifting control of hospitals to local communities, and giving patients a greater…

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By Karen Kan

Faculty Peer Reviewed

As the world continues to monitor the deteriorating political situation in North Africa, this week offered more hopeful news on the national front with the addition of 216,000 jobs to the U.S. economy in March . In matters closer to medicine, this week the journals highlighted the emergence of a promising new medication to treat hepatitis C as well as new ways to think about how we diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease.…

By Vicky Jones, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

This past week in research had some interesting findings that may change the way we prevent, diagnose, and treat disease across disciplines.

At the 31st annual International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine last week, the PROTECT investigators showed that dalteparin and unfractionated heparin are equivalent in deep venous thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis. The investigators, from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, conducted a multicenter randomized controlled trial in ICU…

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By Aviva Regev 

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Spring is in the air: warmer weather, longer days, flowers blooming, and of course, seasonal allergies.  While allergies may be a common cause of respiratory complaints in an outpatient setting, patients suffering from shortness of breath in the hospital are likely to be suffering from some more serious ailments.  The focus of this week’s Primecuts will be on two of the major players in this group: congestive heart failure (CHF) and pneumonia.…

By Daniel Eiras, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

In world news this week, we witnessed continued violence in Northern Africa as intense fighting between Libyan rebels and pro-Gadhafi troops in the Libyan cities of Zawiyah and Misrata saw 60 people killed, raising the confirmed number of dead to more than 300 since protests began in Libya on February 17th.   The true death toll is unknown, however, and some authorities including the Human Rights League believe that the accurate…

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By Jason Feliberti, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

In World news, as the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa continues, increased uncertainty of crude oil production in the region has led to a volatile market for crude oil . With pricing currently at $97.88 a barrel, and climbing, the rising costs of crude oil may threaten the U.S. economic recovery; from decreased consumer spending, to decreased rates of hiring .  Natural gas has been proposed as a “cleaner”…

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By Chesda Eng, MD, PGY-1

Faculty Peer Reviewed

 Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but Cupid’s influence lingers. Couples were out and about this week in New York City enjoying a preview of spring weather. We too will be dealing with matters of the heart in our weekly installment of Primecuts.

 First from the Archives of Internal Medicine comes an examination of resources used in the last 6 months of life among Medicare patients with congestive heart…

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By Kara Greenwald, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Good morning.  As the snow melts away from New York City and the sun can once again shine on the city streets that we take for granted, the US Medical Community is too re-examining practice standards that we take for granted. This purposeful reflection seems to be an attempt to expand evidence-based practice, improve patient outcomes and reduce health-care expenditures. This week several groups provided new perspective on old issues including the…

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